2022 UCI Gran Fondo World Series
The 28-event 2022 UCI Gran Fondo World Series is underway with the Dubai Gran Fondo Spinneys 92 Cycle Challenge (United Arab Emirates) and Mexico’s UCI Gran Fondo Veracruz being held in February. A complete calendar of Gran Fondos follows, running through to November in 23 countries across five continents, promoting an ethos of ‘Cycling for All’.
The UCI Gran Fondo World Series is aimed at all levels and ages of cyclists, from fun and fitness riders through to highly competitive athletes who perform at the highest amateur level. The Gran Fondos have road racing (between 80 and 225km long) and time trials (between 15 and 40km long - or shorter if it’s a mountain TT). Each are competed by riders in multiple age groups, with qualification to be earned to the season finale, the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships, where rainbow stripes jerseys are to be won!
UCI Gran Fondo Veracruz is the first of five brand new events bolstering the series for 2022. The other four are the Neusiedlersee Radmarathon Burgenland in Morbisch-am-See (AUT) and the 66 Degrés Sud in Perpignan (FRA), both in April, followed in May by the Rafal Majka Gran Fondo in Myslenice in Krakow (POL), and the Hawaii Express 41 Tartu Rattaralli in Tartu (EST). 2022 also sees the first runnings of May’s Granfondo Moscow (RUS) and July’s Tour Lakeland (FIN) after their planned inaugural events were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Full calendar of the 2022 UCI Gran Fondo World Series
2022 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon Series
The 2022 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon Series also gets underway in February, in Spain, and features eight events in seven countries, climaxing in France in October.
Starting the series are three stage races – which must run for four days or more and feature at least one stage covering at least 60km – each with their own distinct character and testing challenges. Then there are five one-day XCM events, where men’s and women’s classes are raced over courses between 60km and 160km long.
First it’s the Andalucia Bike Race by Garmin taking in six stages across 21-26 February, starting in Jaén (ESP) and finishing in Córdoba. The organisers proudly boast the number 1 and 2 UCI ranked men due on the start line at the Olivo Arena in Andreas Seewald (GER) and Martin Stosek (CZE).
Seewald, the reigning Men Elite 2021 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Champion, reflected: "I was very impressed with last year's event. The organisation was great and the trails were great. I learned that stage races are all about consistency and avoiding any small or big mistakes, like stupid crashes or lack of nutrition. I remember last year there were a lot of crashes and mechanical problems, so I would say it will be all open until the end of the last stage."
Meanwhile, Women Elite 2021 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Champion Mona Mitterwallner (AUT) – the youngest ever Elite Mountain Bike Marathon UCI World Champion, who stormed the 2021 Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in the Cross-country Olympic U23s – has been busy preparing for the new season in her rainbow stripes with her new Cannondale team.
In March the world’s best riders head down to South Africa for the eight-day Absa Cape Epic. Teams of two tackle the 17,250m of climbing over 700 beautiful but deadly kilometres of racing, from the prologue at the Lourensford Wine Estate on 20th March to the Grand Finale at Val De Vie, Paarl on 27th March. This truly epic event draws attention from every corner of the globe.
The third event in the 2022 UCI MTB Marathon Series is in Croatia. Five days, four islands, 262km total distance and 5720 metres of climbing are the numbers that describe the seventh edition of the 4 Islands Stage Race. But they can’t tell the full story of the beautiful surroundings and the iconic mass starts from aboard a boat! After the first day’s Prologue, Stage 1’s 71km pack in 1750m of ascent, setting the challenge for the overall classification and the series points. And by the time the riders race the fourth and final stage, on Losinj Island, it may only be 40km long but two intense and steep climbs promise to make the difference.
Then follow five single stage races: 88km on Deer Mountain at Bike Maraton Jelenia Góra (POL) in June; then XCM SR Sakarya (TUR) in early July; before August’s visit to Switzerland for the Grand Raid BCVS – now part of the three-race Alpine Cup MTB Challenge – at Verbier, Grimentz.
That leaves two final races in France across October’s first two weekends: Extrême Sur Loue - XCM SR Ornans, and the legendary Roc d'Azur. Last year’s race saw victories for the Lithuanian Katazina Sosna (who lost out by mere centimetres in 2019), and the 23-year-old “Swiss Bull” Filippo Colombo, who edged out three-time winner Jordan Sarrou (FRA) in the sprint. Who will win in 2022? There’s a lot of racing between now and then…