We finally finished going through 30,000 photos from Sportograf. Thank you to the vast majority of you for riding fair and safe just like the two riders in this photo above!
The only issue we are seeing is an increased number of riders using headphones. Hearing others, cars and most importantly emergency vehicles is key for a safe event. I saw photos of a smiling rider with headphones on yet completly oblivious to the race car behind him.
So if you see a fellow rider with headphones, please tell them to take them off and put them away (around the neck is NOT enough). We will see you and you will get 15 minutes added to your hard earned finish time. This did cost a qualfier corral for a handful of riders.
Thank you again to the 95% of you doing it right and apologies for the delay with this.
Rob Weissman: “In my late 20s and 30s, my career and family life took me away from cycling, except for teaching my kids to ride, which was one of the great joys of fatherhood for me. At 45, having gotten way out of shape, I began dieting and riding again; I dropped 50 pounds and I bought my first clipless-pedal road bike — an aluminum Giant Defy 2. A month later I went on a couple group rides with my local cycle club. Two months after that, I decided that I wanted more of a challenge and I looked up local cycling events.
WS: Why did you start riding Gran Fondos and the GFNY event?
RW: “One of the first that I found was GFNY NYC. Not realizing that I was jumping into the deep end of the pool after a total of five lifetime group rides, I signed up for the Bear 50, thinking that if things went well I might go for the 100-mile version.
On Dec. 7, 2014 I showed up for my first GFNY training ride at Strictly Bicycles and went on the 35 mile C-group ride, led by Vito Valentini and Jared Skolnick, who became and remain good friends. Throughout the winter and spring the GFNY Gruppo Sportivo got me to the point where I moved up to the B group and was able to finish the entire 100 miles in 8:03. The following year, with more Gruppo Sportivo training, I cut 23 minutes off my time despite a double flat. Since then I have ridden GFNY NYC every year except for the COVID cancellation years and once when I hurt my back and couldn’t train at all. I’m signed up again for 2023 and since May of this year I have been training with Jill Patterson, of GFNY coaching, with a goal of setting my best time ever this coming year.”
WS: What bike do you ride now?
RW: “A 2016 Trek Emonda SL6”
WS: What is your dream bike or next bike?
RW: “Since I already have a climbing bike, I would love to add a more aero bike, like a Trek Madone, a Specialized Tarmac or a Pinarello Dogma.”
WS: How many GFNY events have you done? Which ones and when?
RW: “I’ve done five, all of them GFNY NYCs: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022. Three 100 mile versions (2015, 2016 and 2018) and two Bear 50s when I started my training too late (2017 and 2022).”
WS: What has been the biggest adventure of your life?
RW: “The biggest adventure of my life has definitely been fatherhood. My kids are now 19 and 16 and the greatest joy in my life has been seeing them grow up into kind, generous, thoughtful young adults. Along the way, we have shared many, many hours of cycling-related family time; from teaching them to ride, to taking them out on our local roads, to riding large group rides with them. My son now rides my old Giant Defy and my daughter rides an aluminum Trek Domane. I’m hoping that someday they will join me for a GFNY NYC.”
Santamaria three-peats while Mexican Montañez Barroso declines antidoping control
New York City, October 25, 2022 – A sprint decided the male and female race at the 3rd GFNY Florida Sebring. The 95 miles long course makes the race Florida’s hardest bike race.
After a string of attacks from the gun, it was at mile 20 when a group of six riders, including double GFNY Florida Sebring Champion Leon Santamaría (Colombia), Felipe Aros (Chile) and former Israel Cycling Academy pro Luis Lemus (Mexico), successfully got away from the peloton. Working well together, they extended their lead first to a minute where it stayed a long time, and later to as much as three minutes.
With 20 miles to go, Lemus suffered a puncture and the group was down to four. Attacks started and while no one was able to escape, the peloton came as close as 90 seconds again. In the four man sprint to the line Santamaría again took the win in 3:44:05 ahead of Gary Hand (United Kingdom) and Felipe Aros.
In the female race, María F. Paz (Colombia) outsprinted everyone in 3:49:53, followed by Lorraine Fuentes (USA) and last year ‘s GFNY Florida Sebring Champion Alejandra Echeverri.
