Registration for the 3rd edition of the Gran Fondo Giro d'Italia Northern Ireland is now open. The sportive is a legacy event of the Giro d'Italia's 'Big Start' in Ireland in 2014 and will take place on 4 June 2017.
The Gran Fondo NI offers a choice of two courses on fully closed roads: the 58km Strangford route, and the significantly greater challenge of the 175km Mourne route. The latter takes riders south to the Mourne Mountains, the landscape that inspired CS Lewis's descriptions of Narnia, and skirts the edge of Tollymore Forest Park, one of Northern Ireland's numerous film locations for HBO series Game of Thrones. Entry is priced at £55 for the Strangford route and £65 for the longer Mourne route.
The organisers say the success and growth of the event in the last two years is a testament to the strong appetite in Northern Ireland for high profile cycling events.
Darach McQuaid, Event Director said, "We are very pleased to launch registration for the 2017 Gran Fondo Giro d'Italia NI. The event has quickly gained a reputation as a world class Gran Fondo and this is reflected in the number of out of state participants we saw in 2016, from as far away as New Zealand and North America.
"With the Giro d'Italia celebrating its 100th edition in 2017, we are working with RCS Sport to organise some special events to honour this. We are thankful to work with wonderful partners such as Tourism NI, Newry, Mourne & Down Council, Garmin, PSNI and many others."
The event is organised on fully policed closed roads, one of only a handful of sportives in the UK and Ireland with this "pro-race" experience for the participants. The Mourne Route (175km) and Strangford Route (58km) are designed to appeal to both experienced riders and beginners.
John McGrillen, CEO Tourism NI said: "The Gran Fondo Giro d'Italia NI is growing into one of Northern Ireland's signature mass participation events. It is great to see riders travelling in from all over the world to ride on fully closed roads through our beautiful countryside, over the Mourne Mountains and along Strangford Lough. We at Tourism NI are very satisfied to see the event grow and importantly, create a significant local economic impact and boost to tourism."
The event is rider and family focused; a "Piccolo Fondo" takes place on Saturday and allows kids to experience the magic of cycling in under the Gran Fondo finish gantry. Star guests from pro cycling will be announced in coming weeks - past events have seen appearances from Richie Porte, Gianni Bugno and Stephen Roche - and riders will also get the chance to have their photo taken with the Giro d'Italia trophy, "Trofeo Senza Fine".
The Giro Expo will take place Saturday 3 June and Sunday 4 June. Rider registration, cycle industry, Food NI vendors and post ride pasta party will all be buzzing over the whole weekend.
The 100th Giro d'Italia
The 2017 Giro d'Italia is set to be a spectacular one. Born in 1909 and organised by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Giro has run every year except for the few years during the two World Wars. The 100th edition will see the race stay within Italy's borders and feature as many of the race's classic climbs as possible.
The race will start in Alghero on the island of Sardinia. The island will host three road stages, before the 100th edition of the race heads to the mainland with the finish in Milan. RCS Sport said earlier this year that it would hit as many of the country's twenty regions as it can while travelling from the south to the north. It wants to pay respect to the cities that hosted the first Giro in 1909: Naples, Chieti, Rome, Florence, Bologna, Genoa, Turin and Milan. RCS Sport recently unveiled a new event logo to mark the Giro's 100th edition.
Gran Fondo Giro d'Italia Northern Ireland will take place one week after this special 100th edition Giro d'Italia finishes and there will be unique activities put in place over Gran Fondo weekend to celebrate the Giro's centenary.
For more information and to register, visit www.granfondogiroditaliani.com.
Read James's ride report on the 2016 Gran Fondo Giro d'Italia NI: www.sportive.com/cycling-reports/523054/forza-belfast-james-rides-the-gran-fondo-northern-ireland
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