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The Gran is the crown jewel of the original Levi's GranFondo — 113 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing through some of the finest cycling terrain in Northern California. It's a serious day in the saddle, and we want to make sure you're ready for it.
You are part of the traditional mass start at 8:00 AM along with all other routes. Stage accordingly and arrive early enough to settle into your position.
Your route color is orange. Line up in the orange staging area, and follow orange arrows along the course. You'll also see rainbow-colored arrows marked "ALL" — those indicate sections where all routes travel together. Orange arrows only appear when the Gran splits away from other routes. Pay close attention at these critical route splits. If you miss one, you could end up on the wrong route and not realize it for miles.
The route through along the Russian River as it makes its way to the Pacific gets literally hammered every year by heavy winter rains. It's what gives life to our towering Redwood forests. But it also wreaks havoc on our roads. This year, there are two traffic stops between Guerneville and Cazadero. Two 1-way traffic lights are in place at these locations shortly after passing through Guerneville. California Highway Patrol will assist in getting large groups through. But if you arrive and CHP is not there, you MUST STOP and obey the traffic light to avoid oncoming traffic! Click here to see where they are on the route.
As you approach the final miles of your ride into the Town of Windsor, there's a chance you could be overtaken by the elite fields of Skipstone's Growler. This is most likely if you downgrade to a shorter route on event day, which could place you ahead of the elite fields on the road.
When this happens, lead motos and marshals should instruct you to move to the right and slow your speed to allow them to pass safely and quickly. If they don't, pretend that they did.
One of the most important parts of orchestrating a day like this is the part you play. Please respect the right of way for the elite field. Once they pass, you can pick up your pace again, but under no circumstances may you interfere with, assist, or draft with them. It creates an unsafe situation and may result in disqualification.
WATCH PARTY ZONE
As the elite field approaches town, we will undertake an effort to clear the final miles of riders for several minutes in order to ensure that the final sprint for the top 10 athletes is clear of slower riders who would be overtaken at that time. This effort requires your cooperation. There will be a "watch party" zone along Pleasant Avenue where we will require riders who are being overtaken to wait for approximately 10 minutes while the elite field passes through. Those 10 minutes will be enough time to allow the roads leading into Windsor to clear out any riders who might be overtaken, and then we will release you after the pro field passes.
DO NOT START EARLY!
Please do not start before your scheduled time at 8:00 AM. Starting ahead of your official start time means that you will be caught by large groups of elite men and women vying for part of a $156,000 purse, and traveling much faster than you, taking up the full lane of the road with nowhere to go if a slower rider is encountered. This creates a danger for you and those around you. A large group overtaking slower riders can cause a crash. If you are worried about being too slow to complete the route that you signed up for, please downgrade to a shorter route. Levi's GranFondo has a competitive element with fast lead groups of riders which is a very different environment than that of a typical century ride.
Team support is allowed only at Lake Sonoma. You cannot have anyone assist you on course outside of this location. If someone wants to help you at Lake Sonoma, they must arrive no later than 10:30 AM to park. They may have to wait a while before you come through if you're not near the front, but any later than 10:30 and the pro men's and women's fields will be passing through, and traffic will not be permitted to enter the Lake Sonoma aid station.
You can get directions to the Lake Sonoma Recreation Area where the aid station is located here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y92k8pujczH93j4B7
You can deep-dive into the course details in our new Lanterne Rouge Course Map, and to see where the team support location is at Lake Sonoma as well as other course related details, dangerous descents you need to pay attention to, and more here.
The Gran is a competitive route. The top five Men, top five Women, and top three Nonbinary finishers will be recognized with a podium presentation and a keepsake medal. Thirteen medals in total — earned the hard way over 113 miles.
Your awards ceremony will take place later in the event to ensure the maximum number of podium-eligible finishers have completed their ride.
All riders start at 8:00 AM, and awards are scored by gun time — your clock starts precisely at 8:00 AM. If you do not stage correctly, you may be disqualified from competition. Our timing mats capture your start time, and if it is not consistent with other participants on your route, your result will be flagged.
At packet pickup you will receive a flexible tyvek number plate to place on your back, with two tear-off tabs: one for your post-ride meal and one for your post-ride beverage. If you are under 21, you will not have a free beverage ticket. If you registered for free through our U18 program, you will not have a meal ticket and must purchase one separately on-site.
You will also receive a timing tag that must be placed on the back of your seat post, visible from both sides. It has a sensitive RFID chip used to verify your route and capture your start and finish times. If this tag is tampered with, cut, or improperly applied, it will not function and your time will not be recorded. See our rider guide for proper placement, or ask our scoring staff on-site for help.
Review our rider guide before event day. Things change year to year, and this year brings some meaningful updates. Thank you for being part of the biggest day on two wheels.
See you in Windsor.
The cast and crew at Bike Monkey
