On May 18, 2025, 126 pro cyclists will start just 10 minutes ahead of the GFNY mass participation race with thousands of riders

 

 

NEW YORK CITY, May 15, 2025 – The second annual UCI 1.2 men’s elite pro race Gran Premio New York City will take place this Sunday and will commence just ten minutes before the 13th Michelob ULTRA GFNY World Championship NYC, a mass participation race held on the same course and annual culmination of over 30 GFNY races around the globe. 

Download the official GFNY Media Guide now!

 

A REVOLUTIONARY FORMAT

Combining a professional race with a mass-participation event on the same course and at the same time is a revolutionary format in cycling. With this second edition, GFNY continues to break new ground by uniting amateur and professional racers in a single event. This innovative approach provides scale, increased visibility for sponsors, and aligns with cycling’s inherent accessibility, allowing fans a closer connection to the pros. 

Furthermore, mass participation races are a vital proving ground for developing professional talent, particularly for riders suited for general classification roles who require endurance and climbing ability over long distances. Mass participation races force riders to develop crucial self-sufficiency skills, such as managing their own pacing, nutrition, and tactical decisions independently, leading to more mature and resilient racers. GFNY’s “Be a Pro for a Day” concept embodies this, and events like GP NYC offer a direct pathway.  Top GFNY finishers get compete in a UCI race as “Team GFNY Pro”.

GFNY is committed to strengthening and sustaining cycling by focusing on its unique merits, rather than trying to force it into the mold of unrelated sports. This approach, grounded in tradition and embracing appropriate new technology, offers a sustainable path forward for the sport of cycling.

 

2026: ADDING A WOMEN’S PRO RACE

For 2026, GFNY is planning a women’s pro race that will elevate the event further. The proposed format will have women starting 45 minutes ahead of the men’s pro race, giving them their own stage. Extended road closures and logistics required for this addition increase costs by $200,000. GFNY is currently in talks with stakeholders interested in supporting women’s racing. Contact GFNY to discuss partnership opportunities and being part of breaking new ground.

 

THE COURSE

126 pros from 21 teams line up 10 minutes before the thousands of amateurs on the closed-to-traffic lower level of the world’s busiest bridge, George Washington Bridge on May 18, 2025. 

Both the pro and amateur races are held on the same one-loop course of 85 miles (137 km) and 6,600ft (2000m) of climbing that has the characteristics of a Belgian spring classic favoring allrounders.

The start area looking over the NYC skyline, suspended over the Hudson River, with upbeat music, interviews, announcements and pre-race excitement offers the most spectacular race start in cycling.

The course passes through charming towns, beautiful nature, and challenging climbs through Bergen and Rockland Counties and the metropolitan life of the world’s capital, New York City.

The race’s finish line and post-race festival are located in Fort Lee, NJ, providing easy access to NYC, airports, hotels, restaurants, highways, and more. 

 

CELEBRATING BELGIAN CYCLING CULTURE

This year, GFNY  brings a full dose of Belgian cycling culture to the world’s most international cycling race in collaboration with the Belgian Consul General of NYC and Flanders Tourism. 

From world-class riders of Alpecin-Deceuninck, decorated ex-pros, climb namings like “Côte de la Porte”, to cycling apparel, Belgian waffles and cultural collaboration, the 2025 edition will be steeped in the cycling-rich heritage of Belgium. 

 

GRAN PREMIO NEW YORK CITY: RACE PREVIEW 

The second edition of Gran Premio New York City  continues to raise the bar by attracting a strong international lineup of Continental Pro and Elite teams. The 22 enlisted teams, mostly from the Americas, Europe and Oceania will make GP NYC an exciting race.

 

UCI PRO TEAMS

Belgian team Alpecin Deceuninck are the top favorites and return to defend the title. Colombia’s Team Medellin and NU Colombia send an impressive line-up to challenge anyone in their way to the crown. USA’s Skyline, Novo Nordisk and Project Echelon Racing, Canada’s Team Hustle Pro Cycling, Mexico’s Canel’s Java and New Zealand’s Team MitoQ – NZ Cycling Project are further UCI Continental Pro Teams enlisted and ready to compete for glory, points and prize money.

