New 68-Mile Route Announced for Juniors and 70+ Age Groups Racing 2024 USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships

August 28, 2024

(Gettysburg, PA – August 28, 2024) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Gran Fondo National Series and USA Cycling today announced updated routes for Junior 14-16 and 70+ age group racers at the 2024 USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships to be held in conjunction with Gran Fondo Maryland on September 15, 2024 in Frederick, Maryland. To enhance rider safety and encourage lively competition, these age groups will compete on a specially designed 68-mile route featuring three timed segments. Junior 17-18 racers and all other National Championships age groups will compete on the 97-mile Gran Route.

“We want all Gran Fondo National Championships age groups to compete on courses that are appropriately challenging, encourage lively competition, and are both safe and fun for riders,” said Gran Fondo National Series founder, Reuben Kline. “This new course and our timed-segment competition format also mean our youngest competitors and the 70+ age groups will be more integrated with other age groups throughout the day.”

Riders must meet qualification criteria to compete at the 2024 Gran Fondo National Championships. Riders can qualify through results and participation at SUAREZ Gran Fondo National Series events and Partner-Events. Additional #GFNats qualifier events will be announced as they are available.

Thanks to generous support from Shimano, Junior and U23 riders can compete at SUAREZ Gran Fondo National Series events – including the USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships – for an entry fee of just $23.

Gran Fondo Maryland, September 15, 2024, in Frederick, MD, is open to all riders. Riders must only qualify for the Gran Fondo National Championships wave, which will start 30 minutes before Gran Fondo Maryland riders start. National Championships age groups range from 14 to 80+. National Champions in age groups 30+ will qualify for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships.

ABOUT USA CYCLING (usacycling.org)

USA Cycling is the national governing body for the sport of cycling and oversees the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclocross, gravel, BMX, and esports. USA Cycling’s mission is to grow participation and engagement with the sport of bicycle racing and achieve sustained international success across all cycling disciplines. USA Cycling supports cyclists of all levels and abilities, from those just beginning in the sport to international caliber athletes. The organization identifies, develops, and selects cyclists to represent the United States in international competition through the support of youth and interscholastic programs, amateur and grassroots bike racing events, athlete development programs, and operational support for cycling clubs, racing teams, and event organizers. USA Cycling has a membership of 80,000, sanctions over 2,500 events annually, and is a member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

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.