Gran Fondo National Series Launches Solo Fondo Asheville and Asheville Driveway Challenge

July 30, 2020

New formats replace mass-start Gran Fondo Asheville on August 22-23

(Gettysburg, PA) – Gran Fondo National Series has announced details of a new Solo Fondo Asheville cycling event to be held in Asheville, North Carolina on August 22-23, 2020, along with Driveway Challenges athletes can participate in from any location during the same weekend. These formats replace the in-person, mass-start Gran Fondo Asheville event, which had to be postponed to August 2021 due to the COVID19 pandemic.

Gran Fondo National Series’ timed segment competition format, which it has been using since 2012, is uniquely suited to COVID-era social distancing guidelines. Solo Fondo Asheville will utilize all three of the traditional Gran Fondo Asheville routes (100, 60, or 30 miles) and timed segments (4 on the 100-mile route, 2 on the 60-mile route, and 1 on the 30-mile route). Presented in partnership with Ride with GPS, registered riders need only to upload a GPS file of their ride from August 22^nd or 23^rd for their segment times to be added to official leaderboards.

Historically, more than two-thirds of Gran Fondo Asheville participants come from outside North Carolina, so for athletes who cannot or do not wish to travel to Asheville on August 22-23, the Asheville Driveway Challenges provide a community ride experience and an opportunity to support the Asheville cycling community, earn some swag from GFNS partners, and perhaps win valuable raffle prizes. Athletes will be able to choose Asheville Driveway Challenges by goal distance or goal elevation gain, and results will be tabulated through Ride with GPS.

“Despite great support from the city of Asheville and surrounding communities, the pandemic made it impossible to host Gran Fondo Asheville in its traditional format,” commented GFNS Founder and Event Director, Reuben Kline. “By creating the Solo Fondo Asheville and the Asheville Driveway Challenge, we can provide cyclists with a goal to shoot for, a way to compete safely, and a way to support the community of Asheville.”

Participation in either Solo Fondo Asheville or an Asheville Driveway Challenge costs $20, and 50% of the registration fee goes to Asheville on Bikes, a local organization that cultivates the culture of urban and commuter cycling through advocacy and celebration. All participants will be mailed a commemorative swag package with a t-shirt and products from GFNS partners, and be eligible to win valuable raffle prizes, including a stay at Garda Bike Hotel in Italy, a stay at the Sourwood Inn in Asheville, a Wahoo KICKR Snap smart trainer, an Industry Nine hubset, Shimano S-Phyre cycling shoes, Cane Creek eeBrakes, Lazer Century Helmet, ENO Hammock, and more.

Competition awards will be mailed to Solo Fondo Asheville winners for Overall and Age Group competitions for men and women. Overall winners will receive one-year Ride with GPS Premium Memberships. Age group winners will receive medals, and top three age group finishers will receive socks from Swiftwick and an engraved multitool from Volvo Race Support.

Details and Registration available at GranFondoNationalSeries.com/Asheville-Solo-Fondo.

About Gran Fondo National Series (granfondonationalseries.com)

Founded in 2012 by event director Reuben Kline, and acquired by Haute Route in 2017, Gran Fondo National Series is the largest and most competitive series of gran fondo cycling events in the United States. GFNS was the first series to implement timed-segment racing into US gran fondo events, and has crowned Gran Fondo National Champions and Gran Fondo National Series Champions since 2012. Starting in 2020, GFNS entered into a partnership with USA Cycling to bring the existing GFNS Gran Fondo National Series and the one-day Gran Fondo National Championship into the portfolio of official USA Cycling National Championship events.

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