Gran Fondo Kazakhstan-Zetsyu will have Kazakhstan's most famous cycling hero on the start line.
Alexander Vinokourov, Grand Tour winner and current manager of UCI ProTeam Astana, has appropriately been given bib #1 for the two-part event on September 30 and October 1.
Gran Fondo Kazakhstan-Zetsyu is the sixth and final event of the first year of the globe-spanning Gran Fondo World Tour.
As followers of professional cycling will know, he was also at the center of the withdrawal of the Astana Team from the 2007 Tour after he was caught doping.
John Woodson covered the Golden Gran Fondo, which is part of the Gran Fondo National Championship Series.
The plan of GFWT organizer Dani Buyo is for 10 races in 2017, ideally with expansion to Australia, Africa and South America to cover the inhabited continents. Also in the pipeline is a separate mountain biking series along the same lines.
Buyo has received enquiries from a number of events that are interested and hopes to have a 12-stop road series in 2018.
At each race all riders are allocated points based on their finish and champions will be crowned based on total points earned over the year. There is no championship event to which competitors have to travel.
"This project is meant to be a challenge for amateur riders from all over the world. We think it makes sense to offer them a competitive experience similar to the professional UCI World Tour" said Buyo.
If you fancy a last-minute trip to Almaty to line up with Vinokourov, Gran Fondo World Tour and the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation are offering free accommodation and registration for international participants. Contact [email protected] for details.
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