Giant Seorak Gran Fondo sees 50% growth in cyclotourism fans in South Korea

Over 4,600 participants took to the start line, testament to the rapid growth of road cycling in Asia

Now the biggest Gran Fondo in Asia with over 4,600 riders lining up at the start, this asserted the rapid growth of Gran Fondo cycling culture across Asia, making a new market in cyclotourism and adventure travelers searching for new far flung destinations.

A cloudy day avoiding the rain nulike last year, participants had the option of two distances: the 208 km Gran Fondo and the 104 km Medio Fondo with multiple feed zones provided by event partners.

The South Korean event was the first after preliminary online Zwift event in February, which enabled participants to prepare for the challenge, opening the door on the 2020 Virtual Gran Fondo World ® Championship on the Zwift platform, and allowing participants to prepare for the next edition of the Koren Gran Fondo in 2020.

It also allowed those who want to compete for the 2019 Gran Fondo World ® Championships, taking place at the Rollfast Gran Fondo in Indiana, USA, host of 2019 Gran Fondo World ® Championships.

Local cyclists, Song Joomi (women) and Cheon Sosan (men) were the winner. Joomi finishing in a amazing 13th place in the overal ranking, passing over more than 1,600 participants on the Gran Fondo course; an amazing result that shows the potential of Korean Cycling as a new contestant in the overall world tour ranking this year.

The Giant Gran Fondo Seorak offers one of the toughest challenges of the series, with a 208 km Gran Fondo taking in 5 mountain passes, 3 of them “hors category”.

This year more than 25 nationatilies were represented from 5 continents, explaining it's dominance as part of the Gran Fondo World ® Tour series.

The next edition is planned for the last weekend of May 2020, part of the 2020 Gran Fondo World  ® Championships.

For more information on the 2019 Gran Fondo World ® Championships, please visit: https://www.granfondoworldtour.com/en

VIDEO: Giant Seorak Gran Fondo Highlights