Gran Fondo Events

It is important to know that this type of event is aimed at both professionals and beginners, which allows all cycling fans to participate. During these groups, Group challenges will lead you to race against the clock, ensuring a very explosive atmosphere. If you plan to take part in a Gran Fondo, it is necessary to prepare yourself beforehand in order to live a day to your expectations. In fact, this is a long journey and your main challenge will be to combine speed and endurance. And if you’re a person at all competitive, the timing of your race will be your biggest opponent. In order to be able to perform at your next Gran Fondo, you will need to practice your bike climbs first, as you will encounter roads made up of slopes. The power with which you climb the road will allow you to distinguish yourself and follow the fastest cyclists. To get used to it, practice on trips where the difference in altitude is very important to improve your muscular endurance.

Speed is one of the main assets sought during a Gran Fondo. Your ability to accelerate will distinguish you from your competitors. In order to practice, it is suggested that you practice climbing intervals. Try to include periods of very high intensity intervals of 30 seconds and longer intervals of sustained effort of 3-8 minutes. This will allow your body to gradually get used to and improve its ability to provide long-term effort, as required by a Gran Fondo. Just make sure you recover well between each interval for a minimum of 1 to 3 minutes for the shortest and about 5 minutes for the longest. During this period, it is no longer time to try to improve your performance for the race. Just focus on maintaining your physical fitness and recovering as much as possible before D-Day.also note that it will be very important to continue cycling, but you will need to reduce your pace while maintaining your intensity level. Despite the fact that this is not an official competition, we bet you will want to show up at the event in your best light. And so it will be for all the cyclists who will be around you during this day. Our advice: on the eve of the event, spare your physical efforts! To provide a performance of which you will be proud, we suggest that you have a good rest and that you have plenty of energy before D-day. after all, this day promises to be one of the busiest, both physically and emotionally. As this is an endurance activity, frequent feeding throughout the day will give you the best possible energy dose. So don’t hesitate to bring you snacks that will be easy to eat when you feel the need, such as energy bars or others.

The second aspect you need to anticipate is hydration. Indeed, it is very important to stay hydrated during a Gran Fondo as you will spend a lot of energy. It is therefore recommended that you bring yourself a bottle of water that you can use throughout your physical effort. You won’t regret it!
On the other hand, it may be wise to drink electrolytes during such a cycling trip. After all, this is a multi-hour event that will be very demanding of your body. The addition of electrolytes will allow you to maintain your hydration over a longer period of time. In the store, we have the Advanced Fuel brand, a Quebec company that makes excellent products for people who are active and active in sports. On a day of Gran Fondo, your main ally will be your mind. Indeed, it is your positivity and motivation that will allow you to hold on and get better performance when your body has more difficulty keeping up with the pace.

Keep in mind that the goal is not to be competitive by comparing yourself to other cyclists, but to have fun to take up such a challenge and practice your sport. So be sure to be patient with yourself! To be competitive, it is strongly recommended to start quickly in order to get an interesting lead. If you start more conservatively, it may be more difficult to regain control of a faster group. So when the start is made, start in force and think of nothing but your bike. If you want to finish the race with strength, we advise you to start at a comfortable pace that you could easily maintain until the end. Then, as the kilometers pass, gradually increase your effort and intensity. This method should allow you to pass several competitors at the end of the course who will be slowed down by fatigue or lack of energy.

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