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Riders Gear Up for Hincapie Gran Fondo

Cycling enthusiasts will have a rare opportunity to ride with some of the sport's biggest stars on Saturday.

The Hincapie Gran Fondo is set to take place this weekend in Greenville, SC, with past, present and future pro cyclists scheduled to attend.

The event was held for the first time last year as an opportunity for Rich Hincapie, the brother of former cycling star George Hincapie, to celebrate George's retirement. It was such a success that the two decided to continue to hold the event annually.

“It wasn't something we had really planned on doing after the first year,” Rich said. “The people who came were really excited and everyone emailed us and asked if we would do it again.”

Hincapie said as successful as the event was a year ago, he expects it to be even better this year.

“Once the template is done it's not that difficult to make it better,” he said. “We are going to make it better this year with more variety of food at the rest stops, more kids rides, shower trucks on site and better parking. Now that the template's done it's fairly easy to improve on that, which is what we've done.”

Hincapie said you do not need to be an accomplished rider to participate in the Hincapie Gran Fondo. Participants can choose between a 15-mile ride, a 50-mile ride and an 80-mile ride. There is also a kids ride and a 5k run.

There were 1,240 cyclists at last year's event and nearly 1,500 people have already signed up to ride this year.

Hincapie feels like the opportunity to ride with George and a host of other professional cyclists is a big draw. Riders from Japan, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Colombia and Denmark are expected to be on hand.

“Historically in a normal bike race you would never get a chance to ride with some of the stars and some of the pros. This format is unique because it's almost like a marathon format. You can compare yourself,” Hincapie said. “It's very unique because in the past bike races would just categorize and you had to be a professional to ride with someone like George. Now you can start out at the same start line as them.”

In addition to the ride, a family festival will also take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will feature free food, drinks and live music. There will also be an inflatable bouncy park for kids.
“We make it more of an event than just a bike ride so the whole family can enjoy it,” Rich said.

People interested in participating in the ride can register at www.granfondohincapie.com, or go to Hotel Domestique in Taylors on Saturday before the event begins. The ride will start from Hotel Domestique Saturday morning at 9 a.m.

Watch a preview of the event below.