Inaugural Gran Premio New York City and 12th Michelob Ultra GFNY World Championship New York City this Sunday

May 15, 2024

On May 19, 2024, the pro cyclists will start 15 minutes ahead of the GFNY mass participation race with thousands of riders

NEW YORK CITY, May 15, 2024 /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The 12th Michelob Ultra GFNY World Championship NYC represents the pinnacle of GFNY Global Endurance Sports Series and its 30+ races in 2024. This year, the Gran Premio New York City UCI professional race will be held on the same course, just minutes ahead of the mass participation granfondo race.

Download the official GFNY NYC 2024 Media Guide now

WORLD PREMIERE

Holding a professional and mass-participation race at the same time on the same course is an event format never held before in cycling, although it is commonly done in running and triathlon. GFNY is taking a revolutionary step to bring professional and mass participation racing together to augment both race fields and leverage the scale of existing operations, logistics, and exposure.

THE COURSE

In this revolutionary new format for cycling, the pros from 17 teams will line up 15 minutes before the thousands of amateurs on the closed-to-traffic lower level of the world’s busiest bridge, George Washington Bridge on May 19, 2024.

Both the pro and amateur races are held on the same one-loop course of 85 miles (137 km) and 6,600ft (2000m) of climbing that has the characteristics of a Belgian spring classic favoring allrounders.

The start area looking over the NYC skyline, suspended over the Hudson River, with upbeat music, interviews, announcements and pre-race excitement offers the most spectacular race start in cycling.

The course passes through charming towns, beautiful nature, and challenging climbs through Bergen and Rockland Counties and the metropolitan life of the world’s capital, New York City.

The race’s finish line and post-race festival are located in Fort Lee, NJ, providing easy access to NYC, airports, hotels, restaurants, highways, and more.

RACE PREVIEW GRAN PREMIO NEW YORK CITY

The 17 enlisted teams, mostly from Europe and the Americas, will make GP NYC an exciting race.

Italian Pro Tour teams VF Group Bardiani-CSF Faizanè and Corratec-Vini Fantini

with Grand Tour pedigree will lead the field, followed by Continental Pro teams such as the Belgian World Tour development teams Alpecin Deceuninck and Lotto dstny, US teams Project Echelon Racing and Skyline – Cadence Pro Cycling as well as Latin America’s Team Medellin (Colombia) and Canel’s-Java (Mexico).

Elite teams receiving wild cards round out the field and get the chance to measure themselves with the very best.

There is no all-out favorite for the race that will suit a puncheur with its Belgian classic style course: short, steep climbs require an explosive rider who can defend himself in an uphill, group finish.

Reigning U23 Road World Champion Axel Laurance (Alpecin Deceuninck) from France is the rider mentioned the most in the lead-up to the race. He will have his teammate and U23 Cyclocross World Champion Tibor Del Grosso (Netherlands) at his side.

Niccolo Bonifazio (Italy) of Corratec-Vini Fantini is bringing 12 years of World Tour experience to NYC – and can outsprint anyone he arrives with at the finish stretch.

The highest-ranked team in the field is VF Group Bardiani-CSF Faizanè. Italians Federico Biagini and Lorenzo Conforti are ready to bring the crown to Italy.

Colombians Wilmar Paredes and Javier Jamaica Mejia of Team Medellin will want to show against strong competition that they can face anyone from overseas.

The most decorated rider in the field is Mexican legend Raul Alcala: Alcala has won Tour de France stages, Clasica San Sebastian, and the Coors Classic, and wore the Polka Dot jersey for the best climber. His biggest successes are from over 30 years ago. Today, at 60 years old, Alcala races for Team GFNY, bringing his experience, charisma, and great humor to the team and the peloton. History will be made: he will be the oldest rider to have raced a professional road cycling race.

The list of potential winners is long and surprises are very much in the cards, making the race exciting to follow. The internationality of the field assures that almost all riders at GFNY have a compatriot to cheer for.

RACE PREVIEW MICHELOB ULTRA GFNY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP NYC

The 12th annual Michelob Ultra GFNY World Championship NYC on May 19 starts just a few minutes after Gran Premio New York City and runs on the same course.

Female

The Italian podium sweep of 2023 is unlikely to be repeated this year. 2024 may well be Argentina’s Cecilia Caillabet’s year after winning all three GFNY Colonia races. Fellow Latin Americans Mariana Rojas (Peru) who won GFNY Cusco and Diana Cano (Ecuador) who won GFNY Manta will be there to challenge her.

