Last weekend, did it seem like there were more cyclists than usual around town? 🚴
It wasn’t a phenomenon like cicadas or birds traveling south for the winter. It was the 2021 Gran Fondo Hincapie.
Gran Torino, who?
First, let us define “Gran Fondo”. Gran Fondo is Italian for “big ride” and is a long-distance road cycling ride featuring hundreds of cyclists of all skill levels. What started in a small Italian town in 1971 has grown into an annual event held in towns across the world.
Founded by Greenville-local + professional cyclist George Hincapie, the Gran Fondo Hincapie is the Upstate’s annual “big ride,” covering ground that Hincapie used to train for the Tour de France — from Hotel Domestique in Travelers Rest along the Blue Ridge Mountains into North Carolina on a Piccolo (~15 miles), Medio (~50 miles) or Gran (~80 miles) route.
A map showing all three routes. | Screenshot via Hincapie Sports
This year’s event celebrated its tenth anniversary, complete with extras like Rockin’ Rest Stops featuring live music along the routes, a family festival and a celebrity chef dinner to kick off the weekend. All proceeds from the dinner went to Meals on Wheels of Greenville.
If you’re interested in joining the fun here in Greenville as a rider, a volunteer or even an ambassador (or maybe you want to try the Gran Fondo Chattanooga or Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania), go ahead and mark your calendars for the eleventh annual Gran Fondo Hincapie on October 22, 2022 and register here.
