Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo Qualifier for UCI and USA Cycling Championships
The Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo takes place on Saturday, May 14th and Sunday, May 15th in Jacksonville, AL. LIMITED places left so register NOW!
For the 5th year, the 100 mile century and the 12.5 mile time trial will be qualifiers for the 2022 UCI Gran Fondo and Time Trial World Championships that will take place in Trento, Italy from 15th to 18th September 2022.
The Time Trial
The event hosts a 12.5 mile Individual Time Trial on Saturday May 14th that allows riders to qualify for the UCI World Time Trial Championship held in conjunction with the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships.
The Cheaha Challenge is well established, but many have not experienced the Cheaha Challenge Time Trial. This is a great way to experience the thrills of a bike race and coming off the start ramp to start the time trial that runs from Piedmont all the way back to the Pete Matthews Center along the Chief Ladiga Trail. This effort is a great way to get your legs opened up for the following day, but it does not take too much out of you. You don't need a fancy time trial bike, or gear to participate. Just bring yourself and your bike, and we will bring the clock to time you so that you can set your benchmark this year and beat it in future years!
Sign up for this event is pre-registration only, so you can access it at the same link as the ride registration.
The Century Ride
For the 5th year, the 100 mile century ride will be qualifier for the 2022 UCI Gran Fondo Championships, only the century riders are eligible, and your age group is determined by your age on 12/31/22.
The first three in each age category and the top 25% of each age category will be awarded with guaranteed entry to the UCI Gran Fondo World. Note: If there are three in your age group who start the race– everybody qualifies! If there are four who start the race, the top three qualify. If there are 100 in your age group who start the race, 25 will qualify. Go to the following link for all of the UCI qualification rules.
The Century Route
The Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo begins and ends in Jacksonville, AL. The challenge of this ride is that the participants encounter more than 9,700 feet of cumulative climbing for the 100 mile route.
The course goes up and over Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in the state, the TOP OF ALABAMA!
The 100 mile route, as well as the 84 and 126 mile ULTRA takes riders through scenic Cheaha State Park, Alabama’s oldest continually-operating state park that is surrounded by the Talladega National Forest in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, affording breath-taking vistas of the beautiful mountains and valleys in this foothills region. The area is a recreational wonderland with multitudes of hiking trails, gravel routes, and mountain bike paths.
The course is out-and-back and takes cyclists over Cheaha Mountain, Alabama's highest point at 2,407 feet, and home of Cheaha State Park. Given that the route is out-and-back, cyclists also have a lot of FAST downhill too!
The century ride includes 10 rest stops throughout to keep you fed and hydrated (13 for the ULTRA).
The 100 mile route features the climbs of White’s Gap, Heflin Mountain, Horseblock Mountain, Not Again, Oh Shift! and the 3-Mile Climb to Bunker Tower in Cheaha State Park, the TOP OF ALABAMA KOM/QOM timed section (total of 3 KOM/QOM timed sections on the ULTRA route). The route continues with the climb of Adam’s Gap and turns around for the second climb of Bunker Tower and traces the route back to Jacksonville.
Awards are available for the KOM/QOM section, and for the 1st/2nd/3rd Place Overall Winners (Male/Female) for the Cheaha Challenge century distance. Overall and Age Group winners of the century distance will be awarded UCI medals, and 1st place winners will receive UCI jerseys.
The CCC+ is famous for being extremely well organized and supported by local volunteers and businesses.
USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships
The Cheaha Challenge is excited to partner with the SUAREZ Gran Fondo National Series again in 2022.
There are series points up for grabs riding the 100-mile century route. Athletes who participate can qualify for the 2022 USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships event in Asheville, North Carolina on July 17, 2022.
Scoring for Qualification and Series points at Cheaha Challenge will be determined by adding each riders’ overall Start-to-Finish time with their segment-times. NOTE: for Series Points earned in Age-group, scoring will be matched to GFNS age-groups and may not follow the same primary age-groupings used at Cheaha Challenge.
Specificity calculation for GFNS Gran, Medio, and Piccolo placement and points will be calculated in the following way:
Gran Route = Cheaha Century and ULTRA Route (Start-to-Finish time) + (3 Mile Climb segment time) + (Adam’s Gap segment time) = (competitive time for GFNS Gran Route placement and points)
Medio Route = Cheaha 84mi Route (Start-to-Finish time) + (3 Mile Climb segment time) = (competitive time for GFNS Medio Route placement and points)
Piccolo Route = Cheaha 62mi Route (Start-to-Finish time) = (competitive time for GFNS Piccolo Route placement and points)
Register NOW to secure a PLACE!
For more information please visit: http://www.cheahachallenge.com or click the button below to register now!