Dutch racer Emma Drabbe is on the heels of scoring a huge win at the Michelob Ultra GFNY North America Championship in Miami. If she brings her climbing legs – watch out!

Puerto Rican Erialis Otero not only won her local GFNY race but is also the 2022 and 2023 GFNY Republica Dominicana champion. Can she translate Carribean prowess into big city racing?

Male

Traditionally strong in this race are the Latin Americans. Representing Colombia and favorites for the crown are 2023 third-place finisher Jonathan Jimenez and fourth-place Diego Vazquez. GFNY South America champion Matteo Grazon (Ecuador), GFNY Zapopan winner Alejandro Madueño (Mexico), and GFNY Bento winner Cristian Lazzari (Brazil) are adding more Latin firepower to the peloton.

2017 champ and 2019 second place Ricardo Pichetta (Officine Mattio, Italy), should never be counted out based on his experience alone.

USA’s trump card is former pro Ben Wolfe. The punchy course suits the time trial beast and he’s keen to better his 18th place from last year where he battled it out at the front through the Rockland hills. GFNY Kota Kinabalu winner Steve Marshall (USA) is a wild card. Local racer and GFNY Ann Arbor champ Ben Gorodetsky (USA) is young but very experienced in this race. If he’s patient, a podium is in the cards.

And like every year, GFNY is full of surprises and will bring new stars to the light.

RACE DAY LIVE COVERAGE

A live broadcast will showcase the world premiere of the first pro and mass participation race held on the same day and course, just minutes apart. A professional crew is working to deliver a high-level race day broadcast starting at 6am ET on GFNY.COM and Youtube.

Four motos and two fixed cameras will be running to capture both races and bring the action to fans around the world. Two expert presenters each will serve the English and Spanish-speaking audiences.

GFNY WELCOME ZONE

The GFNY Welcome Zone & Café will serve as a gathering place for riders before or after a ride on the GFNY course during GFNY Race Week. It will be open from Friday, May 17 to Saturday, May 18 from 8am – 3pm each day at the GFNY Finish Village in Fort Lee (PIP Park, Fort Lee NJ).

The GFNY Café and Welcome Zone will also be open on race day, Sunday, May 19 from 8am – 3pm to welcome spectators, families, and friends of GFNY cyclists.

NYC BIKE EXPO

The 12th New York City Bike Expo is also held in PIP Park Fort Lee, NJ from May 17-19, 2024, opening hours are 10am – 6pm.

GFNY World events, GFNY Merch and Apparel Shop, Michelob Ultra, BMC, Ekoï, ELITE, Pissei, Specialized, ENVE, and more will be on hand to showcase their latest offerings.

GFNY RIDER TECH PLATFORM

The GFNY technology platform with rider accounts allows riders to create or claim their GFNY account, see past GFNY results, and check progress to multi-finisher medals like the 10x medal or the 3×2024 medal. They can also check the qualification status for the front corrals at GFNYs and register for any and every GFNY World race. Registration is available in 30 languages.

About GFNY Global Endurance Sports Series

GFNY Global Endurance Sports Series is a sports event company with three decades of experience in racing, planning, and organizing events. The global endurance sports brand hosts multiple events throughout the year around the world on five continents.

Working with partners around the world to deliver a first-class experience, GFNY Global Endurance Sports Series puts its athletes first.

The official GFNY website is: gfny.com.

Cycling – Mass Participation

Dozens of races are held around the world. View the latest calendar here.

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

The top 10% (20% at regional championships) of finishers in each age group qualify for the Elite Qualifier Corral at every GFNY World event.

Michelob ULTRA GFNY World Championship NYC

The 12th annual Michelob ULTRA GFNY World Championship New York will be held on May 19, 2024. The race features the world’s most international peloton with riders from over 90 countries. It is so international that it’s often described as the United Nations of cycling. Athletes take on a challenging route to compete against each other, the clock, and themselves in a personal endurance challenge.

The official Michelob ULTRA GFNY World Championship NYC website is nyc.gfny.com.

Cycling – Pro Racing

Gran Premio New York City is the inaugural UCI 1.2 pro race on May 19, 2024. Professional teams will race the same course as riders at the Michelob ULTRA GFNY World Championship NYC – but with a 15-minute head start.

Further Material for Media Use

GFNY Press Images: here

GFNY Results: here

GFNY World calendar graphic: here

Previous GFNY press releases: here

Media Contact

Gran Fondo New York Inc.

Uli Fluhme, uli@gfny.com

Caroline Lindsay, caroline@gfny.com