This Sunday, the famous Japanese ski-resort of Niseko and the second largest city of Serbia both offer one of the last chances to qualify for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships later in August in Denmark.
In Japan, the updated 150km course is a real mountain stage as riders climb from sea level to an altitude above 850m with another smaller climb in the second half of the race totalling 2500m of elevation. A shorter 80km course skips the first big climb and counts as qualifier distance for all women and men over 50. 1124 riders from 16 different countries have signed up for the biggest mass participation cycling event in Japan.
On the same day, the new UCI Granfondo Novi Sad in southern Serbia has a course which winds through the beautiful landscapes of the Fruska Gora National Park. The 100km Granfondo has 1500m of climbing with two major climbs, one 9km long at 4.5% and one 6km long at 3.8% average. The 77km mediofondo also includes these two climbs but go directly towards the finish on top of the second climb for 1230m of total elevation. Almost 1000 riders from 40 different countries will take part.
