Just days to go for Gran Fondo start

Just days to go for Gran Fondo start

17 June 2015

COUNTY Down is getting fully geared up for the biggest cycling event to hit local roads.

Up to 3,000 cyclists from all over the world are expected to take part in Sunday’s international Gran Fondo Giro d’Italia.

Among those taking part will be Irish cycling legend Stephen Roche, winner of the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in 1987, who will be acting as an ambassador for the event.

Also taking part will be Richie Porte, the Team Sky rider and winner of this year’s Paris-Nice, Tour of Catalunya and Giro del Trentino stages races.

The Gran Fondo is the legacy event from the 2014 Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza which started in Northern Ireland and was a huge success.

There will be two courses for the Gran Fondo — one long, the other not so long — and both will pass through local roads showcasing the natural beauty of County Down.

The 177km Mourne route will take riders from Belfast’s Titanic Quarter into the Mournes.

The 58km Strangford route also starts from the Titanic Quarter, but will in many towns and villages on the shores of Strangford Lough.

The event, which is being supported by Tourism NI and Newry, Mourne and Down Council, is expected thousands of fans who will be lined along both routes.

The longer Mourne route is designed for higher category riders. The route from Belfast will take in Ballygowan, Saintfield, Dromara and an ascent up Slieve Croob to Leitrim.

From there they make their way to Spelga Dam, then head to Castlewellan, Annsbrough and back to Slieve Croob and Dromara.

They go round Ballynahinch and then it’s back to Saintfield and Ballygowan before finishing at Titanic Quarter.

Organisers say the route has been chosen for its testing climbs and breathtaking scenery.

The shorter Strangford route will take the riders through Ballygowan, Balloo, Killinchy, Whiterock, Ardmillan, Ballydrain and Comber.

Susie McCullough, Tourism NI Director of Events, said: “The legacy of last year’s Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza is still very much alive across Northern Ireland.”