Great endurance
Granfondo means long distance or great endurance in Italian. Today, it is the universal term for a long-distance and mass participation cycling event, which has become tremendously popular all over the world. A granfondo is timed and as such has a competitive element, but the emphasis is onchallenge, and more precisely each participant's personal challenge to complete the distance.
So, for the majority of participants, granfondo is not about pure racing. Some people will ride and sprint to be first at the finish line, but most others will enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings and ride the bike at their own pace. Reaching the finish after 150km (or more) is their goal. Maybe in under six hours, maybe under seven....or maybe under five hours. Everyone has a personal objective that he or she will cherish and be happy to achieve. Cycling for all!
It makes granfondo events a perfect tool to promote a healthy lifestyle among the people.
Granfondo a worldwide success
The first major granfondo or cyclosportive events were organised in France and Italy. Nowadays, in Europe, hundreds of granfondo cycling challenges take place during spring-summer-autumn in many countries. Only in Italy, there are more than 220 events every season, sometimes more than 10 in one weekend! The same accounts for Switzerland, France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Sweden (e.g. Vaetternrundan), Denmark and since a few years also Great Britain. The Granfondo community has also expanded into Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Africa (Cape Argus tour has 90 000 participants!) and the USA (events in Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Philadelphia, Miami, etc).
