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El entrenador de GFNY explica la importancia de la nutrición después de los entrenamientos en la Guía de Entrenamiento de esta semana.
Recuperarse de las sesiones de entrenamiento a tiempo para la siguiente es una de las claves de un programa de entrenamiento exitoso. Dejar que tu cuerpo se recupere y se repare a sí mismo, y hacerlo lo suficientemente rápido como para que puedas entrenar duro varios días a la semana, te permita continuar estresando su cuerpo y generar las adaptaciones necesarias para hacerlo más rápido.
La nutrición después de los entrenamientos es uno de los factores más importantes en ese proceso de recuperación. En concreto, recuperando los niveles de carbohidratos, que se almacenan en el organismo como glucógeno. El glucógeno es clave para proporcionar energía a su cuerpo para entrenar duro, pero muchos atletas subestiman la importancia de concentrarse en restaurar los niveles de glucógeno en el cuerpo después de entrenamientos.
Incluso si te proporcionas a tu cuerpo suficientes carbohidratos, se necesitan de 24 a 48 horas para reponer completamente las reservas de carbohidratos de tu cuerpo después de agotarlas.
Por lo tanto, es importante comenzar a repostar inmediatamente después de un duro entrenamiento para recuperarte lo más rápido posible. Esta ventana de tiempo después de un entrenamiento es importante porque inmediatamente después del ejercicio, su cuerpo recarga las reservas de glucógeno más rápidamente. Cuanto más espere para empezar a comer, menos posibilidades tendrás de estar al 100% el día siguiente, o incluso después de dos días.
Debes apuntar a consumir aproximadamente 80-100 gramos de carbohidratos en la primera hora después de un buen entrenamiento. Además de esto, se ha demostrado que agregar 20-25 gramos de proteína ayuda al proceso de recuperación. Esta comida puede ser comida sólida o puede ser una bebida de recuperación; cualquiera funcionará. Simplemente evita las bebidas proteicas que se encuentran comúnmente y que casi no contienen carbohidratos; esto no te servirá de nada.
Después de la primera hora, debes continuar comiendo bien el resto del día, ingiriendo suficientes carbohidratos, dependiendo de la dificultad del entrenamiento que hiciste. Discutiremos esto más a continuación.
Notarás que en la sección anterior mencioné que tenías que concentrarte en repostar después de los viajes difíciles. Vamos a desglosarlo más en esta sección, por tipo de entrenamiento.
Es importante hacer coincidir tu alimentación con tu entrenamiento. Muchos atletas mantienen la misma rutina diaria, que funciona después de entrenamientos fáciles pero los deja agotados después de los más duros. Por otro lado, es posible que si te sobrecargas de comida, puedas aumentar de peso. Esto no es típico, pero es posible.
Por lo tanto, analicemos brevemente cómo hacer coincidir tus comidas con tu entrenamiento.
Entrenamiento facil: después de un paseo de intensidad relativamente baja y menos de 1,5-2 horas, no es necesario que haga nada específico para acelerar el tiempo de recuperación, siempre que siga una dieta moderadamente alta en carbohidratos. Para este tipo de entrenamientos, no es necesario que apunte a la ventana posterior a la conducción o que tome una bebida de recuperación, pero no espere demasiado después de su entrenamiento para tener su próxima comida.
Entrenamiento moderado: estos son entrenamientos que son cortos pero de alta intensidad (como una sesión de intervalo de 1 hora) o montadas que son de baja intensidad pero moderadamente largos (3 o más horas a baja intensidad).
Después de estos entrenamientos, debes asegurarte de comer dentro 30 minutos después de bajarte de la bicicleta. Como mencionamos anteriormente, 80-100 gramos de carbohidratos junto con algo de proteína es perfecto. Los alimentos sólidos o una bebida o batido de recuperación son opciones perfectamente buenas.
Después de estos entrenamientos debes seguir comiendo una dieta alta en carbohidratos. Aproximadamente 6-8 gramos por kilo de peso corporal es un buen objetivo diario.
Entrenamiento duro: este es cualquier entrenamiento que realmente te estresa. Puede ser una montada larga (de 3 a 5 horas o más) o un entrenamiento que combina distancia e intensidad.
Al igual que con los paseos de intensidad moderada, debes concentrarte en comer dentro de 30 minutos después de la montada. Las pautas son las mismas que las anteriores.
Además, como se indicó anteriormente, debes concentrarte en ingerir muchos carbohidratos el resto del día. Sin embargo, debe comer aún más, aumentando esto a 8-12 gramos de carbohidratos por kilo de peso corporal como su objetivo para todo el día.
Hay varios aspectos importantes para la recuperación; cubriremos los demás en otros artículos. Por el momento, utiliza este artículo como motivación para comenzar a trabajar en tu nutrición.
Si estás haciendo las cosas bien, debes notar que comienzas a sentirte mejor en los días repetidos de entrenamientos duros: te sentirás fuerte el domingo incluso después de un buen entrenamiento el sábado, o puedes comenzar a sentirte mejor en los intervalos que haces en semana.
Como muchas cosas, una vez que sepas lo que debes hacer, implementarlo en tu rutina es la clave. Experimenta con qué alimentos y bebidas de recuperación funcionan mejor para ti y ayúdate a cumplir con tu nuevo plan de nutrición.
