The UCI Gran Fondo World Series continues to grow, with three new events in 2018 and one event returning to the calendar.
The UCI Gran Fondo World Series, the UCI's masters and amateur mass participation series, will comprise 20 qualifying events worldwide in 2017-2018. The UCI Gran Fondo World Championships will take place in Varese, in the north of Italy.
The first three qualifiers will take place this month, starting with the Poznan Bike Challenge (Poland) this weekend and Amy's Gran Fondo (Australia) next weekend. Poznan will host the 2019 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships.
Tre Valli Varesine in Varese (Italy) is the first new feature on this season's calendar, and takes place on 30 September (time trial) and 1 October (Granfondo). Varese will host the 2018 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships, so athletes wanting to test the challenging courses have the perfect opportunity to do so in race conditions at the end of this month.
Granfondo Antalya (Turkey) is a totally new event, and enables riders and their families to combine tourism and cycling in the beautiful and famous tourist city. Riders start and finish on the beach in front of all the top-star hotels, and can experience a fabulous ride along the coastline with some climbing around the turning point.
The UCI Gran Fondo World Series is also happy to announce a new qualifier in Spain. Granfondo Ezaro (Galicia) is an existing and popular event, with famous Spanish cycling heroes at the start and a tough finish on Mirador do Ezaro.
An event which returns to the series after a two-year absence is Granfondo Golfe de Saint-Tropez (France) which offers a stunning course in the famous French mountains not far from the Mediterranean Sea coastline.
The Greek qualifier relocates to the island of Kos.
The UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Varese, Italy, will take place from August 30 to September 2, 2018, with a 22km time trial and a 130 or 103km Granfondo (depending on the age category) on hilly roads.