December 1, 2009 – Centurion Cycling will launch its premiere season with events in Mammoth Lakes, California; Boulder, Colorado; and Madison, Wisconsin. Organizers have scouted challenging and beautiful courses at each location. Centurion Cycling is North America’s most exciting, new bike adventure. It’s based on the European concept of gran fondos but with a distinctive twist unique to this side of the Atlantic.

Pedal contacted Centurion organizer Graham Fraser (of Ironman Canada fame), to confirm the rumour that there will be a possible Canadian Centurion events announced for 2010. “Looks like there is a good chance we will launch a Centurion in Collingwood [Ontario] in September. Should be fun and hopefully we can help get more people on bikes,” confirmed Fraser in an email.

In Europe, you can ride a gran fondo almost every weekend from March through September. They come in all shapes and sizes and attract riders of all abilities. Often, they are named for celebrated cyclists such as Gran Fondo Eddy Merckx, in Belgium, or for famous courses like the Nove Colli, or “nine hills”, in Italy.

Each Centurion has the look and feel of a European gran fondo. Traffic is restricted, technical and medical support are in the caravan, officials time and judge the event, food is excellent, and riders are treated like professional cyclists. The experience feels like riding in the Tour de France for a day.

What makes the Centurion Cycling brand revolutionary? We take the best of Europe’s storied gran fondos and add our own distinctive highlights. Centurion course distances are set at 100, 50 and 25 miles, challenging riders to develop time goals as runners do with marathons and half marathons. At the end of the season-long series, athletes who qualify compete in a championship event.

Courses are difficult – designed to appeal to the serious, competitive, recreational cyclist. However, our seeding process and a broad range of age and award categories encourage families and riders of all abilities to embrace the challenge. When course and closure conditions permit, we even add a time trial to appeal to individual athletic performers.

The Centurion Cycling series is contested over the most beautiful cycling terrain North America has to offer. Each course highlights the unique cycling in and around the host venue.

2010 Centurion Schedule
– Centurion Colorado – Lyons-Boulder, Colorado – July 17-18, 2010
– Centurion Wisconsin – Madison, Wisconsin – August 7-8, 2010
– Centurion California – Mammoth Lakes, California – September 11-12, 2010

For more information, visit www.centurioncycling.com