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Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Final Gran Fondo on closed public roads to start
The final edition of a mass participation cycling event held on closed public roads is set to take place ahead of its reincarnation into an off-road competition. Gran Fondo Isle of Man runs over both days of the weekend, with rolling road closures on Sunday to accommodate three of the four challenges in the series. Organisers have said the event will be transformed into a collection of races on gravel, tracks, and private land in 2026, a decade after it was first run on public roads. Regularly attracting entrants from places from as far afield as Japan, Australia and South Africa, more than 1,000 competitors have entered the 2025 event. It was originally run under the banner of CycleFest in 2016 before evolving into the Gran Fondo Isle of Man brand. All-time Tour de France stage win record holder Mark Cavendish is among the 8,000 past participants in the event, along with many of the island's other top cyclists. Organisers previously said the event would be brought to a close in 2025 after its scale had become "enormous". This year's event will see the main classes held over three distances on Sunday – in the Gran Fondo, Medio Fondo and Piccolo Fondo. But for younger participants, a family friendly Minisculo Fondo takes place within the race village at the Mooragh Park in Ramsey over a 0.6-mile (1km) distance on Saturday. That event begins at 15:00 BST in the northern park, with the other three classes being run with staggered starts the following day. Gran Fondo Start time: 09:30 Distance: 85 miles (137km) Route: The course starts in Ramsey in a northerly direction along the coast through Dog Mills, Bride, Smeale, The Lhen, Sandygate and Ballaugh. It then travels through the west of the island via Druidale, Sartfield, Little London, Staarvey, Ballig, St John's and Patrick. The southern section of the route passes through Glen Maye, Dalby, the Round Table, Ronague, Corlea, South Barrule, and the Rushen Mines through to Lower Foxdale. Competitors will then head back to St John's, heading to The Hope, Archallagan, Garth, Crosby and Mount Rule before heading towards the Mountain Road via West Baldwin, Injebreck and Brandywell, before turning down Tholt-y-Will at the Bunglalow. The final part of the course runs through the Sulby Claddaghs, St Jude's and back to Ramsey. Medio Fondo Start time: 09:45 Distance: 45 miles (72km) Route: Diverts from the main route at Ballaugh, heading straight to Brandywell Cottage and bypassing the southern section of the course. Piccolo Fondo Start time: 10:00 Distance: 20 miles (32km) Route: Remains on the largely flat northern plain of the island, returning to Ramsey after reaching St Jude's on the main route. Organisers said next year's new event, which would be focussed around Castletown in the south of the island and feature a range of bicycle types, would be in a similar vein to the now defunct End2End Mountain Bike Race. That competition, run on an off-road course between the Point of Ayre and Port Erin, was scrapped in 2021 due to a lack of volunteers to run it following a pause during the coronavirus pandemic. Explaining the planned transformation of the Gran Fondo event in 2026, event director Paul Phillips said gravel cycling was "experiencing rapid growth" so it had "felt like the ideal time to apply our expertise to a new project". "We're excited about the plans we have in the works and can't wait to share them with the riders who have supported us over the years – and hopefully attract new faces who prefer off-road cycling," he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. More on this story Final Gran Fondo cycling event to be held in 2025 Gran Fondo showed island 'looking its best' Record entry for Gran Fondo Isle of Man weekend Related internet links Gran Fondo Isle of Man
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Final Gran Fondo on closed public roads to start
The final edition of a mass participation cycling event held on closed public roads is set to take place ahead of its reincarnation into an off-road competition. Gran Fondo Isle of Man runs over both days of the weekend, with rolling road closures on Sunday to accommodate three of the four challenges in the series. Organisers have said the event will be transformed into a collection of races on gravel, tracks, and private land in 2026, a decade after it was first run on public roads. Regularly attracting entrants from places from as far afield as Japan, Australia and South Africa, more than 1,000 competitors have entered the 2025 event. It was originally run under the banner of CycleFest in 2016 before evolving into the Gran Fondo Isle of Man brand. All-time Tour de France stage win record holder Mark Cavendish is among the 8,000 past participants in the event, along with many of the island's other top cyclists. Organisers previously said the event would be brought to a close in 2025 after its scale had become "enormous". This year's event will see the main classes held over three distances on Sunday – in the Gran Fondo, Medio Fondo and Piccolo Fondo. But for younger participants, a family friendly Minisculo Fondo takes place within the race village at the Mooragh Park in Ramsey over a 0.6-mile (1km) distance on Saturday. That event begins at 15:00 BST in the northern park, with the other three classes being run with staggered starts the following day. Gran Fondo Start time: 09:30 Distance: 85 miles (137km) Route: The course starts in Ramsey in a northerly direction along the coast through Dog