Gianni Bugno to Participate in Gran Fondo Giro d'Italia Northern Ireland

Gran Fondo Giro d’Italia Northern Ireland
Announce Participation of 1990 Giro d’Italia Champion Gianni Bugno

Gran Fondo Giro d’Italia Northern Ireland, the official legacy event of the 2014 Giro Big Start is very proud to announce Gianni Bugno, 1990 Giro d’Italia Champion and double World Champion (1991/92), will travel to Belfast to ride the Gran Fondo 5 June.
Gianni Bugno said: “Since I saw how successful the 2014 Giro d’Italia Big Start was and how passionate the people in Northern Ireland were about cycling, it has been a big ambition of mine to come to ride my bike in Northern Ireland and experience the spectacular scenery. Being able to participate in the Gran Fondo Giro d’Italia NI is a great honour for me and I look forward to riding with everyone this June.”

The event in June 2016 will see Ireland’s 1987 Giro d’Italia Champion Stephen Roche attend. Other star riders attending will be announced in the coming weeks.
Darach McQuaid, Gran Fondo organiser said: “For the event, it will be a big thrill to welcome Gianni Bugno alongside Stephen Roche and give our participants the chance to ride with such big champions on the closed roads of Northern Ireland this June. We have many exciting new developments for the event which we will announce in the coming weeks. Registration is filling up, don’t loose the opportunity - register now.”

Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Jonathan Bell said: “The Gran Fondo is another great opportunity to showcase Northern Ireland on the world stage. With global interest expected and international participants travelling to Northern Ireland, our tourism industry will once again be in full swing as we prepare to impress visitors with our warm welcome and hospitality. I would encourage all cycling enthusiasts to register for the Gran Fondo. As a major legacy of the hugely successful 2014 Giro d’Italia, the Gran Fondo will go some way to giving participants that true Giro experience.”
The Routes
The Mourne Route is 173km with 2500m of climbing over some very though climbs through the Mourne Mountains. The Strangford Route is 58km and brings the riders on a lovely route alongside Strangford Lough. Both routes are on fully closed, policed roads – only one of a handful of cycle sportives in the UK and Ireland under such conditions.
The 2015 event saw riders travel from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and all over Europe. Our new charity partner Co-operation Ireland will see funds raised by teams participating and a gala fund raising dinner on Friday 3 June in Coppi Restaurant.

The Event
The weekend of Gran Fondo Giro d’Italia NI will also incorporate the NI Bike Festival and includes the Street Velodrome competition, which will give riders of all ages the opportunity to compete on a velodrome. On Saturday the Sustrans NI organised “Piccolo Fondo” will take place again allowing families and kids of all ages to ride in and finish over the official Gran Fondo finish line.
The Giro d’Italia trophy, “Trofeo Senza Fine” will be on site at the Giro Expo in the Titanic Exhibition Centre and will be available for riders and fans to get their photo taken with.
The Giro Expo will take place Saturday 4 June and Sunday 5 June. Saturday’s registration, cycle industry and Food NI vendors, post ride pasta party and Street Velodrome will all be located in this new venue near the Titanic Belfast start/finish.