At the finish, however, there was a controversy during the antidoping controls administered by USADA: fourth place finisher Elias Montañez Barros (Merida, Mexico) sprinted away faster from the antidoping chaperone than to the race finish. After a hectic chase, he was found in his car, changed and ready to leave.
First he pretended to be someone else but his wristband identified him. He then was brought to the USADA testing tent where he was explained the consequences of declining to be tested: a four year racing ban. Yet, he refused to get tested and walked off. In addition to his global racing ban of four years, he received a lifetime ban from racing any GFNY.
“In competition (IC) testing is and remains important to show force and detract athletes from cheating,” says GFNY CEO Uli Fluhme.
“IC testing is often dubbed an ‘IQ test’. But it also means that athletes have to microdose or stop taking drugs earlier before the race. Add to that the performance detrimental anxiety of actually testing positive. Half times of drugs aren’t an exact science because they depend on the athlete’s metabolism and factors like hydration. All this forces a doper to take less drugs. And if they don’t expect to get tested at all – like Montañez Barroso – then IC testing is obviously as effective as out of competition testing.
OOC testing remains a key pillar of GFNY’s antidoping strategy since 2012. GFNY keeps exploring ways to keep its races as clean as possible. The vast majority of riders race clean and deserve this effort.
“Sadly, we’re quite alone among mass participation race organizers with our antidoping actions,” Fluhme adds. “I’ve lobbied for two decades for antidoping at mass participation races but it’s costly so most prefer not to spend money on it. While we keep doing what I can, I highly encourage riders to choose wisely where to race. At GFNY, dopers are not welcome.”
GFNY has been testing bikes for motors since 2017. All checked bikes at GFNY Florida Sebring had no motor.
Saturday’s second GFNY Marathon Florida was held on a lightening fast course. Officially measured, it’s a qualifier for the Wanda Age Group Marathon World Championships in 2023 as well as the Boston and NYC marathons. Temperatures in the 50s were unseasonably cool yet ideal for racing. Americans Nikki Criscuolo and William Conley won the race.
Next up on the GFNY calendar is GFNY Panama City which will take place on Sunday, October 30, 2022.
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 their athletes first.
Cycling
30 plus events 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 Racer Corral at every GFNY World event.
GFNY World Championship NYC
The 11th annual GFNY World Championship New York will be held on May 21, 2023. The race features the world’s most international peloton with riders from over 90 countries. Athletes take on a challenging 100-mile route from NYC to Bear Mountain to Fort Lee to compete against each other, the clock and themselves in a personal endurance challenge.
“My job involves a lot of pressure, which can cause me to stress-eat. Cycling has been an integral part of my effort to fight that reaction, keep my weight under control and maintain a healthy lifestyle,” he says.
Like many amateur cyclists, riding has been the exercise of choice for Rob Weissman to stay healthy and keep his weight in check. Weissman, 54, a lawyer from White Plains, N.Y., and father of two teenagers, has struggled with his weight for most of his adult life, which he describes as “being on a roller coaster,” where his weight can fluctuate as much as 60 pounds.
“My job involves a lot of pressure, which can cause me to stress-eat. Cycling has been an integral part of my effort to fight that reaction, keep my weight under control and maintain a healthy lifestyle,” he says.
As a child, Weissman had uncontrolled epilepsy for six years, but eventually got it under control by being among the very early participants in the ketogenic diet, which included drinking MCT oil daily, which are chains of fat called medium-chain triglycerides, or MCT, which is commonly extracted from coconut oil and palm oil.
“While some people now follow this diet and drink MCT as part of a popular weight loss regimen, in the 1970s they were used for control of medical conditions,” he explains. “The seizures set me back in school for a long time, but eventually, after getting them under control, I caught up and, thankfully, have been seizure-free since my teenage years.”
Today, Weissman lives in Westchester County, New York, just across the Hudson River from the GFNY NYC course, where he is a partner in a civil litigation law firm. He is pleased to report that his most recent annual physical showed that his resting heart rate, blood pressure and weight were “the best that they have been in decades. I attribute a lot of that to regular cycling.”