GFNY Coach Christian explains the importance of post-ride nutrition in this week’s Training Guide
Recovering from hard training sessions in time for the next one is one of the keys of a successful training program. Letting your body recover and repair itself, yet doing so quickly enough that you can train hard multiple days per week, allows you to continue to stress your body and generate the adaptations required to make you faster.
Post-ride nutrition is one of the most important factors in that recovery process. Specifically, recovering carbohydrate levels, which are stored in the body as glycogen. Glycogen is key to providing energy for your body to train hard, but many athletes underestimate how important it is to focus on restoring glycogen levels in the body after hard training rides.
Even if you provide your body with enough carbohydrate, it takes 24-48 hours to fully replenish your body’s stores of carbohydrates after depleting them.
Therefore, it’s important to begin refueling immediately after a hard workout to begin refueling. This post-workout window is important because immediately after exercise, your body refills it’s glycogen stores more rapidly. The longer you wait to start eating, the less of a chance you have to be refueled by the next day, or even the day after.
You should aim to consume roughly 80-100 grams of carbohydrate in the first hour after a hard training ride. On top of this, adding 20-25 grams of protein has been shown to help the recovery process. This post-ride meal can be solid food or it can be a recovery drink; either will work. Just steer clear of commonly-found protein drinks which contain almost no carbohydrate; this won’t do you any good.
After the first hour, you should continue eating well the rest of the day, getting in plenty of carbohydrate. We’ll discuss this more below.
You’ll notice that in the previous section, I mentioned that you needed to focus on refueling after hard rides. We’re going to break that down more in this section, by type of training ride.
It’s important to match your fueling to your workout. Many athletes keep the same daily routine, which works after easy training rides but leaves them depleted after hard ones. On the other hand, it’s possible that if you over-fuel, you could gain weight. This isn’t typical, but it is possible.
So, let’s briefly discuss how to match your fueling to your ride.
Easy Ride: After a ride that’s relatively low intensity and less than 1.5-2 hours, you don’t need to do anything specific to speed recovery time, as long as you’re eating a diet that’s moderately high in carbohydrate. For these types of workouts you don’t have to target the post-ride window or have a recovery drink, but don’t wait too long after your workout to have your next meal.
Moderate Ride: These are workouts which are either short but high-intensity (like a 1 hour interval session) or rides which are low intensity but moderately long (3 or more hours at a low intensity).
After these workouts, you need to be sure to eat within 30 minutes of getting off the bike. As we mentioned above, 80-100 grams of carbohydrate along with some protein is perfect. Solid food or a recovery drink or shake are all perfectly good options.
After these workouts you should continue eating high in carbohydrates. Approximately 6-8 grams per kilo of bodyweight is a good daily goal.
Hard Ride: This is any ride that really stresses you. It could be a long ride (3-5 hours or longer) or a long, difficult intensity workout like a hard group ride or a race simulation.
As with the moderate intensity rides, you should focus on getting in a meal within 30 minutes of getting off the bike. The guidelines are the same as above.
Also as above, you need to focus on getting in plenty of carbohydrates the rest of the day. However, you should eat even more, upping this to 8-12 grams of carbs per kilo of bodyweight as your goal for the entire day.
There are several important aspects to recovery; we’ll be covering the others in later articles. For the moment, use this article as motivation to start working on your post-ride nutrition.
If you’re doing things right, you should notice you begin to feel better on repeated days of hard training: you’ll feel strong on Sunday even after a hard ride on Saturday, or you might start feeling better on your mid-week interval workouts.
Like many things, once you know what you need to do, implementing it into your routine is the key. Experiment with what foods and recovery drinks work best for you and help you stick to your new post-ride nutrition plan.
NEW YORK CITY, December 16, 2020 – Known as the pearl of the pacific, GFNY Mazatlán will offer athletes an exciting springtime race with all the frills and party atmosphere that GFNY Mexico events have become renown for on May 2, 2021.
Mazatlán is a resort town located on the pacific shores of Sinaloa. A hot spot for sports on water and on land, the city is full of colorful Mexican colonial architecture, quaint streets and an array of cultural activities. The restaurant scene will satisfy the foodie in everyone, with a famous array of seafood, renown as the best in Mexico. Mazatlán also offers all types of beaches, small and large. Post-race, a few days should be put aside to enjoy all that this pearl of the pacific offers.
“We are very excited to add Mazatlán to our GFNY Mexico races,” said Lidia Fluhme, GFNY’s co-founder. “Mazatlán offers a combination of sports and relaxation for a perfect race-vacation. It’s the ideal springtime race with its gently rolling course, 21km of beach front views and quaint cobbled roads filled with Mexican charm.”
Starting and finishing at the famous Fisherman monument, the competitive two loop long route totaling 140km will take athletes down the beachfront Malecon Avenue and then into the historic colonial streets. Riders will then head inland towards the countryside on newly paved rolling hills with the stunning Sierra Madre backdrop and mountain views. In true Mexican hospitality, expect the streets to be lined with people cheering all the way to finish line. The 70km medium route is one full lap of the long loop.
The website is mazatlan.gfny.com and registration is open. Already over 300 riders are registered.
Top 10% (20% at regional championships) of finishers in each age group qualify for the Racer Corral at every GFNY World event.
About GFNY
GFNY is the global endurance sports brand with events held in NYC, Bali-Indonesia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Florida-USA, Italy, Jerusalem-Israel, Indonesia, Cozumel-Mexico, Monterrey-Mexico, Mazatlan-Mexico, Panama, Peru, Portugal, República Dominicana, Santa Fe-USA and Uruguay.
