Written by Willem Sipkema from Wieler Revue.

Tibor Del Grosso became world champion cyclo-cross this winter, but what about his win in The Big Apple last year?

The Gran Fondo New York has existed for quite some time now, but since last year it is also a pro race. Wieler Revue will travel to the Gran Premio New York next year and so we are curious about the experiences of the winner of the very first edition: Tibor del Grosso. The 21 years-old Dutchman has made some nice memories on the other side of the pond!

Willem Sipkema

Tibor del Grosso: “We asked ourselves within the team: who is going to New York in the middle of the season? Of course it’s cool to go there once, but you are four days away with two jetlags. But I am very happy that I could go. It is a cool experience to be able to race in America. It was also the first time for me. I’ve never raced outside of Europe anyway, so it was an interesting one for that reason as well.”

‘It was cold at the start!’

“Starting on the George Washington Bridge was quite the experience. Since we started early in the morning, it was still terribly cold. The start was at 7 a.m., so we had to get on that bridge at a quarter past 6. So there we were. 60 meters above the water of the Hudson River, in the wind. I did catch a huge cold there at the time.”

“Fortunately after the start it was full gas right away so I quickly got warm again. A shorter course, but I like that. The course was very nice on paper with two tougher climbs halfway through the race. The first 15 kilometers we rode on a kind of park road which was nice. At every intersection there is a police officer directing traffic. Sometimes there is a car in the inside corner, but the peloton quickly learned that you shouldn’t take blind corners too sharply. It’s different racing than in Europe.”

Highlights of Manhattan

“On the second climb, three guys rode away and at the top I jumped in after them. So we came half way through the race with four men in front and we were working well together. We had quite a big gap and the peloton also rode wrong. They were already more than a minute behind, but that gave us some extra space. There were two guys from Lotto with us, so I had to be careful they didn’t take turns attacking. I knew I was the fastest in the sprint and then I won it comfortably.”

Del Grosso wouldn’t mind coming back this year, but his 2025 program is still not completely clear. “It was a really fun trip with the staff. The race was over by 10:30 in the morning so after that we had a nice time checking out the highlights of Manhattan.”

Looking for a challenging cycling goal for 2025? You can also bike the GFNY New York City yourself! Then circle May 18 in your calendar with a red pen. For more information, visit nyc.gfny.com.