The inaugural UCI 1.2 men elite pro race, Gran Premio New York City, will be held on May 19, 2024 on the same course and same day as the 12th annual mass participation race Michelob ULTRA GFNY World Championship NYC.
25 teams from over 15 countries will make GP NYC an exciting race. European Pro Tour teams with Grand Tour pedigree will lead the field, followed by Continental Pro teams from the Americas, Europe and Asia. Local Pro teams receiving wild cards will round out the field and get to measure themselves with the best.
GFNY CEO Uli Fluhme says “One of our goals at GP New York City is to have a diverse field with teams from all over the world. That way, most of the mass participation riders have a team from their home country to cheer on. GFNY is the world's most international bike race - so why shouldn’t GP NYC be as well?”
VF Group Bardiani-CSF Faizanè (ITA)
“We’re excited to race in NYC, it’s going to be an amazing experience for our riders and a very important exposure opportunity for our sponsors,” says VF Group Bardiani-CSF Faizanè Team Director Luca Amoriello. “Our goal? To win!"
"We chose GP NYC because it is important for our sponsors to race in New York City,” says team director Francesco Frassi. “But also because it’s simply going to be spectacular. It’s a huge privilege and honor for us to be at the inaugural race. The demanding course means that we will have to choose our line-up carefully. We will need strong climbers who can handle frequent attacks yet still have a strong sprint."
“Racing GP NYC is a unique opportunity for us, not the least because we are able to show off our team sponsors outside of Europe,” says Team owner Philip Roodhooft. “With Axel Laurance as the team’s main rider, we are looking forward to going all out and gaining a top result!”
“GP New York City is a fantastic opportunity towards internationalization of our
sport, which is very important for our sponsors and team,” says Sport Director Kurt Van de Wouwer. “Due to the busy race calendar, we will not be at the start with riders in a favorite role, but the Lotto Dstny Devo Team is very motivated to achieve a good result.”
“We are going to race in the capital of the world and the media, it will be a very
important race for Team Medellín,” says Sport Director José Julián Velásquez. “We know the professionalism of the organization so it will be a very well-organized race. He adds: “Our goals are to animate the race to make it exciting for the fans, win it - and make Medellin proud.”
Mito Q - NZ Cycling Project (New Zealand)
“We were not going to pass up on the opportunity to race USA's newest pro event ,” says James Canny, Manager of MitoQ - NZ Cycling Project. “We will show the world what Kiwis can do. We are not traveling 15,000 km to just participate. We are coming for a top result.”
“GP NYC will be the most relevant UCI race in America,” says Sport Director Juan José Monsivais Garcia. “GFNY is the world’s most important granfondo. And a GFNY production will guarantee a good organization and help our team to be known by more people thanks to GFNY’s excellent communication.” He adds: “Our goal is to animate the race, make it exciting to watch – and of course get the best possible result out of it.”
“It’s exciting to now have a pro race in the most iconic and sports-crazed cities in the world,” says Project Echelon Racing team manager Eric Hill. “Our goal for the race? To win, as always!”
"We're proud to be a part of the next chapter of bike racing in NYC,” says Hustle Pro Cycling DS Ben Baker. “We'll be looking to animate the race and make moves to get up the road. We have breakaway specialists who will love this course with lots of climbing and technical sections to launch attacks. And should it all come back together, we're well positioned to contest the finish with Olympic track rider and designated sprinter, Michael Foley.”
Novo Nordisk Development (USA)
“Naturally, as a US-based team, we jumped at the opportunity to race on home soil,” says Development Team General Director Daniel Holt. “Everyone has heard of theGFNY and what a challenging course it is. There will be many strong teams at the race, so it will be very important for us to race together to increase our chances of success.”
Skyline - Cadence Pro Cycling (USA)
“Our goals for the race are to represent our partners in a manner that makes
everybody proud to be associated with us and the race,” says team director Nick
Baird. “And we also hope to score a top result along the way!”
Cannondale Echelon p/b 4iiii (Canada)
Alain Cadorette brings Cannondale Echelon p/b 4iiii to GP NYC. “Even if the team chooses by design not to move up to the Conti Pro ranks, we have shown over the past years that we are more than able to compete at that level. We are going into this race with the aggressive goal to be on the podium.”
“Combined we are stronger and each team member is invited to race or ride for
someone they feel needs to be lifted up,” says team director Kurt Dodds. “East Coast terrain is our specialty. Pairing this race with GFNY NYC will make this a huge opportunity for our squad and our sponsors.”
“Team California is honored and excited to compete at the best one-day race in the US,” says Kennedy. “The course is exciting and challenging. The winner will have truly earned it.”
“We are very excited to be able to get this opportunity for the young riders of the
team to experience the fantastic organization at GP NYC,” says Jolidon. “We will give it our all to get one of our riders on the podium!”
Team Jamison (USA)
“We have home turf advantage and will make the most of it,” says Team Director Ross Baldwin. “Against a stacked field like this, the goal is to land a top 10 to represent the local racers.”
Team GFNY
“I am very excited for the opportunity to be the Directeur Sportif for Team GFNY,” says Nelson Vails. “Being a part of bringing professional bike racing to my native New York is a special highlight in my cycling career, and to do so as a continuation of my partnership with GFNY brings so many of the best parts of cycling together for this historic event.”
Holding a professional and mass-participation race at the same time on the same course is an event format never held before in cycling, although it’s commonly done in running and triathlon. GFNY is taking a revolutionary step to bring professional and mass participation racing together to augment both race fields and take advantage of existing operations, logistics, and exposure.
In this revolutionary format for cycling, the 180 pros from 25 teams will line up 15 minutes before the thousands of amateurs on the closed-to-traffic lower level of the world’s busiest bridge, George Washington Bridge on May 19, 2024.
Both the pro and amateur races are held on the same one-loop course of 85 miles (137 km) and 6,500ft (2000m) of climbing that has the characteristics of a Belgian spring classic which favors allrounders.
The start area looking over the NYC skyline, suspended over the Hudson River, with upbeat music, interviews, announcements, and pre-race excitement offers the most amazing race start in cycling.
The course passes through charming towns, beautiful nature and challenging climbs of Bergen County and Rockland County and the metropolitan life of the world’s capital, New York City.
The race’s finish line and post-race festival are located in Fort Lee, NJ, providing easy access to NYC, airports, hotels, restaurants, highways, and more.
As GFNY prepares for this ground-breaking race format, more news about the race will be shared. Stay tuned via the GFNY Facebook page, on Instagram, or subscribe to GFNY email newsletters at gfny.com.
GFNY Global Endurance Sports Series is a sports event company with three decades of experience in racing, planning and organizing events. The global endurance sports brand hosts multiple events throughout the year around the world on five continents.
Working with partners around the world to deliver a first-class experience, GFNY Global Endurance Sports Series puts its athletes first.
Visit the official GFNY website at www.gfny.com.