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 10th annual GFNY World Championship New York will be held on May 16, 2021. 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 official GFNY website is: www.gfny.com.
GFNY World calendar
7 March 2021 GFNY MONTERREY
14 March 2021 GFNY PUNTA DEL ESTE – SOUTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
21 March 2021 GFNY REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
28 March 2021 GFNY ITALIA – EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
9 April 2021 GFNY JERUSALEM – MIDDLE EAST – AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
18 April 2021 GFNY PERU
2 May 2021 GFNY PANAMA
2 May 2021 GFNY MAZATLAN
16 May 2021 GFNY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP NYC
>4 July 2021 GFNY COSTA RICA
29 August 2021 GFNY ALPES VAUJANY
19 September 2021 GFNY SANTA FE
26 September 2021 GFNY ECUADOR
3 October 2021 GFNY BALI – ASIA CHAMPIONSHP
31 October 2021 GFNY FLORIDA
7 November 2021 GFNY COZUMEL
14 November 2021 GFNY CHILE
5 December 2021 GFNY URUGUAY COLONIA
TBD GFNY ARGENTINA
TBD GFNY PORTUGAL
TBD GFNY COLOMBIA
TBD GFNY QUITO
Further Material for Media Use
GFNY Mazatlan video: here
GFNY World calendar graphic: here
Previous GFNY press releases: here
Media Contact
Gran Fondo New York Inc.
Emma Bishop,
Uli Fluhme,
At the start of GFNY in 2019, I found myself on my bike, suspended above the Hudson River on the lower deck of the George Washington Bridge, surrounded by 5,000 fellow racers from over 90 different countries. Even though this was my third consecutive GFNY, I stood there, shaking my head in disbelief thinking, “WOW, a bicycle race has shut down the busiest bridge in the world!” The bridge remains open through snowstorms, high winds, repairs, maintenance, and accidents. And all of this in a country where cycling is certainly not a national pastime. It seemed to me that the magnitude of this bridge being closed just for the sake of our bicycle race was being lost or not fully comprehended by most of us.
It also occurred to me that since a great majority of GFNY racers are either from another state or another country, there’s a pretty good chance that most of the riders around me on the bridge would enjoy some insight to where they were, what they were looking at, where the racecourse would be taking them, and the significance of it all.
We compiled this “Points of Interest Guide” to help you get to know the GFNY racecourse from a slightly different perspective. It’s so much more than just rolling hills, quaint towns and Bear Mountain. This guide will make your race experience and trip to New York more fulfilling.
MILE 0 / START: Between Two Forts.
At the start line, we are suspended above the Hudson River, between where once two American Revolutionary War forts defended the river. Fort Lee was just south of the bridge in New Jersey, and Fort Washington was just north of the bridge on the New York side of the river. Cannon fire passed right through where we are lined up for the race start, as Colonial Americans fired down upon British ships sailing up the river. On November 16, 1776, British forces overwhelmed and captured Fort Washington. After the battle surviving Americans fled across the river to the safety of Fort Lee. Margaret Corbin was a patriot nurse at that battle who remained beside her husband operating a cannon. When her husband was fatally wounded and unable to operate the cannon, she immediately took his place, efficiently loaded and accurately fired the cannon, until her left arm was nearly severed. Margaret never fully recovered from her wounds, yet her bravery and devotion did not go unnoticed on the battlefield. A few years later, her valiant service was recognized by the newly formed US government as she became the first female recipient of a lifelong pension.
Highly Recommended: Visit Fort Lee Historic Park before or after the race. It is located on the racecourse and is less than 1 mile from the GFNY Welcome Zone.
MILE 2-8 / Henry Hudson Drive: A River and Cliffs.
The majority of the race takes place on the banks of and the cliffs above the Hudson river. Native American’s called the Hudson River “a stream that flows both ways” since it is an estuary which ebbs and flows with the ocean’s tide. The Hudson River, which serves as a major thoroughfare between New York City and the rest of the state, was also the most strategic 150-mile-long battlefield of the Revolutionary War. The river separated the northeast from the rest of the country. British control of the Hudson would mean dividing the Northern American Colonies in two. Whichever side controlled the Hudson would control communication, transportation and the entire course of the war.
The magnificently steep cliffs here are the Palisades, called “We-awk-en” by the Lenni Lenapes Native Americans which means “rocks that look like rows of trees”. By the late 1800’s the Palisades were being heavily quarried for building foundations, city streets and piers in New York. If you have ever ridden on New York City pavé, chances are you rode on blocks of rock quarried from these cliffs. The growth of New York City was taking place at the expense of the destruction of New Jersey. It was the activism of local Women’s Clubs from nearby towns like Englewood which eventually passed legislation to preserve the Palisades and create the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC). This was the late 1890’s and, despite having no right to vote, women were remarkably still able to persuade politicians. The PIPC was given power to acquire land and preserve scenery which is what they did along Henry Hudson Drive and Bear Mountain.
