27 cyclists crowned 2024 USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Champions in Maryland
Over 800 cyclists took to the roads of Frederick, enjoying perfect weather and the thrill of competition at Gran Fondo Maryland with over 17 teams taking part too. Huge congratulations to all the riders, especially those who climbed onto the National Championships podium!
The 2024 USA Gran Fondo National Championships took place in Maryland on Sunday September 15th using four timed segments on the 97-mile Gran Fondo course. The timed sections included the famous climbs of Hamburg and Harp Hill.
The event had something for everyone, taking riders through several different state parks, municipal forests, protected watersheds, and the Catoctin Mountain National Park.
27 national champions were crowned including 15 year-old Julie Raydo of Virginia and 82 year-old Durward Higgins from Tennessee.
For the third year in a row, Andrew Knight (M45-49) of Marietta, GA was the fastest rider over the four timed segments, finishing in 1:03:38 to earn his third USA Gran Fondo National Championship. Jill Patterson (W40-44) from Arlington, VA was the fastest woman, finishing in 1:11:26 to win her second USA Gran Fondo National Championship title.
Married couple Hannah Gibson (W30-34) and Thomas Gibson (M34-39) of North Carolina both won their respective age categories, in a first for the series at the fourth annual USA Cycling Championships.
Support from Ourisman Automotive Group and a grant from the Michael Erin Busch Sports Fund through Maryland Sports Youth and Amateur Sports Grants Program though Maryland Sports Commission were instrumental in bringing the USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships back to Frederick, Maryland for 2024.
In the 61 mile Medio Fondo, Brendan O’Connor from Frederick was fastest for the men and Heather Shapiro from Washington DC was fastest for the women.
In the 28 mile Piccolo Fondo, Jamie Lewis from York was fastest for the men and Darci Miller from Boyds was fastest for the women.
Over 17 teams took part in the team competition, with Redshift Racing taking 1st place on the podium followed by Kelly Benefit Strategies in second and Total Civil Construction in third place.
2024 USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Champions
Category Name
M14-16 Bennett Rose
M17-18 Dillon Lee
M19-24 Henry Neff
M25-29 Konner Wisniewski
M30-34 Felipe Aros
M35-39 Thomas Gibson
M40-44 Owen Shott
M45-49 Andrew Knight
M50-54 Rail Huster
M55-59 Jay Gump
M60-64 Michael Price
M65-69 Jay Trojan
M70-74 Alan Lesage
M75-79 Mark Mccarthy
M80+ Durward Higgins
W14-16 Julie Raydo
W19-24 Kenna Preiffer
W30-34 Hannah Gibson
W35-39 Kai Luigend
W40-44 Jill Patterson
W45-49 Bridgett Widrig
W50-54 Shannon Scanlon
W55-59 Denise Esposito
W60-64 Beth Leasure-Hudson
W65-69 Gail Waldman
W70-74 Elizabeth Tyrell
W80+ Camilla Buchanan
2024 Gran Fondo Maryland Team Competition
1st - Redshift Racing (Alex Reichmann, Tyler Brendel and Clete Willems) 3:17:50.10
2nd - Kelly Benefit Strategies (Henry Neff, Todd Hesel, Aryeh Nirenberg) 3:24:49.65
3rd - Total Civil Construction (Michael Reidenbach, Camilo Lopez, Jill Patterson) 3:27:15.25
Gran Fondo Maryland has been part of the Gran Fondo National Series for 12 years. Over $5,000 of prizes were given out from Series sponsors at the Raffle afterwards.
The Gran Fondo National Series would like to thanks all their sponsors for making the fourth National Championships possible:
SUAREZ Clothing
Ourisman Automotive
Maryland Sports Commission
Capua Law
Wahoo Fitness Official
Hammer Nutrition
Industry Nine
Monocacy Brewing
Brewers Alley
Ride BMC
Ride with GPS
Garda Bike Hotel
Ride Shimano
Swiftwick Socks
Jittery Joes Coffee
Canecreek USAS
Underbuder
Hub Labels Inc
Link to 2024 USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championship results: https://www.granfondonationalseries.com/maryland-2024-results
About Gran Fondo National Series
Founded in 2012 by event director Reuben Kline, the Gran Fondo National Series is the largest and most competitive series of gran fondo cycling events in the United States. Gran Fondo National Series was the first series to implement timed-segment racing into US gran fondo events and has crowned Gran Fondo National Champions and Gran Fondo National Series Champions since 2012. Since 2020, Gran Fondo National Series has been the organizer of the official USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships.
For more infomation, please visit: granfondonationalseries.com