Please tell me that this is a joke.

[BSUdude]

https://granfondonationalchampionshipseries.com/

Is this an April Fool's thing? How can you have a national championship of a type of event that's supposed to be a recreational ride?

If it's a race, call it a race. Let's not follow the european model and have 50 year old dentists taking EPO to win "recreational" rides.

At least it doesn't look like it's USAC sanctioned.

/end rant

[nate2351]

If there's a start and a finish It's a race. Maybe not everyone is racing but the dudes at the front are, and that's cool. If you want to race a fondo then race it, if you want to just ride then just ride. The courses most of these fondos use are way better than what USAC would sanction. I don't think it's a bad idea. I think it would be fun to 'race' a fondo.

[FlashUNC]

Um, because they're fun?

[David Tollefson]

Let's not follow the european model and have 50 year old dentists taking EPO to win "recreational" rides.


Too late on that one.

[saab2000]

https://granfondonationalchampionshipseries.com/


If it's a race, call it a race. Let's not follow the european model and have 50 year old dentists taking EPO to win "recreational" rides.



AFAIK, that's a largely US phenomenon - older people doping to "win" century rides. Or the weekly beatdown at their local shop.

[bikingshearer]

If there's a start and a finish It's a race.

At a minimum, it's a Cat 6 race. ;)

[carpediemracing]

I think the UCI recognizes a Gran Fondo World Champ, i.e. rainbow stripes jersey.

[aramis]

AFAIK, that's a largely US phenomenon - older people doping to "win" century rides. Or the weekly beatdown at their local shop.

Well it seems more genuine than doping for masters racing.

[oldpotatoe]

If there's a start and a finish It's a race. Maybe not everyone is racing but the dudes at the front are, and that's cool. If you want to race a fondo then race it, if you want to just ride then just ride. The courses most of these fondos use are way better than what USAC would sanction. I don't think it's a bad idea. I think it would be fun to 'race' a fondo.

More aligned to what running races are. Closed course, controlled traffic, accurate timing. Every road race I ran were like this.

[bostondrunk]

......... 50 year old dentists taking EPO to win "recreational" rides.


/end rant

Oh get over it. So we have more money than you....boo hoo.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need my 400mg of enanthate and my 5000 units HCG.
Got a wicked 30km club ride on tap for tomorrow!

[cfox]

https://granfondonationalchampionshipseries.com/

Is this an April Fool's thing? How can you have a national championship of a type of event that's supposed to be a recreational ride?

If it's a race, call it a race. Let's not follow the european model and have 50 year old dentists taking EPO to win "recreational" rides.

At least it doesn't look like it's USAC sanctioned.

/end rant
It's not a purely recreational ride. It's a hybrid. Not sure why the concept is so hard to grasp here in the US. A fondo is no different than a marathon or triathlon; tons of people there just to finish with a group of guys at the front that are there to actually compete to win. By making it a fondo, not a race, they can have a much larger participation than a "real" race. Larger participation means more $$, a longer course, better support, bigger event in general. The guys at the pointy end of these things are racing; the guy who finished first at the NYGF a year or 2 ago averaged over 24 mph for a hilly 110 mile ride. Don't call it a race if you don't want to, but it it seems like more of a race to me than laps in an industrial park. I think the fondo model is a much more sustainable model for the future of cycling than trying to convince people to race around cones in a parking lot at 6:30 am on a Sunday.

[Lionel]

It's not a purely recreational ride. It's a hybrid. Not sure why the concept is so hard to grasp here in the US. A fondo is no different than a marathon or triathlon; tons of people there just to finish with a group of guys at the front that are there to actually compete to win. By making it a fondo, not a race, they can have a much larger participation than a "real" race. Larger participation means more $$, a longer course, better support, bigger event in general. The guys at the pointy end of these things are racing; the guy who finished first at the NYGF a year or 2 ago averaged over 24 mph for a hilly 110 mile ride. Don't call it a race if you don't want to, but it it seems like more of a race to me than laps in an industrial park. I think the fondo model is a much more sustainable model for the future of cycling than trying to convince people to race around cones in a parking lot at 6:30 am on a Sunday.

This. +100

Fondo's are hugely popular in Europe and the average level is quite high. The top 25% level is very high.