MILE 9 / Alpine Climb: You think climbing this is hard…
After the British captured Forth Washington, they had their sights to capture Fort Lee along with the 2667 American troops stationed there led by American General Nathanael Greene. The British planned to approach Ft. Lee by surprise. During a heavy rainstorm on November 20th, 5,000 British troops sailed six miles north, well out of sight of Fort Lee, and landed near the base of Alpine Climb. They proceeded to climb directly up the muddy cliffs, with heavy packs, dragging cannons and supplies uphill with barely a trail beneath their feet. Their plan was to then march south to Fort Lee. From the top of the Palisades in Closter, a farmer spotted the British, immediately mounted his horse and rode straight to Fort Lee to warn the Americans of the impending attack. This warning provided just enough time for the American troops to make a hasty evacuation westward towards Hackensack to join the rest of Washington’s troops. If that anonymous Closter farmer had not warned the Americans, Fort Lee would have easily been captured by the larger British Army and the American Revolution would have ended that day. This anonymous Closter horseman is the “Paul Revere” of New Jersey and his image is on the Closter Borough seal. The decision to retreat was also strategically decisive as it bought precious time for the American army to regroup and play cat and mouse with the British.
When they finally arrived at Fort Lee, the British were pleased to find it abandoned and fully stocked. They captured 12 drunk American soldiers who had remained behind, 50 cannons, ammunition, and 1,000 barrels of flour. This was the darkest hour of the American Revolution, yet had the American troops not suffered and endured through it, the war would have been over. Which ties nicely to my most inspiring cycling quote which comes from the book Romans. “We rejoice in our SUFFERINGS, knowing that SUFFERING produces ENDURANCE, and ENDURANCE produces CHARACTER, and CHARACTER produces HOPE, and HOPE does not disappoint.
MILE 17 / Piermont: Where Paper is Made
It’s a bridge so we must mention it. As you make the left-hand turn into Piermont, look to your left and you may get a glimpse of the red painted towers of the Sparkill Creek Drawbridge built in 1880. Chains lift the bridge when an operator turns a crank. It’s simple and functional, very much like a bicycle.
The Piermont aid station is a great place to view the new Tappan Zee Bridge off in the distance. The Tappan Zee Bridge is the second Hudson river crossing which you will cycle directly beneath during the race. It is worth mentioning because this new bridge has dedicated pedestrian and cycling lanes which are still being constructed. Piermont and nearby 9W are popular routes for local cyclists, and soon we will be able to cross the Hudson River and explore new routes and destinations like Tarrytown and Ossining.
Older local cyclists like myself will recall the giant Piermont Paper Mill which dominated the waterfront space. Today, it is replaced by rows of condos with art galleries, restaurants, shops, and of course Piermont Bike on the ground floor. The world’s first affordable cardboard box (the kind used for cereal, then and now) was invented in that paper mill. Locals were sad to see the mill demolished, and when demolition workers had a difficult time removing the giant flywheel, they were told to leave it. The flywheel can be seen prominently on display in the courtyard.
MILE 32 / Stony Point:
By July 16, 1779 George Washington’s Army had won few battles but managed to keep the British at a stalemate. The British has secured Stony Point with a perimeter of cannons. The approach was swampy and then escalated to steep and rocky. General Washington organized his best trained unit, the “Navy Seals” of back then, and used a midnight stealth sneak attack which was uncommon at the time. His men approached with bayonets affixed to their muskets. Their muskets were deliberately unloaded to prevent any misfires which would alert the British. Once in position, a second American unit located in the opposite direction, fired muskets and made noise as a diversionary tactic. In less than 30 minutes and with minimal loss of life and injuries, the Americans took control of Stony Point, only to abandon it within a few days. This was the first-time guerrilla warfare tactics were used by Americans and they proved to be successful.
Highly Recommended: Visit Stony Point Battlefield Historic Site (between Haverstraw and Bear Mountain) and experience their living history cannon and musket firings. Reenactments and a functional replica of the camp are open to the public between April and October.
MILE 40 / Bear Mountain base: From Prison to Park
In 1908, Bear Mountain was not a park yet, and New York State had decided to relocate Sing Sing Prison from across the Hudson in Ossining, NY to Bear
Mountain. Construction of the prison began on what is today the great field in front of where the Bear Mountain Inn stands today. Concerned about the prison and its location, the Harriman family agreed to give the state 10,000 acres of land to be used for a state park and one million dollars to administer it, as long as the prison building ceased. With this endowment, the Bear Mountain State Park was born.
MILE 41.5 Bear Mountain climb: More Forts? The Bridge marks the spot.
During the Revolutionary war, Fort Clinton was built at the base of Bear Mountain, and fort Montgomery was built about a 1/4 mile to the north. To block passage of the British navy up the Hudson River, the Americans stretched a 75-ton iron chain across the Hudson River. The chain was secured to floating logs with sharpened tips and the forts guarded the chain. The Bear Mountain Bridge marks the spot where the great chain once stood. The chain was effective, and more were stretched further north and fortified by West Point. Pay attention and you will see remnants of the chain preserved and displayed throughout the region.
MILE 43 Perkins Drive:
This scenic road to the summit of Bear Mountain was built almost entirely by manual labor between 1932-1934 and is named after George Perkins who served as the president of the PIPC for 20 years. This is where taking in the spectacular views can ease the pain as you climb to the top of Bear Mountain.
MILE 44 Bear Mountain Summit: See the entire racecourse from here!
At an elevation of 1283 feet, Bear Mountain is the most well-known peak of the lower Hudson Valley, as well as the highest point of the racecourse. After filling your water bottles and grabbing some food at the aid station, it is almost mandatory to appreciate the view looking south. If you are going for the win, a top ten finish, or have been here before, you can be excused not to stop. From the top of Bear Mountain, you have a complete aerial view of the entire racecourse below, complete with visual markers. Look directly south and you will see George Washington Bridge, the race start/finish. Then follow the mighty Hudson River, through Piermont, Haverstraw, all the way to the base of Bear Mountain. Slowly pan your head to the right and a tall radio tower clearly marks the summit of the Cheescote climb.
