Granfondo Gianni Motta Citta' di Vicenza

The 2010 Granfondo Gianni Motta Citta' di Vicenza will be held on Sunday, May 16th. Gianni Motta's main victories as a professional rider include the Giro d'Italia (1966), a Giro di Lombardia (1964), a Tour de Suisse (1967) and two Tour de Romandie (1966, 1971). In addition, Motta was 3rd in the 1965 Tour de France behind Felice Gimondi of Italy and Raymond Pouilor of France.

Photos: 2009 event; last photo, Gianni Motta in center with winners

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Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge GranFondo

Granfondo style racing gained another toehold in the USA with the enthusiastic response to the Levi Leipheimer King Ridge GranFondo of October 3rd. The registration limit of 3,500 riders was met before the day of event.

The granfondo route of 103 miles is one that Leipheimer, a three-time Tour of California winner, uses as a training loop. The mediofondo covered 65 miles and the "PiccoloFondo" 35 miles.

After taking riders into Occidental via Graton Road, the course included Cazadero and Bohemian Highways, King Ridge Road, Highway 1, and Coleman Valley Road. King Ridge Road, with a 20% section, challenged the riders. The Coleman Valley Road climb, which came near the end of the course, was described as a "beast" and forced many riders to walk.

Organizers of the granfondo said 65 percent of the sold-out event's profits would go to secure a place for Santa Rosa, Leipheimer's hometown, in the 2010 Amgen Tour of California cycling race. The remaining 35 percent will go to Forget Me Not Farm, a nonprofit group that provides therapy for troubled children on the grounds of the Humane Society & SPCA of Sonoma County.

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Granfondo Campagnolo, Now Granfondo Sportful

Since 1995, the city of Feltre in northern Italy has hosted the Gran Fondo Campagnolo, held on the third Sunday of June. The gran fondo was named for the Vicenza-based company founded by cyclist Tullio Campagnolo.

The last climb before the finish is Passo Croce d’Aune, where, while racing on November 4, 1924, Campagnolo had the setback that would change his life and revolutionize the cycling world. The monument to Tullio Campagnolo located at the top of Passo Croce d’Aune was unveiled in 1995 in the presence of cycling legends such as Saronni, Motta, Battaglin, Moser and Martini. The inauguration marked the first edition of an event that cycling fans throughout the world have come to love.

On June 21, 2009, the event took place as the Granfondo Sportful with 3,500 participants. The event takes its new name from the Fonzaso-based sports apparel company. Sportful, a leading producer of technical apparel for cycling and cross-country skiing, also supplied the team clothing for the Italian national cycling team at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Sportful and the organizing committee from Feltre selected a route that passed through some of the most stunning mountains in the world: the Dolomites, featuring some of cycling history’s epic climbs.

Next year's event will be held on June 20th.

Photos: 2009 event

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Gran Fondo dell’Adriatico

A new gran fondo is on the calendar for 2009: the Gran Fondo dell’Adriatico on September 20th in Senigallia. Stefano Garzelli, who won the green jersey this year at the Giro, is the patron of the race and will participate along with other professional riders.

Three courses will be available for participants: "cicloturistico" of 63,5 Km, "medio" gran fondo of 94 Km and the “lungo” gran fondo of 135 Km. The routes will take riders through some of the most beautiful towns of the Le Marche region: Corinaldo, the fortified town, Castelleone di Suasa, Arcevia and Morro D'Alba.

The event website: http://www.gfadriatico.it/

Photos: Stefano Garzelli (right) at the launch of the Gran Fondo dell'Adriatico

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Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge GranFondo

Another granfondo is coming to the United States, the Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge GranFondo. Astana's Levi Leipheimer, the reigning and three-time Tour of California champion, is the instigator and patron of this new fundraising cycling event to be held on October 3rd in Sonoma County, California.

"This King Ridge GranFondo is the perfect way to show everyone what myself and many of the best cycling teams in the world have known for years: Sonoma County is a cycling heaven!" said Leipheimer, who is a resident of Santa Rosa, California. "There's nothing I enjoy more than showing off my training grounds to other cycling enthusiasts and sharing that passion for the bike."

Three different ride options (105, 65 and 35 miles), with the 105 mile route including King Ridge Road, will take place in the fall and feature turning leaves, vineyards, tranquil valleys, and views of the rugged Sonoma coastline.

On a variation of a typical Italian granfondo, the King Ridge GranFondo will not have prizes for being the fastest person back to Santa Rosa. However, all riders will have an opportunity to test their climbing power on at least one major hill climb section of the event. Riders will be fitted with a timing chip that will precisely measure their time over certain sections of the course. This means anyone can participate, and it doesn’t matter if you’re at the front or the back of the pack–you still get a chance to give it your all!

The event raises funds for the Tour of California and an animal charity in Sonoma County. For more information or to register, visit http://www.levisgranfondo.com/.

Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com. The Italian Cycling Journal contest for Biemme cycling shorts still has no winner, see: http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/06/italian-cycling-journal-contest.html

Granfondo Gianni Motta "Citta' di Vicenza"

The Granfondo Gianni Motta "Citta' Di Vicenza" is scheduled for Sunday, April 26th. Gianni Motta's main victories as a professional rider include the Giro d'Italia (1966), a Giro di Lombardia (1964), a Tour de Suisse (1967) and two Tour de Romandie (1966, 1971). In addition, Motta was 3rd in the 1965 Tour de France behind Felice Gimondi of Italy and Raymond Pouilor of France.

After his professional career he turned to the manufacture and sales of bicycles. His frames were noted for stiff, efficient power transmission and the Italian national tri-color paint jobs on the top model, such as this 1984:

Gianni Motta is still very much the active cyclist with a busy schedule which includes leading an annual bike tour in Cuba, a Lake Garda-Dolomites-La Garda tour, and participating in other events.

Photos: GF Gianni Motta event logo; Giro d'Italia '66 on the Passo Duran ahead of Anquetil, Balmamion and Adorni; Giro d'Italia '66 on the Passo del Vetriolo where Motta made his winning move; a recent photo of Motta (in the green jersey)

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Granfondo Racing Can Be Dangerous

The Gran Fondo “Paolo Bettini-La Geotermia”, one of the granfondo races in the "Granducato di Toscana" series, was immediately suspended on Sunday after the fatal injury to a rider involved in an accident.

Granfondo racing can be dangerous. I've seen people take enormous risks. In the Maratona dles Dolomites there were riders flying down the mountainsides at incredible speeds as I hoped they were riding within their skills. Some were not. At the Granfondo Italia the speeds on the flats were very high and with a gruppo compacto there were several, serious, accidents. It was this granfondo that always stressed me out the most, being 100++% alert for an entire race was extremely stressful. Then, there are the crazy things that can happen: at the Granfondo Avesani my friend was hit by an ambulance that was responding to a rider that had crashed.

Granfondos are a lot of fun, staying over to the right can keep you out of a lot of grief. Keep in mind also that not everyone is racing full throttle so you can enjoy the spirit of a granfondo in company without taking risks. Be careful out there.

Photo: a race crash somewhere in Italy

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