Busy UCI Gran Fondo weekend with races in the UK, Slovenia and Japan

The weekend announces to be very loaded with lots of opportunities for riders keen on qualifying for the World Championships with 3 races planned from which two also host a time trial.

The oldest race in the series and host of a qualifier since the very first year in 2011, Maraton Franja in Slovenia’s capital city Ljubljana is also one of the oldest (°1982) and biggest granfondos on the UCI calendar with the traditional 156km granfondo race on Sunday and a shorter 100km race as qualifier for all men over 60 and women over 50. The time trial won’t take place this year.

The weekend has 2350 participants on Sunday and another 2000 in the family ride on Saturday, representing 28 different nationalities.

Tour of Cambridgeshire in Peterborough, UK is host of a qualifier since 2015 and has always been the biggest event in the UCI Gran Fondo World Series with a sold out 16 miles time trial up to 800 starters and a 100 miles granfondo on Sunday as qualifier for all men 19-59 or a shorter 67 miles qualifier for all women and men 60+

Niseko Classic in Japan’s premium ski resort on the Hokkaido island is part of the UCI Gran Fondo World Series since 2016 and has since a few years also added a time trial to the program. The 15km time trial on Saturday has some minor elevation while the 150km granfondo on Sunday is challenging with 2610m of elevation as qualifier for all men 19-49 while all women and men 50+ have a shorter 85km to qualify for Worlds. That course has 1426m of elevation.

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