More than 400 cyclists gathered at Gran Fondo Encamp

More than 400 cyclists gathered in Encamp for a weekend full of cycling

A perfect weekend for cycling in every way, from the environment to the temperature and weather, the only appeared very late on Sunday, it has been the ideal setting to enjoy the second edition of the Encamp Pas de la Casa Gran Fondo , nine months after the first, and marking the milestone of the recovery of the Andbank Andorra Bike Race of BTT.

In this way, more than 400 cyclists enjoyed the Parish of Encamp in all possible ways on a bicycle in an edition that marked a qualitative and quantitative leap compared to the inaugural one.

“Beyond the growth in quantity, we are left with the quality of the event, knowing each participant almost by name and surname” begins commenting Dani Buyo, CEO of Gran Fondo World Tour and director of the event.

Encamp, BTT and road territory

On Saturday, the Andbank Andorra Bike Race highlighted the BTT essence of the place, with a proposal based on navigation, with a more technical first part, followed by one that was rewarded with the views from the foot of the same tracks of Grandvalira.

“We have always thought that the Andorra Bike Race brand -continues Dani Buyo- has a long way to go, with a purer and harder format, following a track, as is customary in gravel, complementing liaison sections with other timed ones, as is done in the Dakar. We have not wanted to repeat formulas already used and we have seen the result, an important presence of the electric bicycle, more than half”.

On Sunday, some 400 cyclists took the start in the three versions of the Encamp Pas de la Casa Gran Fondo, the longest, Envalira, being the most crowded, filling the ramps of Beixalis, Ordino, Envalira and Cortalls d’Encamp with bicycles . An experience full of challenges, such as the timed sections that were arranged on the climbs, combined with the neutralization of other segments so that the test could coexist with normal life in Andorra.

Jan Missé and Anna Albalat were the fastest to cover the long distance, while Leawis Backestele and Laia Sebastià did so at intermediate, and Xavier Pujol and Inma Anaya in Cortals.

Some 400 cyclists rode with them, including well-known personalities from the sporting environment such as the Andorra FC coach, Eder Sarabia, the Total Energies cyclist, Víctor de la Parte, the GCN presenter Lucas Sebastián Haedo, the trail runner Pau Capell , and the skiers Joan Verdú and Cande Moreno. Also present were MotoGP riders Carlos Checa, Iker Lekuona, Jorge Martín, Aaron Canet, Marcos Ramírez, Brad Binder, Darryl Binder and Jules Cluzel, along with popular Dakar faces such as Mathieu Baumel, Luc Alphand, Adrian Vanbeveren, Sam Sunderland, Amand Monleón and Lorenzo Santolino.

More girls, more Andorrans and more loyalty

In reviewing the registration, Dani Buyo highlights a couple of aspects: “The female presence has been above 20%, a very important figure that is also in line with the growth of women in cycling and shows that we adapt to all audiences. At the Andorra level, the message of the GFEPC has penetrated, with a powerful increase in people from here. Andorra sometimes people are not used to coming to events here”.

For this reason, he repeats that “the quantitative leap is important, but for us the important one is the qualitative one, because when we organize a cycling event we did not stick to it, we wanted to set up a cycling weekend, incorporating the Andorra Bike Race”.

Being at the finish line, in the starting area and in the space for the participants has been key to taking the measure of the cyclist’s needs: “We listened to the participants of the first edition, even if it was just over a hundred, to know what they want in an event like this. It is important to find the balance between institutions and sponsors, but it is even more so that the cyclist leaves happy, with a good cycling experience and a subsequent social relationship that enriches the memory. We don’t want to give them the medal and go to the parking lot, we want them to spend some time with us, to tell us things, to recover and snack on something, to take photos with the most well-known participants that we have”.

For the future, they want to continue along the same lines, even in the calendar: “The May dates are perfect, we are at the beginning of the cycling and events season in Andorra. With this we can offer shorter distances for people to test themselves and grow in shape before other longer appointments”.