GFNY offered Covid-safe racing in the French Alps

September 3, 2020

At Sunday’s GFNY Alpes Vaujany the organization demonstrated its professional experience in holding races against the odds

NEW YORK CITY, September 3, 2020 – On August 30, GFNY Alpes Vaujany marked the return of GFNY racing since March 8, 2020. Cyclists were keen to race after the pandemic postponed almost all races globally since March. GFNY used its experience from holding 80 races around the globe for the past decade to provide a Covid-safe experience. And not only that: despite inclement weather in the high mountains that led to landslides and a threat of snowfall, GFNY delivered a safe, modified race course to the peloton.

Hannah Fandel (GER) and Vincenzo Pisani (ITA) were crowned the GFNY Europe Champions 2020/21. They earned a paid trip to the GFNY World Championship New York City held on May 16, 2021 to contend against other GFNY champions and elite cyclists from around the world for the title of the GFNY World Champion.

Of the riders registered from over 30 countries, only those from a handful of countries were ultimately allowed to enter France or join the race without risking a quarantine when coming back home. GFNY Alpes Vaujany is one of 0.1% of mass participation cycling races globally that has been held during the pandemic. GFNY Alpes Vaujany was the first cycling race in France to submit its Covid safety protocols and was the first to receive its event permit. The French regional government was so impressed by GFNY’s Covid safety protocols, that it applied them to other events.

“We’re grateful for the support of the regional government in general and the local support in Vaujany in particular for trusting GFNY to hold a safe event,” said GFNY CEO Uli Fluhme. “From a financial perspective, the race was a loss for us because we rely on our international participants. However, we never once hesitated to hold the race for the riders who can join. We’re riders ourselves and have been missing events a lot this year. We’re bringing the resilience that we have as athletes to organizing GFNY races, even under the most challenging conditions.”

GFNY has a safe race protocol to demonstrate to governments overseeing the next two races in Florida, USA and Cozumel, Mexico.

About GFNY

GFNY is the global cycling marathon brand with events held in NYC, Bali-Indonesia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Florida-USA, Italy, Jerusalem-Israel, Indonesia, Cozumel-Mexico, Monterrey-Mexico, Panama, Peru, Portugal, República Dominicana, Santa Fe-USA and Uruguay.

Riders get to BE A PRO FOR A DAY ® by competing against others, themselves and the clock in a personal endurance challenge.

At all GFNY events, riders have the chance to qualify for the elite racer corral at the GFNY World Championship in NYC by placing in the top 10% (20% at regional championships) of their age group.

GFNY World Championship NYC

The 10th annual GFNY World Championship New York will be held on May 16, 2021. The race features the world’s most international peloton with riders from over 90 countries. Athletes take on a challenging 100-mile route from NYC to Bear Mountain to Fort Lee to compete against each other, the clock and themselves in a personal endurance challenge.

The official GFNY website is: www.gfny.com.

GFNY World calendar

25 October 2020 GFNY FLORIDA
8 November 2020 GFNY COZUMEL
15 November 2020 GFNY CHILE
6 December 2020 GFNY URUGUAY COLONIA
6 December 2020 GFNY ECUADOR
TBD GFNY ARGENTINA
TBD GFNY PORTUGAL
7 March 2021 GFNY BALI – ASIA CHAMPIONSHP
7 March 2021 GFNY MONTERREY
14 March 2021 GFNY PUNTA DEL ESTE – SOUTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
21 March 2021 GFNY REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
28 March 2021 GFNY ITALIA – EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
9 April 2021 GFNY JERUSALEM – MIDDLE EAST – AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
18 April 2021 GFNY PERU
2 May 2021 GFNY PANAMA
16 May 2021 GFNY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP NYC
4 July 2021 GFNY COSTA RICA
29 August 2021 GFNY ALPES VAUJANY
19 September 2021 GFNY SANTA FE

Further Material for Media Use

GFNY World calendar graphic: here
GFNY photo archive (credit SPORTOGRAF): here
GFNY Vaujany video: here
GFNY Vaujany vlog: here
Previous GFNY press releases: here

Media Contact
Gran Fondo New York Inc.
Emma Bishop, emma@gfny.com
Uli Fluhme, uli@gfny.com