History is alive on the GFNY course and in the surrounding area. There are many historic sites to see along the route and to visit while exploring the GFNY area. If you are coming from outside the NYC area for the race, do what you can to soak in the history of the region, and how a nation and its industries were born along the mighty Hudson River.
NEW YORK CITY, December 15, 2020 – GFNY Ecuador closed out the 2020 GFNY Calendar with a successful COVID-Safe race on Sunday December 6.
The COVID-Safe route was touted as a tougher challenge – and it did not disappoint. As race day dawned, the weather was hotter than expected, resulting in a combination of searing heat and demanding hills that quickly turned the race into a survival of the strongest. The new start in Montecristi meant a brutal final climb to the finish line after 174km in the saddle.
Martin Lopez missed out on taking the title from defending Champion and seasoned professional rider Byron Guama in an exciting finish on the final climb back up to Montecristi. Guama edged out Lopez in a time of 4:39:16 by 24 seconds. Jorge Montenegro rounded up the men’s overall podium in 4:41:09
In the women’s race, last year’s runner up Daniela Andrade, blew apart the women’s field crossing the finish in 5:35:21. Gabriela Delgado was ten minutes back in 5:45:55 and Cecilia Vallejo third in 5:46:54.
Within three days, over 300 riders already registered for the third edition on August 22, 2020. With that, organizers expect a field of 2000 competitors.
About GFNY
GFNY is the global endurance sports brand with events held in NYC, Bali-Indonesia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Florida-USA, Italy, Jerusalem-Israel, Indonesia, Cozumel-Mexico, Monterrey-Mexico, Panama, Peru, Portugal, República Dominicana, Santa Fe-USA and Uruguay.
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 10th annual GFNY World Championship New York will be held on May 16, 2021. 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 official GFNY website is: www.gfny.com.
GFNY World calendar
7 March 2021 GFNY MONTERREY
14 March 2021 GFNY PUNTA DEL ESTE – SOUTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
21 March 2021 GFNY REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
28 March 2021 GFNY ITALIA – EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
9 April 2021 GFNY JERUSALEM – MIDDLE EAST – AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
18 April 2021 GFNY PERU
2 May 2021 GFNY PANAMA
2 May 2021 GFNY MAZATLAN
16 May 2021 GFNY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP NYC
4 July 2021 GFNY COSTA RICA
22 August 2021 GFNY ECUADOR
29 August 2021 GFNY ALPES VAUJANY
19 September 2021 GFNY SANTA FE
3 October 2021 GFNY BALI – ASIA CHAMPIONSHP
31 October 2021 GFNY FLORIDA
7 November 2021 GFNY COZUMEL
14 November 2021 GFNY CHILE
5 December 2021 GFNY URUGUAY COLONIA
TBD GFNY ARGENTINA
TBD GFNY PORTUGAL
TBD GFNY COLOMBIA
TBD GFNY QUITO
Further Material for Media Use
GFNY Ecuador photos: here
GFNY World calendar graphic: here
Previous GFNY press releases: here
Media Contact
Gran Fondo New York Inc.
The cold wind is cutting through my skull like a knife. I have to open and close my mouth like a fish, otherwise I fear my face will freeze up. It’s the same feeling as when you eat an icecream too fast. I’ve just reached the top of Croix de Fer and is now head diving back the way I came up. Going almost 80 km/h on wet roads in close to 0 degrees.
Behind me my two companions have opened a gap between us. Safety first. A reasonable decision considering the weather conditions.
I keep a tight grip around the drops, hoping that I have some movement left in my frozen fingers when I need to brake in a minute or two. The first hairpin approaches, luckily I have disc brakes on my Canyon Aeroad. Pew, I’m in luck. The fingers works! I survive the first corner and accelerates out of it just to keep my legs alive and get some warmth back in the upper body. My companions are more cautious going through the corner, so I push a little harder. Can I get away on the descent? Is that too crazy? “Don’t be reckless” Uli, the founder of GFNY, said, when we talked about the weather forecast the other day. Guess this borders to being reckless? My girlfriend would definitely think so.
Happy camper
Luckily, the weather have been perfect all week leading up to the virgin edition of GFNY Alpes Vaujany. I have participated in the GFNY Camp as preparation to the race. As part of the camp you get a week of specialized training for the special challenges of the race. In this case, you get used to climbing and descending. If you go to the GFNY Italy camp, you train gravel riding.
The camp starts a week before the race is based in Vaujany, just as the Gran Fondo. Vaujany is situated a third of the way up Col du Sabot, a mean climb that averages around 10% and the 5 km up to Vaujany are merciless.
This years camp have been what you call boutique, because of the COVID-19 situation. GFNY usually try to make the camp small with around 20-30 people, so they have time to talk to everyone. But with participants from mainly overseas nations like the US and a lot of european cancellations, this years GFNY Alpes camp have only 5 participants, almost as many as the number of GFNY guides. So they got us covered pretty good. The level is broad, just from the beginner who just bought his first bike and have never ridden in mountains, to the matured Gran Fondo-rider who travel the world each year.
