Sunday, January 10, 2010

Now Canada: Whistler GranFondo





More North American granfondo news, this time from Canada: the Whistler Granfondo scheduled for September 11, 2010.

The Whistler GranFondo, Vancouver to Whistler, will be 120 km in length with 2,400 meters of climbing. There will also be a medio fondo in the Whistler GranFondo that will start in Squamish to cover a distance of 60 km but will still be a challenge by including the steepest of the climbs up to Whistler.

From the organizers:

"A ride you never thought possible. One of the most scenic highways in the world. Or a great excuse to see the Olympic cities of Vancouver and Whistler. Whatever your motivation, the Whistler GranFondo is the ride you've been waiting for.

This will be the first large scale, fully supported ride along the newly upgraded Sea to Sky highway – Hwy 99 – from Vancouver to Whistler. With breathtaking views of Howe Sound, challenging climbs through the Coast Mountain Range and more downhill than you’d expect, this ride will impress and inspire like none other.

The Whistler GranFondo provides a dedicated lane for the entire route giving you the comfort to travel this spectacular course in a style not available at any other time. You will travel from Vancouver to Whistler, or as we like to say, from Sea to Sky!

All riders in the Whistler GranFondo will receive an electronic timing chip. At the end of the ride, you’ll have information about your overall riding time and how you did at various challenging sections along the route. You’ll also be able to see how you compare to top riders in the Giro division."

For details visit http://www.whistlergranfondo.com/

Photos: from the event website

The 2010 calendar of granfondo events has been updated with this event.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,100 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so that you can translate each page.

2 comments:

  1. The GranFondo is going to be fantastic this year! Now that all the Olympic construction is complete and the Sea-to-Sky Highway improvements have been finished it will be a great new road to race on. When you come up to Whistler be sure to visit Whistler RV Park located on the Sea-to-Sky Highway just north of the 300 foot Brandywine Falls. It's a great place to begin or finish your ride in the mountains. Check for availability at http://www.whistlerrvpark.com

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  2. Totally, this event is going to rock! I registered as soon as I could and was the 21st entrant...now I'm told that the entries are approaching 1000! I'm sure it will sell out and be a great day in the saddle for everyone. If the weather is clear the views alone are going to make it worth it...the road is brand new and to be able to start in Vancouver and end in Whistler is pretty cool...but rolling into Squamish is going to be the highlight for me...can't wait!

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