Granfondo Colnago, Desenzano del Garda, Sept 22nd

The first edition of the "Granfondo COLNAGO, Desenzano del Garda" will take place on Sunday, September 22nd, expo and other events on the 21st. Desenzano del Garda, on the southern shore of Lake Garda, is a beautiful location for racing and a visit. Now establishing a closer link with Colnago, plans are already proceeding for moving the granfondo to Spring of 2014 (Sunday, May 4th) in order to be able to further lengthen the long and medium courses and add more climbing.

More details at www.granfondolagodigarda.com

Nice video of the beauty of Lago di Garda:


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Granfondo Colnago-Piacenza

Italy's Granfondo Colnago, with start and finish in Piacenza, will be undergoing route changes for 2010. For the last five years the initial climb has been to Vidiano. For next year the initial climb will be of the Passo Calderola, a climb not to be underestimated which begins with a 5-6% grade and reaches pitches of 14%.

http://www.granfondocolnago.com/ is undergoing a complete upgrade and should be ready for viewing on January 1, 2010.

Photo: many granfondos provide a complete kit to participants; this is the 2009 kit

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Granfondo Colnago-Los Angeles: October 24, 2010

The date and location for a third Granfondo Colnago to be held in 2010 has been announced: October 24th in Los Angeles.

The other Granfondo Colnago dates and locations are:
Granfondo Colnago-San Diego (CA): March 7, 2010
Granfondo Colnago-Philadelphia (PA): August 8, 2010

That makes for fourteen granfondo events now scheduled for 2010. The U.S.A. granfondo calendar I have been maintaining has been updated and can be seen here.

Photo: start of Granfondo Colnago in San Diego

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Update: Gran Fondo Colnago San Diego

Pro cycling legend Paolo Bettini is scheduled to appear at the 2nd annual Gran Fondo Colnago San Diego. Bettini will participate in numerous pre-event activities held throughout greater San Diego and he will preside over the ride on Sunday, March 7, 2010.

Considered one of the best classics riders of all time, Bettini won several major titles in cycling, including the 2004 Olympic gold medal in Athens and road cycling World Championships in 2006 and 2007.

All event participants in the ride will receive a custom Briko cycling jersey.

Visit www.GranFondoSanDiego.com for event details and registration.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,000 stories in this blog; the search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog.

Gran Fondo Colnago, Coming to Los Angeles

Gran Fondo USA LLC, which has already announced two granfondo events for next year (in San Diego and Philadelphia), is adding a third city for 2010: Los Angeles.


The San Diego event is scheduled for 7 March, 2010, and the Philadelphia event is scheduled for August 8, 2010. No date has been announced for Philadelphia. Previous story here. Paolo Bettini is scheduled to be at the San Diego.


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Paolo Bettini Headed to Granfondo Colnago-San Diego

Paolo Bettini was at EXPOBICI where he announced he would be participating in the Gran Fondo Colnago-San Diego on March 7, 2010. Bettini, who is now associated with Briko and unveiled the new jersey for the event, said he could not wait to take part in his American adventure.

Photo: (l-r) Briko President Carlo Boroli, Paolo Bettini, and Matteo Gerevini, the co-founder of Gran Fondo USA Llc.

Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com. See here for a chance to win a T-shirt for submitting a story.

Granfondo Colnago Expanding to Philadelphia in 2010

At a dinner in Valdobbiadene after Stage 3, Ernesto Colnago, and Rob Klingersmith and Matteo Gerevini (founders of Gran Fondo USA LLC) presented the Gran Fondo USA program for 2010. For next year the Granfondo Colnago will be expanding to Philadelphia.

The San Diego event is scheduled for 7 March, 2010, and the Philadelphia event is scheduled for Sunday, August 8, 2010.

At this year's event Ernesto Colnago spent a day at a San Diego bike shop signing all kinds of memorobilia (http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/03/ernesto-colnago-frame-signing.html). I hope he'll be prepared for the east-coasters!

A video report of the San Diego event: http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/03/gran-fondo-colnago-san-diego-video.html

Photo: event log; L-R, Rob Klingersmith, Ernesto Colnago, Matteo Gerevini in Valdobbiadene

After the Giro we'll get back to "regular programming": everything from A to Z about Italian cycling. Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com.

Ernesto Colnago Frame Signing

My friend Rob O. sent these photos of Ernesto Colnago, in San Diego for the Granfondo Colnago-San Diego, signing his 1972 Colnago Super. Rob reports that Ernesto was very accommodating signing all kinds of memorabilia that people brought including frames, jerseys, catalogs, posters and anything else with a Colnago logo.

Photos: at Hi-Tech Bikes of San Diego: Rob (far left), Ernesto's grandson (holding dropouts), Ernesto Colnago (far right) inspecting over Rob's 1972 Super frame/fork; Ernesto signs the top tube; "Ernesto Colnago...Auguri..."

Stories: Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com