Maraton Franja BTC City brings 3,000 riders from 31 countries to Slovenia
With no less than three UCI Gran Fondo World Series events last weekend, the world series headed to Slovenia for the next race. Matec Groslej and Erika Jesenko took the top step on the podium
With over 3,000 riders from 31 different countries all over the world lining up for both races, the 2023 Maraton Franja BTC City promised to be another successful edition this year.
The Maraton Franja BTC City in Ljubljana is a mainstay event on the UCI calendar and boasts a rich history. It was first organized in 1982 and named after the Franja Hospital, a secret medical center where soldiers were treated during World War II. Over the course of the years, the Maraton became a major cycling event in Slovenia, while the number of international participants steadily grew as well. Since 2011, it has been part of the UCI Gran Fondo World Series.
The weekend started with a Family ride on Saturday, aimed at parents with younger children.
The Sunday race was the qualifying event for the 2023 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Glasgow. Participants raced on a loop of 157 km with 1,500 m of elevation (men 19-59 and women 19-49) or 100 km with 700 m of elevation (men 60+ and women 50+). Both courses started and finished in Ljubljana.
Riders in the long race faced two longer climbs. The first one started around the 27th km marker and wss about 4 km in length with an average gradient of 5%. Afterwards, the road continued to gently climb for some 20 km. At around km 80, riders had to tackle 10 km of climbing at an average gradient of over 8%, with some sections reaching well into double-digit percentages.
Meanwhile, participants in the 100 km race were presented with an 8 km climb starting around the 28th km marker, with an average gradient of about 5%. With these climbs in the legs, it was downhill all the way to the finish line, which is situated on a wide and straight road that allows for sprints.
In the 156km Gran Fondo, a local rider, 27 year-old former pro Matec Groslej won the sprint from a breakaway of six riders in a time of 3h 35m 49s, followed by Italian Igor Zanetti and Anthony Bilic of Croatia in third place in tightly contested sprint. Last year’s winner and former UCI Gran Fondo World Champion Matej Lovse finished in sixth place.
27 year-old Slovenian Erika Jesenko won the women’s Gran Fondo in a time of 3h 45m, Slovenian Lina Cepak finished second and Lucy Deschamps from the United Kingdom finished in third place.
Katrina Novak of Slovenia won the women's 97km Medio Fondo in a time of 2h 27m 57s and Italian Roberto Vidoni won the men's race in a time of 2h 20m.
Link to 2023 UCI Maraton Franja BTC City Gran Fondo Results: https://www.timingljubljana.si/rezultati.aspx?idTekme=5331&tip=B&disc=1M&embed=