 

TEAM GFNY PRO

Among the Elite teams is the unique Team GFNY Pro: six successful GFNY riders get the once in a lifetime chance to compete among pros:

• Italo Junior De Oliveira Feletti (Brazil) – 1st  GFNY Colonia & Punta del Este
• Ben Gorodetsky (NYC, USA) – 1st GFNY Ann Arbor and York
• Uriel Omar Espinosa Lopez (Mexico) – 1st GFNY Cozumel
• Steven Polanco (Dominican Republic) – 2nd GFNY Republica Dominicana
• Oscar Fabrizio Stangoni (USA) – 1st GFNY Florida and Miami 
• Ward Wauters (Belgium) – 2nd GFNY Cannes

Team captain will be yet again US track cycling legend Nelson Vails.

Team GFNY Pro plays a key role in demonstrating the need to unite amateur and pro pelotons in order to allow a fluid progression for riders into higher ranked races.

 

ELITE TEAMS

The teams  Jamison and Good Guys Racing bring NYC local knowledge into the mix and have lots of eyes on them.

US Domestic Elite teams Above and Beyond Cancer, Competitive Edge Racing, California p/b Verge, Primal Audi Denver and Visit Pittsburgh as well as Canada’s Cannondale Echelon p/b 4iiii will put it all on the line for the chance to race GP NYC.

Swatt from Italy has been a staple at GFNY for many years and has been stepping up to higher ranks this year by also listing an Elite team in addition to the granfondo team. They come fresh off a win at Torino-Biella and are a role model for any pro team in showing how to integrate the fans as part of the team.

The Caribbean will be represented by Prestige Cycling of Puerto Rico and the National Team of Barbados.

 

MICHELOB ULTRA GFNY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP NYC: RACE PREVIEW 

The 13th annual Michelob Ultra GFNY World Championship NYC on May 18 starts just a few minutes after Gran Premio New York City and runs on the same course. The race has been dominated by Italian racers for the last three years both in the female and the male race. Will someone finally break through the Italian dominance?

Female

With the women’s field growing more competitive than ever, the 2025 GFNY NYC is set for an exciting showdown.

American Erin Collins (Pennsylvania) is keen to keep the GFNY crown at home. GFNY Ecuador champion Andrielle Reascos (Ecuador), two-time GFNY Republica Dominicana champion Flor Espiritusanto, and Amelia Uribe (both Dominican Republic), winner of GFNY Florida, are strong contenders representing Latin America.

And as usual at the GFNY open race, there will be riders who aren’t on everyone’s radar but will make their bid for the win.

Male

The men’s field at the 2025 GFNY NYC is missing several key candidates for the win – but for a good reason: being GFNY champions, they were selected to race GP NYC as part of Team GFNY Pro.

That leaves defending GFNY NYC champion and winner of GFNY Bahamas Manuele Caddeo (OM.CC/Italy) with the burden of being the top favorite of the race. He comes fresh off a win at Granfondo Torino so he’s ready to take on the world. On his side he has his team mate and pro cyclist Luca Cavallo (OM.CC/Italy) who may well be even stronger on paper, but lacks the experience of NYC where not just racing is a different beast. Let’s see which card the team will play.

There is one rider who has been quietly stepping up the podium from third in 2023 to second in 2024: Colombian Diego Vazquez will do anything possible to mark the OM.CC riders – and ultimately drop them to bring the crown back to Colombia in this classic GFNY duel of “los Italianos” versus “i Colombiani” that has dominated the 2010s. 

Representing the US is local rider Edwin Morel, a three-time GFNY champion. His strength is the sprint and although the one at the World Championship is an uphill sprint, his goal will be to arrive with the first – and take them on the line.

Meanwhile GFNY Paracas champion Gonzalo Arévalo (Peru) makes his debut on the big stage. 