The program for the camp bring us around the Romanche-valley and naboring mountain passes, with expeditions to Alpe d’Huez, Col du Galibier, Col du Sabot and route recon on Croix de Fer. The daily program is adjusted according to weather and the longest rides are early in the week, so that everyone will be fresh on sunday. Luckily, the weather have been perfect with little to no wind and temperatures in the middle of the twenties the entire week. But that’s about to change for the weekend. Sitting in the sun overlooking the Mont Blanc and Col du Glandon on top of Col du Sabot, race director Cedric Haas states “C’est l’Apocalypse” in a dry and dark matter, when we talk about the weather for the weekend.
And the apocalypse is for sure what the weather forecast is promising! Rain from friday to sunday with something that looks like a seven hour long thunderstorm on Saturday. Luckily, sunday looks like the best of the three days.
The GFNY-organisation have been working over time all week. Only half the staff could make it to the race so it’s all hands on deck. The bad weather forecast is a slap in the face to everyone in this crazy year and you can see the fatigue in their eyes. We enjoy the last day with sun and mentally I start preparing for the apocalypse on sunday.
Saturday its pourring down all day. I spend the day in bed, except for the half an hour where I sit in the sauna at the spa in Hotel V de Vaujany. It have a big panorama window overlooking the valley and the thunderstorms. In the television the pros are crashing around Nice on the first stage of the Tour de France. What a warmup for a rainy Gran Fondo in the mountains. If the pros can’t even stay upright, how about all of us amateurs? At least it’s been raining for two days now, so the slippery gu on the roads have been washed off.
In the afternoon there’s a stop in the rain. It’s my chance! I get dressed and hurry out on the bike. Just a quick opener. Down to Bourg d’Oisans and back up to Vaujany. The roads are empty. Only me and the low hanging clouds. The roads are wet but not slippery, thank god. It’s nice to get a feel of the grip before tomorrow and the conditions aren’t as bad as I expected. I even putted on too much clothes. But that’s the big question right? When riding through the apocalypse, do you wan’t to be boiling on the ascent or freezing on the descent? I still got time to decide.
Raceday
It’s raceday! Finally. The route was changed last night. GFNY have decided to drop the descent to Maurienne and ascent of Col du Glandon, which means the Gran Fondo is now only 60 kilometers to the top of Croix de Fer and back again. And furthermore, the start have been moved to ten instead of eight. The weather conditions was simply too extreme for the organizers to send people out on a 110 kilometer Alpe marathon in rain and close to 0 degrees.
Wise decisions if you ask me. Looking out the window at seven o’clock the changes makes the race more digestable mentally. Now it’s just a race to the top and back. Only one long and cold descent. It also solves the dilemma of what to wear. I’ve decided to go with bibs and no leg warmers. A Gabba-kind-of jersey, arm warmers and the GFNY Alpes Vaujany-jersey as my outer layer. And VeloToze of course.
The GFNY-jersey is nice, with two extra pockets on the side. Perfect for reaching for a gel and getting rid of trash in rainy and cold conditions, with cold fingers.
Half an hour before the start I get into the start grit. I have an old rain jacket I brought to France just in case. Pulled it out of the box with retired cycling clothes. It’s handy now, keeping me warm and dry before the start. Looking around I see a lot of rain jackets and umbrellas. People are freezing but not me. I don’t know if its the excitement or all the koffein. I sure hope it’s not because I have overdressed. In this weather you either die from overcooking on the ascent or freeze to death on the descent. I fear for the latter, coming from a flat country, descending in rain and cold isn’t that appealing. I push the fear away and focus on the challenges ahead. First thing is to get to the bottom of the Vaujany-climb behind the master car without too much drama.
I’m at the front of the startgrid so I don’t have to fight for positions on the first, short descent. At my side I have the GFNY SoMe manager Mathias van Aken and my roommate from Italy, Zacchi. Both of them points out some very strong belgian and Italian guys, that sure look like real bikeriders. You know, men that look like boys with thin hips and shoulders, sticks for arms and huge legs. Theres trouble in the air.
3, 2, 1, start!
There goes the start! Behind the race car down the slopes of Col du Sabot. The roads are like yesterday, wet but not slippery. Theres respect in the peloton so no one tries to get in a better position and we get to the bottom without the soundtrack of carbon hitting the tarmac. Only the evergreen with whining disc brakes is being played.
Cedric Haas, the race director, gets up through the sunroof of the car and waves the flag. Depart réel and the race is on. Immediately the pace is turned up and we go 40 km/h before the climb really begins. And then BAM! Somebody threw a handgranate into the peloton. The Italians are on the war path and attacks from the front. There are several casualties and I’m afraid to look at my watts. The gunfire keeps hitting the front group but suddenly there’s a ceasefire. I look around and there’s around twenty guys left in the front. Have their gunpowder gone wet? The pace is still high, but not merciless high. My heartrate drops a bit as we go through the village on the first fourth of the climb to the iron cross and we hit the first small descent. And then bam, again! The ceasefire is over and now they are using bazookas. We hit a steep ramp with over 14% and the front group is split to pieces. Me and som other guys are left bleeding in the trenches by the madmen who have gone up the road.
I haven’t exploded but I could’t follow the pace either. My roommate is also here and together we find a good rhythm. The others who tried to surge and follow the hard hitters have all blown up and are scattered across the road in front of us. Zig-zagging to stay upright, they only see the backs of us.
