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Gran Fondo New York Moves Finish Line to Fort Lee

Declaring Fort Lee "the cycling capital of America," organizers of the Campagnolo Gran Fondo New York competition celebrated the borough's growing prominence in the cycling world recently by cutting the ribbon on the race's new finish line on Hudson Terrace.

The fifth annual Gran Fondo New York (GFNY), an international event that attracts 5,000 participants and 10,000 spectators from more than 70 countries, will end next to the popular Strictly Bicycles shop in Fort Lee this weekend on May 17th after several years of finishing in Weehawken and last year, at Ross Dock. The awards ceremony and other closing festivities will be held in Palisades Interstate Park about 200 meters away.

Organizer of the Campagnolo Gran Fondo New York bike race Lidi Fluhme with Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and other municipal leaders at a ribbon cutting ceremony in Fort Lee on April 30 where it was officially announced that the 100-mile race will end in Fort Lee this year. "We'd been looking for a venue that is really in line with the event and I feel this being in the heart of Fort Lee really brings the community aspect into it and makes it easier for families to get to see their cyclists," said Lidia Fluhme, GFNY's co-founder and co-organizer.

"Three years ago, the location served as the backdrop to the Ironman U.S. Championship triathlon and, while that event has since been discontinued, GFNY intends to come back year after year", said Fluhme.

GFNY is locally based and regularly holds group rides on Sundays that begin at Strictly Bicycles and go along the competition's 100-mile course.

"We live here. We breathe this race," said Fluhme, an avid cyclist herself who along with her husband, Ulrich, made it a mission in 2010 to bring Italian-style cycling to the New York region and promote the sport in the U.S.

The GFNY has since grown into the one of the five largest competitive cycling events in the world and proved to be an economic boon to the towns hosting it - with last year's race generating more than $2 million in hotel bookings and spending on dining and shopping.

"Business on a day-to-day basis is one thing but being the centerpiece for a global event is pretty cool," said Margaret Maclay, Executive Director of the Fort Lee Regional Chamber of Commerce. "I think the riders will experience some of the local businesses now that they're here and close enough."

Approximately 100 volunteers affiliated with the chamber are expected to help out with the race, which Mayor Mark Sokolich called a "fantastic" excuse for "thousands of folks to get together, especially for a healthy cause."

"I don't think a community can be happier and have more pride than when it's the host community to this kind of an event," he said. "We hope this is the beginning of many, many more to come."