A sold out field of 1,050 racers from 31 countries - including Cyclosport's own Nick Gregory - got to race like pros for a day at the inaugural Wear-Design GFNY Mont Ventoux on Sunday, June 28.

With an exciting start in the town of Vaison-La-Romaine in Southern France's Provence region, the event culminated with a breathtaking (in many senses) finish atop the legendary Mont Ventoux. It was a challenging day that saw many triumphs of determination and courage and the top of Mont Ventoux was a scene of exhaustion and pride.  

The long route was 84miles / 135km with 11,800ft / 3600m of climbing. The shorter route was 70miles / 113km long serving up 9,800ft / 3,000m of climbing. Both routes travelled over several Cols before finishing at the top of the 6,237ft / 1,912m-high Mont Ventoux on a day where temperatures in the valleys reached 35C under a cloudless sky.

French U23 elite racer, Alexis Carlier won the race in 4:14:03, dropping runner-up Luic Ruffeau with 4k to go to the top. The women's race was dominated by 24-year old Anna Kiesenhofer from Austria in 4:33:53. She distanced second place finisher, Betty Kals from Belgium by no less than 45 minutes and took 12th place overall.

Only a few racers were in the hunt for the overall win. However, age groupers were fighting hard to be in the top 10% of their category to snatch a racer corral spot for the 2nd GFNY Championship in New York on May 15, 2016.

"At Campagnolo GFNY in NYC we have the most spectacular start line in cycling on the George Washington Bridge," says Uli Fluhme, CEO of GFNY. "And no doubt Mont Ventoux is as spectacular as it gets when it comes to finishing a bike race."

Fluhme continued: "Founders Lucie Hiegel and Nicolas Garcera and the whole GFNY Mont Ventoux organisation have done an amazing job with this well-run event. Based on the overwhelming number of requests for entries this year we expect 3,000 riders from across the globe within the next two years." 

Campagnolo Gran Fondo New York's goal is to bring GFNY WORLD events to attractive destinations around the globe. All events have road closures or police moderated intersections to allow riders right of way along the entire race route. They also offer chip timing and a consistent high-quality experience, ensuring cyclists a safe, challenging and enjoyable experience from start to finish.

GFNY WORLD CALENDAR

June 28, 2015 - Wear-Design GFNY Mont Ventoux
September 20, 2015 - GFNY Italia
November 22, 2015 - GFNY Cozumel-Mexico
December 6, 2015 - GFNY Argentina
April 10, 2016 - CRM GFNY Colombia
May 15, 2016 - GFNY Championship at Campagnolo Gran Fondo New York 

For more information about the GFNY Mont Ventoux visit gfnymontventoux.com and for more information about the series as a whole visit gfny.com.

Images courtesy of Sportograf.