Approaching the damm we have caught an Ecuadorian guy from Germany. He seems fit and is still going well. We pass the turnaround for the Medio Fondo where the climb flattens a bit. We ride on the big chainring and the pace is high. Maybe we can catch the front after all? But no, all hope is lost shortly after the cottage and the left turn to Col du Glandon. A rider is approaching. It’s the raceleader, already descending. Solo of the front. And we still got three kilometers to go before the turnaround point. And just before we cross the bridge two kilometers from the top, we meet the chase group. I try to count the numbers of guys coming down the mountain and it seems like we are still racing for a spot in the top 10.
Don’t be reckless
The rest of Croix de Fer is rather uneventful and we reach the turnaround together and start the cold and long descent. Some concerns had been raised on the GFNY Alpes Vaujany Facebook- page last night. Pictures showing debris on the road and others were concerned with the new route, that now would have riders going up and down at the same time. But as Uli rightfully replied, people are more aware and carefull in bad weather conditions. And the GFNY- organisation have been removing all debris. Despite all concerns I fell super safe. There’s a motorbike following us and at every challenging corner there’s a marshall with a flag and whistle. We passes a lot of riders still ascending and everyone is staying in their own lane.
And then we are back at the beginning of this story. The deep dive down Croix de Fer in two degrees celcius, drenched in rain. I’m freezing cold. I’m 100% focused on the road ahead. In my head I keep repeating Uli’s words of wisdom: “Don’t be reckless, don’t be reckless”. We get to the hairpins halfway down and the marshall signals to us that there’s three more coming up.
I notice through the corners that I go faster than my two companions, so I push the pace a little harder and manage to create a gap. On the last third of the descent the roads are straight with good visibility. I pedal to get my legs going again before the tough climb back to Vaujany. I go really fast and manage to make a gap of around 10-20 seconds to the others. Perfect!
On the climb I have time to find a rhythm before I’m caught. Our trio is now a fourmann group. A young guy on a Specialized Tarmac have gone insanely fast on the descent and caught us. He immediately try to attack but without getting away. After his third attempt he reckons, that he won’t be getting away from us. Instead we climb in a reasonable pace. I’m sitting at the back and have time to take off my arm warmers and gloves. Short/short for the finale just like in a real race.
The climb only flattens for a short while in Vaujany. The Specialized-guy sees the moment and attacks with my roommate in his wheel. The finishline is placed around a tricky corner where the road narrows. My legs is too cold to sprint so I finish last in our little group. But I’m content. The entire race is done in two hours and nineteen minutes which is fast enough for me to be 15th overall. An amazing result.
Here comes the sun
After the finishline, everyone is handed their GFNY Alpes Vaujany-medal and a rather delicious postrace meal consisting of pasta with tunafish and a loaf of bread.
And while I’m standing there, on the square of Vaujany, the sun breaks out.
GFNY can definitely be proud of their new pearl in the necklace. Against all odds the whole organisation have made a tour de force and created a great event. Despite of COVID-19, bad weather and a last minute change to the route. I’m full of awe for Uli and Lidia Fluhme, and Cedric Haas, whom I’ve witnessed working really hard all week to make GFNY Alpes Vaujany happen in a year, where almost every Gran Fondo have been cancelled. It’s easy to see, that these guys are driven by passion and love to cycling. It would have been so easy to cancel the race, but their passion was strong enough to carry the event despite monumental adversity.
And just as the sun shines on the last participants to finish, the future for GFNY Alpes Vaujany looks bright. With a date late in august when the season is almost over in the Romanche-valley, the participants get to enjoy the quietness and tranquillity of the Alps. The route is manageable, even if it’s your first time doing a Gran Fondo or riding in the Alps. Or if you are looking for something different than La Marmotte.
Cedric Haas takes a deep breath after the award ceremony. They made it. It’s over, the sun is shining. The award ceremony haven’t been announced anywhere. Due to COVID, it’s only the three fastest guys and girls invited with their travel companions. I’ve crashed the party.
Next year the race will be back. GFNY have made a three-year deal with the city of Vaujany, so the future is secured. It’s easy to fall in love with GFNY. The races have a lot of loyal participants who travel the world to experience the different races and countries. And after a week in the great company of the GFNY-family I really understand why. The GFNY-camp with Uli, Lidia and the GFNY guides have sure been a week to remember and have awakened my appetite for more experiences.
The sun sure shines on a bright future for GFNY Alpes Vaujany.
Welcome to GFNY GRUPPO, a channel made to bring to you all the news about the GFNY world.
Bienvenidos a GFNY GRUPPO, un canal para mostrarles todo el mundo de GFNY.
GFNY Coach Christian explains base training in this week’s Training Guide.
Nothing is as fundamental to performance in cycling as building the proper base of endurance work. It is not flashy or exciting, and increasingly amateur athletes try to push it aside to up the intensity and cheat the grind. “Sweet Spot” training is sold as a time-cutting alternative to base training, high-intensity workouts are given fancy names based on results that may or may not exist, and free training plans ask you to flog yourself doing intervals every day.
This move to replacing base training with more and more high intensity is not grounded in science, nor is it a practice followed by top-level athletes. Training volume and time spent at low intensity is shown again and again in research to be key. Pro athletes continue to spend many hours at low intensities. And new research shows that even in time-limited individuals, an approach based around low-intensity training often gives the best results.
Before we continue, I am going to quickly explain some of the terms we will use below.
Low-intensity Training is used to describe training below the first lactate threshold. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry: it’s below around 80% of max heart rate or 75-80% of threshold power.
