719 Ride joins the SUAREZ Gran Fondo National Series

December 7, 2022

Colorado Springs event becomes qualifying event for US Gran Fondo National Championships

Gettysburg, PA – December 7, 2022 /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Gran Fondo National Series is proud to announce the 719 Ride as a partner event in the 2023 SUAREZ Gran Fondo National Series. Starting in 2023, 719 Ride participants can earn points toward the season-long Gran Fondo National Series Points Competition and qualify for the USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships.

The 719 Ride Elevation Celebration will celebrate eight years of cycling fatigue and fun in Colorado Springs in 2023. To honor the 100^th anniversary of the death of its fictional inspiration, this Festival of Never-ending Ascending intends to wears its participants out on a 14.4-mile course in the grand shadow of America’s Mountain, Pikes Peak. Riders can complete any number of laps for a price 40% lower than a similar event.

The signature ride is five laps of The Course That Cannot Be Defeated (71.9 miles and 9,190 feet of elevation gain). The torture and torment will occur on July 15, 2023, and registration opens March 12, 2023.

“Participants of the 719 Ride have said it’s ‘intense pain and excellent fun.’ That ‘it’s a true test of mental toughness’ and is ‘like gelato for the soul.’ I’m excited to partner with the SUAREZ Gran Fondo National Series to introduce our lactic acid crippling haze to the fondo riding community. I’m confident that Series riders will be solidly cracked by the end of the Gran Route and that all riders will love the easy-going, low-key nature of our suffer- and pleasure-fest. — Chris Giovagnoni, Founder

As part of the Series, points will be awarded based on two timed sections of the main 719 Ride course. To qualify for the Gran Route standings, riders must complete at least five laps. Rankings will be determined by the sum of a rider’s five fastest timed segments on both sections. For the Medio Route, a rider must complete three or four laps, and rankings will be determined by the sum of a rider’s three fastest timed segments on both section. Piccolo Route riders must complete at least two laps, and rankings will be determined by a rider’s fastest cumulative time on both segments.

“I am proud to welcome 719 Ride to the SUAREZ Gran Fondo National Series and provide cyclists in the Rocky Mountain region with another opportunity to earn Series points and qualify for USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships,” said Gran Fondo National Series Founder, Reuben Kline. “719 Ride’s unique format aligns with our philosophy of enabling cyclists of all ability and interest levels to ride together and share in a great event experience.”

About Gran Fondo National Series (granfondonationalseries.com)

Founded in 2012 by event director Reuben Kline, the Gran Fondo National Series is the largest and most competitive series of gran fondo cycling events in the United States. Gran Fondo National Series 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. Since 2020, Gran Fondo National Series has been the organizer of the official USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships.

About the 719 Ride

First conceived and ridden in 2016, the 719 Ride aspires to be a bicycle event that contributes to the culture and community of Colorado Springs. The event is a homegrown, locally organized experience riding in the draft of many great and long-established Colorado cycling events. It hopes to become a positive part of the Colorado Springs tradition and identity while celebrating the tradition, lore and culture of cycling and helping set the pace for cycling fun in the Rocky Mountain region.