His cycling journey began early, at six years old, when he learned to ride a bike. By 12, he had his first road bike, a candy apple red Fuji ten speed, complete with a tool set, the classic “Anybody’s Bike Book” maintenance and repair manual, and a red-and-white Fuji cycling cap. (No helmets in those days either, he notes.)
“I loved it, and I rode it everywhere well into my 20s, even when it became too small for me,” he says.
At 15, he took apart and rebuilt his old banana-seat bike from when he was eight years old, converting it into a dirt bike with a reinforced fork, new handlebars and seat, and off-road tires.
“I promptly took it over a ramp, forgot that it still had kids brakes that lock up when you step hard on the pedals, and flipped upside down,” he recalls, breaking his collar bone. “That didn’t deter me though, and I was quickly back on my road bike, pushing it as fast as I could down my local hills.”
“I love riding because it takes me back to the joy of those childhood and teenage years. The thrill of speed on descents, the peacefulness and tranquility of a mind-clearing solo ride, and the ability to just go out and explore someplace new at any given time,” he says.
GFNY provides Quito a strong and reliable brand combined with a one stop shop solution for both a bike and running race
Last Sunday’s GFNY Marathon Quito was the first ever GFNY Marathon in a capital city. Founded in 2010, GFNY is today the world’s largest cycling marathon race series. Adding running marathons, in a capital city no less, is a new chapter for GFNY.
“I’m proud that we are now also offering marathon running at GFNY – and in a metropolis like Quito no less,” said GFNY co-founder Uli Fluhme.
“GFNY’s goal is to offer a cycling marathon race near every cyclist. Marathon running is a sister endurance sport with lots of cross-over among the two so expanding into long distance running was always on the back of my mind. We’re applying our proven expertise and high quality production while respecting the tradition of the sport of marathon running that I am intimately familiar with.”
“There are many more runners than cyclists. But most cities already have a marathon. GFNY comes in where cities like Quito take advantage of the benefits of a strong brand and a one stop shop solution for a bike and run race. We’re ready, globally.”
GFNY Marathon Quito started at the Olympic Stadium Atahualpa, at 2800m above sea level in the historic downtown center of the city.
Venezuelan Marcos Fernandez, dominated the race and took the win in 3:16:47. The podium was rounded out by two Ecuadorians, Ignacio del Hierro (3:18:21) and Nicolaz Olmedo (3:21:05).
In the women’s competition, Verónica Rosero dominated the marathon and took the win in 3:35:09. The all Ecuadorian female podium was rounded out by Isabel Espinoza (3:57:27) and Day Betancourt (3:57:53).
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 their athletes first.
Cycling
30 plus events 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 Racer Corral at every GFNY World event.
GFNY World Championship NYC
The 11th annual GFNY World Championship New York will be held on May 21, 2023. The race features the world’s most international peloton with riders from over 90 countries. Athletes take on a challenging 100-mile route from NYC to Bear Mountain to Fort Lee to compete against each other, the clock and themselves in a personal endurance challenge.
The GFNY Marathon Florida Sebring this Saturday, October 22 is followed by the GFNY Florida Sebring cycling race on Sunday, October 23
GFNY Marathon Florida Sebring
The 2ndGFNY Marathon Florida Sebring offers runners a full and half marathon. Start and finish take place at the Barn at Paso Fino. The course is flat and lightning fast on roads dedicated specifically for GFNY athletes. The USATF measured course is not only a Boston and NYC qualifier but also a chance for runners to qualify for the Wanda World Marathon Majors Age Group World Championship at the Chicago Marathon 2023.
The 3rd GFNY Florida Sebring is Florida’s toughest cycling race: the 95 miles course and stiff international competition ensure that the podium will be hard earned. From the Barn at Paso Fino the race enters the closed to traffic Highway Route 66. 5 miles later, riders enter a two loop course where the wind will be the main challenge aside from the high pace.
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 their athletes first.
Cycling
30 plus events 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 Racer Corral at every GFNY World event.
