A Grand Ride for Cyclists: the Gran Fondo

Gran Fondo TaosWe hope you will join the Taos Sports Alliance for this year’s Gran Fondo: Taos • Mora • Angel Fire on July 5, 2014. Gran Fondo is a style of race, better known in France as a cyclosportive; a one-day, annual endurance event undertaken for pleasure or as a test of personal fortitude. The forerunner of them all is La Marmotte in south eastern France, held the same date as the Taos-based Fondo. La Marmotte’s course was first run in 1982 and is staged in some of the fabled alp climbs and descents of the Tour de France, cresting at over 8,500 feet in altitude.

Gran Fondo: Taos • Mora • Angel Fire is our Northern New Mexico take on this annual spirit-of-cycling event, and our beautiful course traverses some of the more pristine and beautiful northern New Mexican highlands through the Sangre de Cristos.

If you haven’t already registered to join the other 6,999 riders for the July 5 La Marmotte, you’re out of luck, so join the Taos Sports Alliance in Taos, New Mexico to ride a beautiful 105, 65, or 46 mile course, cresting at more than 9,000 feet in altitude.

Taos Sports Alliance Board Member and Fondo Organizer Pete French says “Come ride one of the most scenic high country routes in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of Northern New Mexico. It is a fun ride with three distances to choose from, miles of incredible scenery, blue sky, sunshine, although a little rain is always nice. Tough to beat!”

The course starts in Taos, follows Hwy 518 over US Hill, past Sipapu Ski Area, down Holman Hill and through the town of Mora. It continues on to Coyote Creek State Park, Black Lake and Angel Fire. Then it’s up and over Palo Flechado Pass and down into Taos.

The post-race party is at Taos Mesa Brewing, Northern New Mexico’s award-winning craft brewery, .

Proceeds from the event supports youth sports and recreation programs in Taos County. Taos Sports Alliance is a 501(c)3 non-profit.

START

7:00am (Mountain Time) on Saturday, July 5, 2014
105 mile / 65 mile / 46 mile routes
Start and Finish are at the Taos Youth & Family Center
407 Paseo del Cañon East
Taos, New Mexico 87571


REGISTRATION

GRAN FONDO 105 miles: $85
MEDIO FONDO 65 miles: $75
MICRO FONDO 46 miles: $30

Register at www.usacycling.com