Tennessee mountains welcomed 1,200 riders for the Gran Fondo Hincapie-Chattanooga this past weekend
Participants persevered in wet conditions throughout the two-day Gran Fondo and family fun festival weekend
Gran Fondo Hincapie has created spectacular cycling experiences for over 12 years and its Chattanooga, Tenn. event, now in its seventh-consecutive year, took place this past weekend. Rainy weather didn’t stop over 1,200 riders, aged seven to 84, residing from 30 states and three countries, from riding the challenging yet breathtaking course from downtown Chattanooga, up and over Suck Creek, through Sequatchie Valley, and along the breathtaking Tennessee River.
Since its inception in 2018, Gran Fondo Hincapie-Chattanooga has captivated riders of all skill levels with its unique blend of challenging routes, stunning landscapes, and friendly cyclists. Hincapie Gran Fondo events are acclaimed for the cycling celebrities in attendance, as well as the careful attention to safety, on-site viewing screens, course and segment timing, live tracking and streaming, live bands at the rest stops, and free family festival post-ride. This year was no exception.
“It was excellent. The rain is what it is, but the sun ended up coming out and then we had a party all day!”, said a Hincapie Gran participant who has attended Hincapie events for the past several years. “You become part of the family and get to know the true Hincapie family, they adopt you, and it’s always a good reunion. I have done other Fondos and triathlons, but these [Hincapie] Fondos are as big a scale with the swag, the confetti, the music, the food, the number of people, and the sheer volume - it’s just as high ranking as any other large scale event you can go to, it’s premier.”
Hosted by former professional road cyclist and Olympian, George Hincapie, and the Hincapie family, participants included former pros such as Bobby Julich and Christian Vande Velde, weekend warriors, and first-time riders alike. There were approximately 300 Tennessee locals, including former World TT Champion and Olympian Kent Bostick who won the 70+ age group, despite double-flatting.
After conquering the Gran Fondo Hincapie course, participants were replenished with an array of delectable food expertly crafted by Chef Biju Thomas, host of “The Road Less Eaten” on Outside TV and co-founder of the sports nutrition company Skratch Labs, at the free family fun festival.
Cyclists choose to ride the paved roads of Chattanooga on Saturday, Sunday, or both days, with each day offering multiple distance options - a shorter 10-mile Piccolo, a mid-length 57-mile Medio, or a longer 79-mile Gran ride. New for this year, Gran Fondo Hincapie-Chattanooga introduced Timed Speed Zones along select marked course sections. Designed to challenge riders and showcase their speed and skill, these timed segments allowed participants to push their limits and vie for top honors in a friendly competition.
Enzo Hincapie (age 15, Greensville, S.C.) took home first place in the Gran Men’s category, completing 79-miles and 5,600 feet of elevation gain, with a time of 3:14:49. Enzo also won the KOM challenge, by completing the Suck Creek and Sequatchie climbs the fastest of the field, and the Speed Zone Timed challenge, which combines ride times from the Sequatchie Valley and Tennessee River segments. In second, Noah Johnson (age 17, McDonald, Tenn.) was right on his back wheel finishing in 3:14:53, followed by Bruce Bird (age 55, Scarborough, Ontario) in third with a time of 3:14:57.
In the women’s Gran category, Sarah Schuetter (age 35, Evansville, Ind.) finished with a time of 3:46:46, also winning the QOM challenge. Julie Voss (age 37, Knoxville, Tenn.) took second with a time of 3:55:45, and rounding out the top three was Jacqueline Green (age 41, Huntsville, Ala.) with a time of 4:05:58.
View all of the Hincapie Gran Fondo-Chattanooga results here.
The Chattanooga event is just one of Gran Fondo Hincapie’s six world-class events, the next will take place in Lehigh Valley, Pa. (May 31- June 1) followed by an event in Bangor, Maine (June 21-22). This year, Gran Fondo Hincapie is launching a new event in Bentonville, Ark. that will take place Sept. 7-8. The final event of the 2024 year will take place in Greenville, S.C. (Oct. 18-19), where the Gran Fondo Hincapie events all started back in 2013. The Merced, Calif. event took place earlier this year in mid-March (view 2024 results here).
Chef Biju hasn’t wrapped up his Hincapie season yet. He’ll also be gracing participants at the newest Hincapie event this September in his hometown of Bentonville. “For Bentonville, I’m helping coordinate all of the restaurants and chefs involved. We have so many talented chefs and people, literally folks with their own farms right within the general county who then bring that and make us food. People coming to Bentonville are in for a treat. People don’t think of Arkansas when they think of food, culture, or cycling, but I’m telling you, you will have your minds blown, it’s incredible.”
Registration is now open for all 2024 events, including the newest event location in Bentonville. Link to register here or click the button below.
To learn more about Gran Fondo Hincapie please visit https://hincapie.com
About Hincapie
Cycling is our life. It’s what we know, and it’s who we are. But we are not a bike company. We’re a people-who-ride-bikes company. We are cyclists, and we are makers. We are master craftsmen of custom-made, high-performance cycling apparel. Our team is our family. Not only do we design our cycling apparel, but we also make it in our family-run factory. We also create and run upscale cycling events. We have a restaurant and hotel that hosts visiting cyclists from all over the world. We manage a spring series of races. Cycling inspires everything we do, and every day we work even harder to improve the sport, make it more accessible to others and build a strong community for future cyclists. Join us on our journey.
