What does the future of gran fondo riding look like? What trends do we as CycloWorld see? What are we going to see more of? And what is not coming back?

Photo: Patrick Güller

1. More gran fondos

The number of gran fondos is steadily increasing every year. That also causes the popularity of the big names to decrease just a bit. Across the board, gran fondo riders are more popular than ever.

2. More and more semi-gran fondos

A semi-gran fondo is a gran fondo that does not quite meet the definition of a gran fondo. For example, there is a mass start, but no prize-giving ceremony. Or there is only timekeeping on certain segments. The semi-gran fondo is on the rise, in part because it requires fewer permits.

3. Micro events

Small-scale events up to 200 participants, with lots of service and experience. We see it more and more in the gravel world; we think these types of events will become more popular on the road as well.

4. More festival-style events

More and more organizers are going much further than just organizing a gran fondo. A complete festival is being rigged up, including gravel rides, kids race, performances and so on.

5. Increasing popularity of the UCI Gran Fondo World Series

An increasing number of riders and riders are very eager to ride the Worlds or non-pro's. The qualifying events are unprecedentedly popular as a result.