Up to 6,000 cyclists to take part Saturday in Levi’s GranFondo

Levi's GranFondo charity ride is gearing up for Saturday's big start, with this year's funds benefiting both at-risk youth and Valley fire survivors.

The ride's 6,000 participants will set out together at 8 a.m. at the Finley Center in west Santa Rosa. Among the riders will be 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich.

This year's event is expected to raise more than $200,000 for charity, said Carlos Perez, owner of Bike Monkey, the ride's producer.

'For the Valley fire relief effort alone, we've already raised $60,000,' Perez said. Eighty percent of each online donations made through Saturday will be sent to the Lakeport Rotary to be used entirely to help the region's fire survivors, he said.

Now in its seventh year, the event is named after retired pro cyclist Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa.

Officials estimated that in 2013 the GranFondo pumped more than $3 million into the local economy. The ride's primary beneficiary is Forget Me Not Farm, a working farm near Santa Rosa for at-risk children who care for abandoned animals.

The event's largest gathering took place in 2012 with 7,500 riders. Participation this year was limited to 6,000 so that 'people will get a better experience,' Perez said.

Even so, some residents of west Santa Rosa and west Sonoma County can expect partial or full road closures in their neighborhoods as the cyclists leave the Finley Center and travel west on West College Avenue, south on Fulton Road and west on Hall Road.

A list of road closures and a map of affected west Santa Rosa streets can be found at levisgranfondo.com.

This year's riders were able to choose from 10 different routes through the west county. The shortest is 32 miles; the longest, 116 miles.

In preparation for the event, crews from Ghilotti Brothers construction company on Thursday completed pothole repairs along the 130-plus miles of roads the riders will use, Perez said.

Friday afternoon, Leipheimer and Ullrich are slated to meet the public at 4 p.m. at NorCal Bike Sport, 425 College Ave. in Santa Rosa.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rdigit