Tibitanzl and Zakarin win the 2024 Skoda UCI Gran Fondo Cyprus
Hundreds of riders enjoyed the three-day cycling festival on super sunny and warm Cyprus over Easter
Photo: Skoda Cyprus Gran Fondo - Day 3 (Awards Ceremony) Credit: @nassostphoto
Ex-professional Russian cyclist Aidar Zakarin (INEX Club 1) was fastest overall for the men and German Laura Tibitanzl (Team Greybee) was fastest overall in the women’s category.
The cycling festival took place in the last weekend of March 2024 for the tenth consecutive year and provided the perfect opportunity for recreational riders to qualify for the World Gran Fondo Championships in brilliant weather. This year, a diverse contingent of 400 riders representing 40 nationalities has eagerly enrolled to partake in the race.
The festival brought passionate cyclists together, professional and amateurs riding shoulder to shoulder, to enjoy the amazing Cyprus terrain and have fun in a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. Starting every day next to the Mediterranean coast, participants climbed the nicest mountains of the island and passed through traditional rustic villages, enjoy beautiful weather and Cypriot culture, before returning back to accommodation in the best hotels in Paphos to celebrate every evening.
Photo: The event welcomed amateurs, ex-pros and recreational cyclists for good times and sunny vibes. Credit: @dcphotography.88
The time trial unfolded on Friday along a classic route—a circular course starting from Nikoklia town, traversing a 28km path to a midway turnaround point. The initial leg presented a gradual climb, while the latter part offered a predominantly downhill descent, culminating at the finish line.
Aidar was fastest on the opening day’s 28 km time trial beating compatriot Evgenii Tikhonin by just 9 seconds, with brother Ilnur Zakarin in third place nearly 2 minutes behind.
In the women’s time trial Laura Tibitanzl was fastest in a time of 42m 3s beating UK’s Naomi De Pennington by 5 seconds, with Isreali Diana Egerton-Warburton in third place.
Photo: The second stage started outside the historic confines of Paphos’s ancient castle. Credit: @nassostphoto
Zakarin went onto win Saturday's 103km Queen Stage which commenced from the historic confines of Paphos’s ancient castle, featuring a 15km neutralized preamble as first part of the hard 102km route, ascending to 860m elevation after 66km of racing.
Evgenii Tikhonin was in second place overall, having also placed second in Saturday's time trial alongside Dmitrii Puzanov. Ilnur Zakarin was third overall, finishing fourth on the day.
Photo: Participants were treated to beautiful weather and scrumptious food. Credit: @nassostphoto
In the women's race, Laura Tibitanzl claimed the top spot with Meredith Byrne, last year's overall winner, in second place and Rebecca Zauer in third position overall.
After finishing 2nd on the first two stages, Evgenii Tikhonin managed to win the 3rd and last stage of 2024 Skoda Cyprus Gran Fondo.
The final stage, though shorter at 59km, maintained its reputation for challenge and excitement. The latter half of the course introduced a formidable 12km climb, followed by a final ascent towards the finish line. Additionally, both Saturday and Sunday stages accommodated a Mediofondo distance, catering specifically to male cyclists over 60 and female cyclists over 50.
Tikhonin finished 2nd overall behind the back-to-back overall winner Aidar Zakarin. Third overall and 3rd at the last stage was brother Ilnur Zakarin.
In the women’s race Laura Tibitanzl was fastest for the third day in a row, claiming an easy win in front of last year's overall winner, Meredith Byrne, who finished 2nd overall. Rebecca Zauer was 3rd overall by finishing 4th on Sunday, behind well-known and accomplished local rider Constantina Georgiou who was recovering from a bad reaction from a Bee Sting a few weeks earlier.
In the team competition, Russian team INEX Club 3 (Zakarin Ilnur, Ivanou Miron, Egorov Ivan) took first place, with team TRAKTOR (Bushkov Andrei, Sivov Aleksandr, Grazhdankin Aleksandr) in second and local team Ride Easy Club 1 (Antoniou Andrianos, Agisilaou Agisilaos, Lisk Mark) in third place.
For the full results including age category winners and a list of UCI World championship qualifiers, please visit the 2024 Skoda UCI Gran Fondo Cyprus results: https://www.activatecyprus.com/gran-fondo-cyprus-results
The top 25% have qualified for the 2024 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Denmark!
The next round is the Istria Gran Fondo in Croatia starting April 12th 2024.