HANNAY AND OAKES HEAD ENTRY FOR FINAL GRAN FONDO ISLE OF MAN

Local cycling stars Tyler Hannay and Ruby Oakes head the entry for the final Gran Fondo Isle of Man powered by Altenar set to take place on Sunday 20th of July.

After 10 years, the challenging 85-mile Gran Fondo Isle of Man parcours will play host to closed roads cycle racing one last time. The event has developed into one of the premier amateur cycling events in the British Isles over the past decade. The event has attracted thousands of riders of all ages and abilities from across the world to the Isle of Man, to ride on the roads where the legendary Sir Mark Cavendish MBE cut his teeth before going on to rewrite the cycling record books including an unsurpassed 35 Tour de France stage victories.  

Indeed, Cavendish himself has ridden the event twice, along with a host of other World Tour professionals over the years. That endorsement has proven valuable, but the event has primarily been designed to give amateur riders the opportunity to compete in an event featuring conditions normally only experienced by professional riders – not least fully closed roads.

Next year, Gran Fondo Isle of Man will return as a Gravel and XC Mountain Bike event, but for now the focus remains firmly on the tarmac, as an entry of 900 riders lines up across four different Fondo events, with riders travelling from Dubai, India, Portugal, Germany, Belgium and South Africa as well as right across the British Isles.

Leading the men's entry is Tyler Hannay. The two times former winner is currently competing for the Isle of Man in the Island Games where he has already taken the gold medal in the Time Trial. Still only 21, the Ramsey rider has ridden the event four times, winning twice and finishing second twice, and must start as the pre-event favourite.

There will be a strong local challenge to Hannay though, which is led by professional triathlete Will Draper, looking to take his first win in the event after multiple podium finishes in the past. Another local 21-year-old, Zac Walker is now residing on the Island once more after several years competing at UCI level in Europe and will look to bring the challenge to Hannay and Draper, with a previous best finish in the event of second place, the last time he competed.

Ex Team Sky rider Chris Lawless, who now resides on the Isle of Man, is a late entry into the race. The former Tour de Yorkshire winner has ridden (and won) Gran Fondo Isle of Man previously, but he has been retired from professional cycling now for a number of years, and his form is unknown. However, he can’t be ruled out of featuring in the results come race day.

CC Isle of Man are the strongest team amongst an entry primarily made up of soloists, with local teenager Ivan Sorby leading the squad, supported by last years Under 21 jersey winner Callum Sailsbury and fellow teenager Owen Collins.

Of the visiting riders, India’s Sreenath Lakshmikanth is arguably the pick of the bunch, returning a year on from making his debut, where he finished an impressive 6th place. However, given the nature of this form of cycling, it is very difficult to predict who else could feature amongst the visiting riders with little known about the background at the time of writing of the 180 plus riders from off the Island who will be taking part.

Other names of interest in the men's race include former Moto GP rider Cal Crutchlow, an elite level cyclist in his own right, who has a previous Gran Fondo Isle of Man podium finish to his name and fellow motorcycle racing star Dean Harrison, fresh from two victories at last month's Isle of Man TT. The latter man riding will be riding to finish and enjoy a day out in the Manx countryside, whereas Crutchlow has every chance of featuring towards the top end of the results.

A special mention is also reserved for local sports journalist John Watterson. Recently acknowledged for his journalistic career with the award of an MBE, ‘Watty’ lines up for his 10th Gran Fondo Isle of Man, the only rider to have ridden (and finished) the past 9.

The women’s line up is headed by local teenager Ruby Oakes who rides for UCI Continental team DAS-Hutchinson. Ruby has had a busy season this year, making her debut at many of the World Tour Spring Classics, including the Tour of Flanders.

Ruby heads what is a strong local line up which also features former winner, Sally Walker, double former podium finisher Jess Gault and teenager Sophie Smith.  

A total of 38 women will line up in the main Gran Fondo, with many of them travelling from off the Island to compete, and it is likely that one of those visiting riders could cause an upset within the local group of favourites.

As well as the Gran Fondo, there are also shorter non-competitive Medio (40 miles) and Piccolo (20 miles) Fondo's taking place simultaneously, for recreational riders looking to challenge themselves on the Manx roads. Whilst the previous day, the ever-popular Minisculo Fondo returns, where riders of all ages and abilities can enjoy an hours worth of closed roads cycling around a half mile loop of the picturesque Mooragh Park.

Further details about Gran Fondo Isle of Man, including full road closure information, can be found at www.granfondoisleofman.com