Mills, Bride, Smeale, The Lhen, Sandygate and Ballaugh. It then travels through the west of the island via Druidale, Sartfield, Little London, Staarvey, Ballig, St John's and Patrick. The southern section of the route passes through Glen Maye, Dalby, the Round Table, Ronague, Corlea, South Barrule, and the Rushen Mines through to Lower Foxdale. Competitors will then head back to St John's, heading to The Hope, Archallagan, Garth, Crosby and Mount Rule before heading towards the Mountain Road via West Baldwin, Injebreck and Brandywell, before turning down Tholt-y-Will at the Bunglalow. The final part of the course runs through the Sulby Claddaghs, St Jude's and back to Ramsey. Medio Fondo Start time: 09:45 Distance: 45 miles (72km) Route: Diverts from the main route at Ballaugh, heading straight to Brandywell Cottage and bypassing the southern section of the course. Piccolo Fondo Start time: 10:00 Distance: 20 miles (32km) Route: Remains on the largely flat northern plain of the island, returning to Ramsey after reaching St Jude's on the main route. Organisers said next year's new event, which would be focussed around Castletown in the south of the island and feature a range of bicycle types, would be in a similar vein to the now defunct End2End Mountain Bike Race. That competition, run on an off-road course between the Point of Ayre and Port Erin, was scrapped in 2021 due to a lack of volunteers to run it following a pause during the coronavirus pandemic. Explaining the planned transformation of the Gran Fondo event in 2026, event director Paul Phillips said gravel cycling was "experiencing rapid growth" so it had "felt like the ideal time to apply our expertise to a new project". "We're excited about the plans we have in the works and can't wait to share them with the riders who have supported us over the years – and hopefully attract new faces who prefer off-road cycling," he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. More on this story Final Gran Fondo cycling event to be held in 2025 Gran Fondo showed island 'looking its best' Record entry for Gran Fondo Isle of Man weekend Related internet links Gran Fondo Isle of Man


BBC News
an hour ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Final Gran Fondo Isle of Man on closed public roads to take place
The final edition of a mass participation cycling event held on closed public roads is set to take place ahead of its reincarnation into an off-road Fondo Isle of Man runs over both days of the weekend, with rolling road closures on Sunday to accommodate three of the four challenges in the have said the event will be transformed into a collection of races on gravel, tracks, and private land in 2026, a decade after it was first run on public attracting entrants from places from as far afield as Japan, Australia and South Africa, more than 1,000 competitors have entered the 2025 event. It was originally run under the banner of CycleFest in 2016 before evolving into the Gran Fondo Isle of Man Tour de France stage win record holder Mark Cavendish is among the 8,000 past participants in the event, along with many of the island's other top previously said the event would be brought to a close in 2025 after its scale had become "enormous". This year's event will see the main classes held over three distances on Sunday – in the Gran Fondo, Medio Fondo and Piccolo for younger participants, a family friendly Minisculo Fondo takes place within the race village at the Mooragh Park in Ramsey over a 0.6-mile (1km) distance on event begins at 15:00 BST in the northern park, with the other three classes being run with staggered starts the following day. Gran Fondo Start time: 09:30Distance: 85 miles (137km)Route: The course starts in Ramsey in a northerly direction along the coast through Dog Mills, Bride, Smeale, The Lhen, Sandygate and then travels through the west of the island via Druidale, Sartfield, Little London, Staarvey, Ballig, St John's and southern section of the route passes through Glen Maye, Dalby, the Round Table, Ronague, Corlea, South Barrule, and the Rushen Mines through to Lower will then head back to St John's, heading to The Hope, Archallagan, Garth, Crosby and Mount Rule before heading towards the Mountain Road via West Baldwin, Injebreck and Brandywell, before turning down Tholt-y-Will at the final part of the course runs through the Sulby Claddaghs, St Jude's and back to Ramsey. Medio Fondo Start time: 09:45Distance: 45 miles (72km)Route: Diverts from the main route at Ballaugh, heading straight to Brandywell Cottage and bypassing the southern section of the course. Piccolo Fondo Start time: 10:00Distance: 20 miles (32km)Route: Remains on the largely flat northern plain of the island, returning to Ramsey after reaching St Jude's on the main route. Organisers said next year's new event, which would be focussed around Castletown in the south of the island and feature a range of bicycle types, would be in a similar vein to the now defunct End2End Mountain Bike competition, run on an off-road course between the Point of Ayre and Port Erin, was scrapped in 2021 due to a lack of volunteers to run it following a pause during the coronavirus the planned transformation of the Gran Fondo event in 2026, event director Paul Phillips said gravel cycling was "experiencing rapid growth" so it had "felt like the ideal time to apply our expertise to a new project"."We're excited about the plans we have in the works and can't wait to share them with the riders who have supported us over the years – and hopefully attract new faces who prefer off-road cycling," he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.


