Gran Fondo Showcases Cyclists' Love Of Rockland County

Insert linkROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — The annual Gran Fondo NY World Championship Bike Race is on Sunday, and Rockland residents are gearing up for road closures.

The 100-mile race course begins at the George Washington Bridge and takes cyclists through the Palisades region along Route 9W all the way to Bear Mountain.

The first ever Gran Fondo New York took place in 2011. The route was chosen because it’s the route many of the most experienced cyclists coming from New York City use, one of the organizers told Patch back then.

"The race features the most international peloton in the world with riders from almost 100 nations coming together from all corners of the world to challenge themselves against the clock and fellow riders over the iconic route," the organizers said this year on the website. "GFNY World Championship has become a mecca for road cyclists from around the world."

That popularity has had an impact on residents, specially those along roads like Route 340 and Route 9W — so much so that the town of Orangetown passed a local law requiring cyclists not in organized events to ride single-file.

It's an extensive tour of Rockland County. The course starts in Fort Lee New Jersey at the George Washington Bridge. It follows Route 9W north through Nyack, Haverstraw and Stony Point to the south tip of Bear Mountain State Park, then goes west and south skirting Harriman State Park before going down Route 306 to Pomona Heights, back east along Concklin Road, turning south on Ridge Road and Strawtown Road through West Nyack, through Blauvelt on Western Highway to the Clarke Rail Trail, then along Oak Tree Road back to 9W.

For more information and the complete course map go here.