And just like in the female race, there will be new names and faces making their bid for the title and leaving their mark at the 13th Michelob Ultra GFNY World Championship NYC.

 

CELEBRITIES

The most notable celebrities taking part in GFNY are former Tour de France champion Pedro Delgado (Spain), multiple cyclocross World Champion Sven Nys (Belgium) and former pro and fan favorite Raul Alcala (Mexico).

 

GFNY WELCOME ZONE

The GFNY Welcome Zone & Café will serve as a gathering place for riders before or after a ride on the GFNY course during GFNY Race Week. It will be open from Friday, May 16 to Saturday, May 17 from 8am – 3pm each day at the GFNY Finish Village in Fort Lee (PIP Park, Fort Lee NJ).

The GFNY Café and Welcome Zone will also be open on race day, Sunday, May 18 from 8am – 3pm to welcome spectators, families, and friends of GFNY cyclists. 

NYC BIKE EXPO

The 13th New York City Bike Expo is also held in PIP Park Fort Lee, NJ from May 15-18, 2025, opening hours are 10am – 6pm.

GFNY World events, GFNY Merch and Apparel Shop, Michelob Ultra, BMC, Ekoï, Alé, ENVE, Continental, Ostroy and more will be on hand to showcase their latest offerings. 

 

NEW FOR 2025 ON GFNY.CC: The GFNY RANKINGS

The GFNY technology platform with rider accounts allows riders to create or claim their GFNY account, see past GFNY results, and check progress to multi-finisher medals like the 10x medal or the 3×2024 medal. They can also check the qualification status for the front corrals at GFNYs and register for any and every GFNY World race. Registration is available in 30 languages.

New for 2025, the GFNY Rankings offer all riders a fun and motivating way to see how they fare against riders in other parts of the world. The GFNY Ranking system provides objective criteria. The ranking takes place during each calendar year. 

For each GFNY race completed, riders earn points based on their finish placement in the competitive long route, or a flat number of points for completing the medium route. The best three results per calendar year are factored into the ranking.

 

About GFNY Global Endurance Sports Series

GFNY Global Endurance Sports Series is a sports event company with three decades of experience in racing, planning and organizing events. The global endurance sports brand hosts multiple events throughout the year around the world on five continents.

Working with partners around the world to deliver a first-class experience, GFNY Global Endurance Sports Series puts its athletes first.

The official GFNY website is: gfny.com.

 

Cycling – Mass Participation

Dozens of races held around the world. View the latest calendar here.

Riders get to BE A PRO FOR A DAY ® by competing against others, themselves and the clock in a personal endurance challenge.

Top 10% (20% at regional championships) of finishers in each age group qualify for the Elite Qualifier Corral at every GFNY event.

 

Michelob ULTRA GFNY World Championship NYC

The 13th annual Michelob ULTRA GFNY World Championship New York will be held on May 18, 2025. The race features the world’s most international peloton with riders from over 90 countries. It is so international that it’s often described as the United Nations of cycling. Athletes take on a challenging route to compete against each other, the clock, and themselves in a personal endurance challenge.

The official Michelob ULTRA GFNY World Championship NYC website is NYC.GFNY.COM.

 

Cycling – Pro Racing

At Gran Premio New York City, professional teams race the same course as riders at the Michelob ULTRA GFNY World Championship NYC – but with a 10-minute head start. The second edition will be held on May 18, 2025.

Adding a women’s pro race would elevate the event further. The proposed format would have women starting 45 minutes ahead of the men’s pro race, giving them their own stage. However, the extended road closures required for this addition increase costs by $100,000.

For those interested in supporting women’s racing, GFNY is inviting companies and organizations to help sponsor this important addition. Contact GFNY to discuss partnership opportunities.

The official Gran Premio New York City website is GP.GFNY.COM.

 

Further Material for Media Use

GFNY Press Images: here 

GFNY Results: here

GFNY World calendar graphic: here

Previous GFNY press releases: here

 

Media Contact

Gran Fondo New York Inc.

Uli Fluhme,

Caroline Lindsay,