The Underberg Gran Fondo

After a successful debut last year, the 2023 Underberg Gran Fondo gravel bike race on Sunday July 30, will be making global headlines by being included on the Gran Fondo World Tour ® Gravel Series calendar.

There are three distances: The 140km and 90km from 2022 are retained, and the organisers have included a shorter 45km event to cater for those who are not looking for such a tough day in the saddle. All events will start and finish at The Olde Duck, which also the home of Sani Spoors.

This event takes place mid-winter, which means Underberg in the foothills of the Drakensberg is likely to be cold, but the upside is the chance of rain is very slim and the air is clean with stunning views all round.

However, due to the cold, the event will start at a more reasonable time with the provisional start times set for 9am and riders will have until sunset at 5.30pm to finish.

The longer races will take riders through the stunning Bushmans Neck area before entering the Coleford Nature Reserve. Here participants will see black wildebeest, blesbok, and if they are lucky, the very rare Wattle Crane which is also the logo of the event.

The 90km route will stay in the Coleford Nature Reserve before heading back to the finish through Underberg and Sani Spoors.

The 140km route will leave the Coleford Nature Reserve to go through the Pevensey area. From here the views back to the Drakensberg are amazing. On your way back to the finish riders will go through Himeville and Underberg.

A Gran Fondo by definition is a “big ride” and we are not going to be prescriptive about which bike you may use. We can however tell you that a standard road bike or BMX will make an already tough event even more difficult.

The Underberg Gran Fondo welcome e-bikes.

The first 300 entrants will receive a limited edition Underberg Gran Fondo World Series Salomon Fleece mid-layer garment, and Underberg Gran Fondo Cycling shirts on sale.