By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Hundreds of cyclists will flock to the region this summer to compete in the largest cycling marathon series in the world.
The internationally known Gran Fondo New York marathon series will pedal off in Rockford on Sunday, Aug. 7 before moving through rural and natural settings in northern Winnebago County. The route passes through forest preserves and by the the Pecatonica, Sugar and Rock rivers.
“I’m excited about this being in really a beautiful, picturesque part of the county,” said John Groh, president and CEO of the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It’s going to go through or by a couple of our forest preserves, including Nygren Wetlands and Ferguson Forest Preserve as well as by the Orchard Ridge Farms, Colored Sands Bluff Nature Preserve as well as Williams Tree Farm. ”
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The visitors bureau and other partners announced the three-year agreement with Gran Fondo New York during a news conference at The Venetian Club, which will serve as a starting point and host a post-race celebration. The competitive race covers 93.6 miles, and a recreational ride of 63 miles will also take place.
Gran Fondo, which loosely translates from Italian as “Big Ride,” typically run at least 75 miles. The Gran Fondo New York is considered the premier, global cycling marathon series and consists of 25 races in 17 countries.
If you look at the race destinations, “you will see Ecuador, Mexico, France, Indonesia and then there’s Rockford right alongside all these major cities,” said Lindsay Arellano, vice president of sales and service for the visitors bureau. “So it really is exciting to be put on the international map for a race like this.”
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The Rockford region is one of five destinations in the U.S. to host the series. The others are Sebring, Florida, Waco, Texas, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and New York City.
“Rockford has so much to offer for our cyclists — the beautiful scenery on the course, the tranquil roads for their racing cycling, the tourism activities in Rockford and around the area, and the fantastic, beautiful nature thought out Winnebago County,” said Lidia Fluhme, president of Gran Fondo New York, in a statement. “We’d like to say thank-you to Rockford and Winnebago County for the support to bring the race to your community. We’re really excited and know the cyclist are going to receive a fantastic welcome from you all.”
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Tourism spending
The event is expected to draw at least 750 cyclists and hundreds more spectators to the region. Visitors are estimated to fill more than 1,000 hotel room nights and spend more than $1.3 million locally this year. Over the course of the three-year agreement, visitors are expected to spend nearly $4 million at local businesses.
“We expect this to be a citywide sellout for all of our hotels to be full and we’ll probably overflow into surrounding communities,” Arellano said. “Along with that comes filled restaurants, and they’re going to be stopping at the retail stores and our sites and attractions and museums — they’re going to be checking out all areas and industries in the region.”
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She said the visitors bureau has been working on the agreement since Gran Fondo New York reached out to them in early June. The organization was familiar with Rockford’s history of hosting soccer and softball tournaments, but this is the first time the region has hosted a massive cycling event. It required a collaborative effort between city and county officials and police and sheriff’s departments to coordinate the needed roads, safety and security.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how much work has gone on to figure out how to make this work, but (it’s) collaboration at it’s best and all the members of the community came together to make it a reality,” Arellano said.
Arellano said hosting the event positions Rockford as an international visitor destination in sports tourism.
“We’re excited to see what other opportunities will come to us because of this race,” she said.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.