High-Intensity Training is used to describe training above the second lactate threshold. That means at or over your FTP if you’re using wattage, or above 88% of max heart rate if you’re training with heart rate.
Moderate-Intensity Training is the space in between low and high intensity. It’s also referred to in the research we’ll be citing as threshold training, since it falls between the two lactate thresholds.
We have a lot of strong evidence that the best athletes in cycling and across the world of endurance sports spend the majority of their training time in the low-intensity domain that we mentioned earlier.
This four-year retrospective analysis of 30 professional cyclists (20 male, 10 female) shows that they spent the majority of their training time in zone 1 and 2 (which corresponds to the low intensity zone) when measured by power.
One of the most well-known researchers into training intensity distribution is Dr. Stephen Seiler, who’s done noteworthy research into the training habits of elite athletes. In this review, he concludes the following:
“Endurance athletes appear to self-organize toward a high-volume training approach with careful application of high-intensity training incorporated throughout the training cycle. Training intensification studies performed on already well-trained athletes do not provide any convincing evidence that a greater emphasis on high-intensity interval training in this highly trained athlete population gives long-term performance gains. The predominance of low-intensity, long-duration training, in combination with fewer, highly intensive bouts may be complementary in terms of optimizing adaptive signaling and technical mastery at an acceptable level of stress.”
A similar review found the same among endurance athletes from various sports, including cycling.
The picture we get from all this research is that the world’s best cyclists and endurance athletes seem to base their training on accruing long, low intensity miles. Training in the moderate and high intensity zones is also important, but only in the right doses and on top of a large base of endurance training.
Top-level cyclists spend a lot of hours on the bike training at low intensity.
Typically, when athletes are presented with this argument they fall back on the same argument: that while this approach works for professional athletes, it won’t work for time-limited amateurs.
“But that approach only works for athletes who have all day to train,” they say. “That would never work for someone with a real job and a family.”
Fortunately, we have plenty of evidence that even in time-limited groups, this approach can work.
This study is one that shows exactly that. Two different training approaches were compared: a ‘polarized’ approach where 80% of training was done at low-intensity, and 20% of training was done at high intensity. There was essentially zero mid intensity training. The other group trained a nearly 50/50 split of low-intensity and mid-intensity.
Despite only training roughly seven hours per week, the ‘polarized’ group performed better than the ‘threshold’ group. This shows that even if you’re pressed for time, making the majority of your training low-intensity will give the best results. Especially when combined with small but effective doses of high intensity.
Another study found similar results in time-limited runners training less than 4 hours per week.
From these studies, we can conclude that spending the majority of your time on aerobic training, coupled with focused high-intensity work, is beneficial even for athletes who are very time limited.
Also, since we know this works for full-time athletes, and we know it works for very time limited athletes, it’s easy to conclude it will also work for moderately time-limited athletes that make up the middle ground (athletes who spend somewhere in the 10-14 hour per week range training, a group that likely includes a large portion of GFNY competitors).
GFNY racecourses sometimes run along the beach and sometimes climb high in the Alps. They may demand different abilities from the competitors, but all require a solid aerobic base.
I hope that by this point, you’re convinced that you need to start focusing on keeping more of your training to a low intensity. So now I’m going to start giving you some practical take-aways to apply this to your own training.
Maximize Low-Intensity Time: Now I’m just re-hashing the points made above. To be a successful endurance athlete, spend plenty of time doing aerobic training. Being time limited isn’t an excuse! Even if you’ve got seven hours to give to aerobic training, put in those seven hours.
Low Intensity does not mean easy: For type-A endurance athletes, the big mental hang up they have with training this way is that they assume it is too easy. But low intensity is a relative term. It simply means that you are not starting rides full-gas and then dying, and you aren’t racing up every hill. If you go out and ride four or five hours at 75% of your maximum heart rate, you certainly won’t think you did an easy ride.
Your long ride is sacred: Most time-limited athletes only have one day a week they can get in a long ride. Get this ride in as consistently as possible throughout the year. If possible, try to keep this ride three hours or longer year-round, working out to at least 80% of the length of your goal race in the build-up to the event.
Apply a new focus to your intensity training: A lot of athletes who are doing too much intensity training tend to coast through it. When we work on redistributing their training intensity, they find they can go much harder during their intense workout.
Plan Middle and High Intensity Training by your goals: No matter what kind of race you have as a goal, you need to be doing your endurance miles. But for your higher-intensity training, you should plan around your goal races. For example, if you’re training for a mountainous race like GFNY Vaujany, focus on efforts specific to long climbs: low-cadence efforts done at moderate intensity, and long efforts done in the bottom end of your high-intensity zone. You only need to train short efforts or sprints on occasion since they are not specific to your goal race.
On the other hand, for a race like GFNY NYC you may want to prioritize some shorter, explosive efforts for the short-and-steep climbs that are all over the course. For GFNY Cozumel you may want to spend a lot of time training your sprint, since the result will almost always be decided from a sprint, be it from a small group or a large peloton.
Check out a case study: We recently wrote a case study on an athlete coached by GFNY Head Coach Christian Parrett, where we detailed how he was able to improve from one edition of GFNY Colombia to the next. Many of the concepts in this article were applied to his training, so read the case study for a practical example of how these ideas can help you.
Welcome to GFNY GRUPPO, a channel made to bring to you all the news about the GFNY world.
Bienvenidos a GFNY GRUPPO, un canal para mostrarles todo el mundo de GFNY.
