Levi Leipheimer’s hugely popular Gran Fondo has been cancelled for 2021 due to coronavirus.
The organisers of the mass participation ride have been forced to pause a number of events because of the uncertainty caused by the global pandemic.
Levi’s GrandFondo, which offers eight different routes from eight miles up to 138 miles, was scheduled on Sunday, May 30 and feature a weekend of entertainment and cycling.
But in a statement released on Friday (January 29), organiser Bike Monkey announced that the Gran Fondo and other events including Fish Rock and Truckee Dirt Fondo would be pushed back to 2022.
The Stetina’s Paydirt and Hammer Road Rally are still scheduled to go ahead in the autumn.
The organisers said: “Dear friends, as you know the pandemic has continued to test and challenge outdoor event organisers and enthusiasts on a global scale. We are faced with tough choices: whether to expend valuable resources and customer goodwill at the risk of further setbacks, or hit pause.
“Covid-19 case load remains extremely high across the nation, and the promise of normalcy is vague and elusive--something we critically depend on to fulfil our duty of producing safe, well-organised and memorable events.
“In the end, we have decided that in order to vie for Bike Monkey to survive, we will freeze operations related to our major events through summer 2021 until we can honestly commit to them with the certainty only stability can give us.”
Bike Monkey has vowed to try and continue with its events in the future, but is asking for help from its riders.
The company has asked customers to accept event credit, saying that if they were to refund all entry fees it would go under, while also supporting their work by continuing to register for future events and buying something from the store.
Levi’s GrandFondo, now it’s 12th year, has attracted up to 5,000 riders in the past.
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The event centres around town of Windsor, Sonoma Country, California, not far from the Santa Rosa home of former pro Levi Leipheimer, who previously raced for US Postal Service, Astana and Omega Pharma - Quick-Step.