BBC News
19 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Manx football festival 'lets fans come together away from home'
Fans heading to the FC Isle of Man Summer Festival of Football can expect "some really competitive football in a relaxed environment", organisers have second event of its kind, it features teams from across the English football pyramid taking on the home side at the island's national stadium, The Bowl, in home side's Lee Dixon said Fleetwood Town, Altrincham FC and Radcliffe Borough and the Manx club battling it out in the mini festival on Friday and Sunday would provide "great entertainment".Altrincham's manager Phil Parkinson said the tournament meant a lot to the fans as it allowed them to "come together a lot more" while supporting the team away from home. Dixon said the matches Manx fans would be treated to a "level of football that we don't see throughout the year" at the festival, which had been inspired by a similar contest last played about 20 years island team has just completed its fourth season competing in the North West Counties Football League, finishing 11th in the Premier play in League Two of the English Football League, Radcliffe feature in the National League North, while Altrincham are part of the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Parkinson said pre-season training was about "fine tuning skills and fitness, and coming together to bond, and every game here will give us that"."We're getting a full array of the different types of teams that we would normally have in our programme but we're getting that in one hit over a weekend," he manager said the team also planned to make the most of the island by "having a cold dip in the sea" during their downtime, but "the weather will help us decide on how long we'll stay in".He said taking part in events away from their home ground ahead of the stresses of the season were important to not only the players but the fans as well. "Trips like this mean a lot to fans because they're able to get away, come support the team and come together a lot more because you're away from home," he said. Dixon said: "Ultimately, we're an amateur football team, and people might say were the whipping boys but I know the benefits of the old festival and what we got out that going into the next season."The revamped contest for 2025 will provide a rest day on Saturday and a results table once the matches have all been said the day off in between games would be a chance for the visiting teams to meet fans and explore the island, which would also be "good for the local economy".He said the contest would see some "really competitively football in a relaxed environment and hopefully the games will make for good entertainment". "Fingers crossed we get plenty of people through the door so it's a win win for everyone," he Friday, the schedule will see the Altrincham v Radcliffe match kick off at 15:00 and FC Isle of Man take on Fleetwood at 19: play off for third will get underway at 11:00 on Sunday, with the game for first place scheduled for 15:00. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.


BBC News
21 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Double gold in golf adds to Manx medal tally at Island Games
The Isle of Man has secured another 16 medals on the penultimate day of the Island Games, with Manx athletes topping the podium in golf, gymnastics and Thursday Golfer Daryl Callister took gold in the individual event, while the men's team also came first in the competition held at the Orkney Golf Club in was also double gold for swimmer Joel Watterson who was fastest on the night in the 50m butterfly and was part of the victorious 4x100m freestyle relay Amara Brogan secured gold in the women's all around competition, adding to the total of 61 medals, which put the island in fourth position overall going into the final day of action. Callister said preparation for the gold event had been key as the team had "done their homework on the course", and a strong first round had set them up for the to Manx Radio Sport, he said he had then "managed to hang on for dearest life" during the windy conditions in the subsequent rounds to clinch the individual spot went to Manxman Rob Noon, who alongside Callister, Liam Cowin and Chris Kneen also came away with the men's team gold. "I don't think you could ask for a better week to be honest," Callister said. On the final night of action at the 2025 competition in the pool at the Pickaquoy Centre, the swimming squad took their overall haul to an impressive 19 Bellhouse, Magnus Kelly and Harry Robinson joined Watterson at the top of the podium in the 4x100m freestyle and Robinson joined also Chloe Batty and Laura Kinley to claim silver in the mixed 4x50m medley relay competition. The evening also saw Robinson secure bronze in both the 100m backstroke and 50m butterfly events, bringing his personal medal tally at the 2025 games to 10. There was more success for Manx gymnasts after scoring 10 medals on said while she felt her performance on the vault had not been what she had hoped for, she had "managed to pick it up" on the other pieces of equipment, so it "felt great" to take gold in the all around also felt "amazing" to represent the Isle of Man at her first games, she Aine Matthews also collected bronze in the women's contest, while Harry Eyres and Fraser McKenna were awarded second and third places respectively in the men's all around. Elsewhere, 18-year old Regan Corrin claimed silver in the triple jump, and the men's cycling team came in second in the mountain bike cross country badminton, Matthew Nicholson and Jess Li claimed bronze the mixed doubles event, retaining the third place position they secured in up their 2025 campaign, the mixed archery team became bronze medallists in the compound head to head Moore, who contributed to all five medals won by the archery squad, said the results across the week had been "beyond his expectations". Reflecting on the performance, he said: "I'd had couple of disappointing games before, and I've trained as hard as I could. I think it's paid off and I'm ecstatic."As a team we've also been very strong, we've been right in there, right in the mix."The squad were "very much looking forward" to the next games in the Faroe Islands in 2027, he the last day of action Manx athletes will be looking to boost their medal tally in the half marathon, the cycling criterium and the women's football team will play for gold against Bermuda. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.