GFNY World Championship NYC
The 11th annual GFNY World Championship New York will be held on May 21, 2023. The race features the world’s most international peloton with riders from over 90 countries. Athletes take on a challenging 100-mile route from NYC to Bear Mountain to Fort Lee to compete against each other, the clock and themselves in a personal endurance challenge.
New York City, October 19, 2022 – Bento Gonçalves, located in the heart of Brazil’s Sierra Gaúcha, hosted the first edition of GFNY Bento Gonçalves 2022 this past Sunday. The racecourse was 138.6 km long with 2957m of climbing.
Pro cyclist Alex Melo (Maxel Cycling) took the win in 4:04:49. Cristian Lazzari (Specialized) and Walter Souza (Cumbre Treinamento Total) rounded out the all Brazil podium.
“The organization of the race was perfect, impeccable,” said Melo after the race. “I’m happy that Brazilian cycling is getting back to a great moment, because we don’t have so many races of this level in the country. The final mountain range, with a 12km climb, was certainly the most challenging aspect of the route.”
In the female race, local Erika Correa took the win in 04:55:30, nine minutes ahead of Camilla Muller and Tamires Radatz (all Brazil).
“I particularly appreciated the feeding on the fly without having to stop – and of course the incredible and super well organized route,” said Correa. “I’ll race the next edition of GFNY Bento Gonçalves, because the city is wonderful and the route is fantastic. I felt like riding in Europe because of the beautiful landscapes and towns.”
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 their athletes first.
Cycling
30 plus events 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 Racer Corral at every GFNY World event.
GFNY World Championship NYC
The 11th annual GFNY World Championship New York will be held on May 21, 2023. The race features the world’s most international peloton with riders from over 90 countries. Athletes take on a challenging 100-mile route from NYC to Bear Mountain to Fort Lee to compete against each other, the clock and themselves in a personal endurance challenge.
Tracy Draper is a novice to the GFNY race, but she’s a veteran of many challenges.
Draper, 56, a personal trainer for seniors, is a passionate cyclist and has been riding for a dozen years and road cycling since 2010. Her Allied Alpha Disc bike is custom painted with gold glitter, and her dream bike even has a name: Moxie. Draper plans to ride the GFNY 2023 race with her sister in May.
“We chose GFNY because of its pristine reputation, the aura of the city, the route and the challenge of riding together,” she says. “She’s a much faster cyclist than I am, but I have the endurance factor in my favor.”
Indeed. Draper, who lives in Eustis, Florida, north of Orlando, rode across the country in June 2014, fulfilling a lifelong dream that involved planning the route, assembling a team and getting her husband’s support to pull off an epic 35-day adventure across 11 states to benefit Hope for the Warriors, a suicide prevention charity for military veterans.
“Raising more than $50,000 to date for Hope For The Warriors veterans’ suicide prevention 501(c)3 is one of the most satisfying experiences in my life,” she says.
Draper also has overcome several personal challenges. “From grieving the loss of my hero, my Dad, to overcoming the fear that I may not be good enough to pull off the cross-country adventure… it’s been one comeback after another since 2015,” she says, noting her recoveries after suffering a stroke, various surgeries and degenerative disc disease following years of cycling that led to her interest in triathlons. Recently, her mother was diagnosed with dementia.
“It is safe to say that cycling has changed my life, and I will be on two wheels as long as my body will let me seek out new adventures,” she says. “The GFNY is one of them for 2023! As an event organizer myself, I appreciate a well-planned gathering of cyclists.”
“This passion of mine to glide across the surface of roads has provided me most often with unbridled joy. However it has given me excruciating pain during some of the challenges I have put myself into,” she says. “To say that cycling has impacted my adult life is an understatement. It has upended it, and raised me to a higher level of humanity.”
Riders will tackle almost 3000m of climbing in the heart of the Sierra Gaúcha
This Sunday, GFNY Bento Gonçalves offers racers a 138.6km long course with 2957m of climbing. Located in the heart of Brazil’s wine region, Bento Gonçalves offers fantastic cycling roads, beautiful views of vineyard-covered hills and excellent gastronomy and wines. Italian immigration has played a big role in shaping the architecture, cuisine, viticulture and landscapes, resulting in a region that looks and feels like Italy with a Brazilian twist. The rolling hills serve up lots of cycling fun on twisty roads making your trip to Bento Goncalves a fantastic cycling vacation.
