UCI Gran Fondo World Championships to Make North American Debut

At its meeting in Bergen, Norway, this week, the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) Management Committee have awarded the 2020 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships to Vancouver/Whistler.

This will be the first time the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships will be hosted in North America.

In partnership with Gran Fondo Canada, Toit Events, the Resort Municipality of Whistler and Tourism Whistler, Sport Hosting Vancouver submitted a bid to transform the highly successful annual Gran Fondo Whistler into a World Championships event in 2020.

“The Whistler community will be pleased to welcome international athletes, along with their coaches, families, and support teams for both training and competition. The Gran Fondo World Championships fit with our sport culture and build on our reputation as a world class destination for events” said Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden.

The very popular Gran Fondo Whistler takes place annually on the second weekend of September. This existing closed course race offers beautiful landscapes, a clear passage over the picturesque Lions Gate Bridge and a challenging climb to Whistler. The 2020 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships will take place on September 12, 2020 along the established course from Vancouver to Whistler.

The timing of the 2018 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships is consistent with the FE&A program strategy to invest in events during periods where there is the greatest potential to generate incremental economic benefit. Further, RMOW council and staff are working hard to introduce measures that spread our economic success from dominant peak seasons, smoothing out the spikes in visitation to ease local employment, housing, and transportation pressures, ensuring that Whistler remains a place where residents can continue to thrive.

“Tourism Whistler is pleased to partner with the Resort Municipality in welcoming the UCI GranFondo World Championships to Whistler,” said Barrett Fisher, Tourism Whistler’s President & CEO. “The RBC GranFondo Whistler has a long-established reputation in Whistler and has become an important anchor to the resort’s robust year-round events calendar. Hosting the 2020 UCI GranFondo World Championships is a natural evolution for the event, as well as for Whistler as a premiere destination for high-calibre sport events.”

The 2017 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships took place in Albi, France on August 24 and saw over 2,900 riders register for the event. The UCI Gran Fondo World Championships event has seen a steady increase in participants since 2011.