“After a hiatus of 4 years, we’re excited to finally be back in Brazil,” says GFNY President Lidia Fluhme. “And we couldn’t ask for a better host than Bento Gonçalves which has been extremely welcoming and supportive. Our Brazilian GFNY riders will see that the wait was well worth it.”
Race week activities will take place in Fundaparque Rio Grande do Sul. On Sunday, riders will tackle a spectacular course with rolling hills along the breathtaking wine region. The race winners will win an entry to the GFNY World Championship in May in New York City. And all finishers will get the coveted GFNY finisher medal.
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 their athletes first.
Cycling
30 plus events 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 Racer Corral at every GFNY World event.
GFNY World Championship NYC
The 11th annual GFNY World Championship New York will be held on May 21, 2023. The race features the world’s most international peloton with riders from over 90 countries. Athletes take on a challenging 100-mile route from NYC to Bear Mountain to Fort Lee to compete against each other, the clock and themselves in a personal endurance challenge.
« Je me suis accroché », raconte le coureur niçois. “Le kilomètre est devenu deux, puis 10, puis 20, et enfin j’ai trouvé Cannes.”
Nice, France — Le cyclisme a toujours fait partie de la vie de Philippe Hendrickx, depuis qu’il a appris à faire du vélo quand il était petit.
Hendrickx, 44 ans, jouit maintenant d’une vie bien remplie et d’une carrière dans la vente qui l’a amené, lui et sa famille, de la Belgique à Nice, en France, où il peut rouler le long de la Côte d’Azur. « Fonder une famille, élever des enfants, les rendre heureux. C’est la plus grande aventure d’une vie — et peut être l’une des moins simples », dit-il.
Hendrickx est né et a grandi en Belgique près des routes de Liège-Bastogne-Liège – également connue sous le nom de La Doyenne, ou “La Vieille Dame” – l’une des courses cyclistes professionnelles sur route européennes les plus anciennes et les plus ardues. “J’ai toujours rêvé d’être un pilote professionnel”, déclare Hendrickx. ”J’aime rouler parce que ça me donne un sentiment de liberté. J’aime aussi l’effort et profiter de la solitude sur le vélo… le calme et la sérénité après d’intenses journées de travail.”
Tout était parfait jusqu’en septembre 2020, se souvient-il :
“Lors d’un voyage d’affaires, j’ai été pris de maux de tête d’une violence sans précédent et au cours de la journée, j’ai perdu la vue”, dit-il, ajoutant qu’il est malvoyant à cause d’une névrite optique, qui est un signe précoce de la sclérose en plaques. La perte de vision temporaire est un symptôme courant dû à une lésion du nerf optique. “Parfois, quand le soleil brille fort, c’est comme être ivre, il est difficile de garder son équilibre.”
Il est allé à l’hôpital, où a commencé une longue épreuve d’examens médicaux, de tests sanguins et de tomodensitogrammes. « Le verdict est difficile à encaisser. Je souffre de sclérose en plaques et ma vie ne sera peut-être plus jamais la même.
Comme pour de nombreux cyclistes, le cyclisme a été une thérapie à la fois mentale et physique pour aider Hendrickx à devenir plus fort.
« J’ai dû me remobiliser ; J’ai dû trouver des choses à faire, et le vélo est redevenu une évidence », raconte-t-il. « Les traitements médicamenteux sont très durs à supporter. Ils peuvent causer autant de douleur que la maladie elle-même.
Il a donc commencé par le premier coup de pédale sur le home trainer, et a commencé par un kilomètre, ce qui l’a épuisé.
« Je me suis accroché. Le mile est devenu deux, puis 10, puis 20, et enfin j’ai trouvé Cannes sur la page GFNY, et c’est devenu mon objectif à atteindre.
Il a terminé Cannes en 2022, et son nouvel objectif est GFNY à Cannes à nouveau et à New York en 2023.
Pendant les courses, Il a deux règles : “Règle numéro un, n’abandonnez jamais. Deux, rappelez-vous le numéro un”
