Levi’s GranFondo moving to Windsor for 2021 edition

Levi’s GranFondo, one of the most popular West Coast cycling events, attracting thousands of riders each fall to the roads of Sonoma County, will relocate its home base from Santa Rosa to Windsor next year after this year’s event was canceled because of the pandemic.

Organizers announced on Tuesday both the relocation and rescheduling of next year’s event to May and the cancellation of this year’s October ride.

The ride series, founded by former professional cyclist Levi Leipheimer, will now start and finish at the Windsor Town Green and feature new routes ranging from Cloverdale to Guerneville.

“My goal was always to show people what Sonoma County is all about,” Leipheimer said. “This allows us to show another corner of the cycling paradise that is Sonoma County.”

Carlos Perez, founder of Bike Monkey, the company that partners with Leipheimer to organize the event, anticipates the change in event date and location will be permanent.

“It was an idea that had been lingering for some time, and in a way we had our hand forced (by the pandemic) in making some big changes,” Perez said.

Perez said the shift to a May event date was to avoid the peak of fire season in fall, when life in Sonoma County and the surrounding North Bay has been profoundly altered in recent years.

The relocation 10 miles north to Windsor was driven primarily by the rising cost of staging the ride and outdoor festival in Santa Rosa, where it began 11 years ago.

“We really need a municipal partner to help foot the bill, and Santa Rosa has expressed over the years that they’re just not in a position to do that,” Perez said.

The town of Windsor agreed to waive event and security permit fees to host the ride, Perez said.

“This is going to bring a positive economic push and attention to our amazing town,” said Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli. “I hope this is a lasting positive partnership for both the event and the people of Windsor.”

Perez said the 2021 event will be capped at 2,500 cyclists, a roughly 50% reduction from past years, to ensure a higher-quality rider experience, though the number of participants could increase in the future.

Gran fondos — Italian for “big ride” — offer an organized, supported series of routes with slightly more competitive flavor and prizes for participating cyclists. The 2021 event will include eight different routes, each traversing classic Wine Country roads and regions, for riders of a variety of skill levels.

Leipheimer, a three-time winner of the Tour of California who these days splits his time between Sonoma County and the Lake Tahoe area, is particularly excited for the most challenging route, a grueling 140-mile course with over 13,500 feet in elevation gain.

“It’s bigger, its longer, it has more climbing, it covers more territory ― it really is the biggest, baddest route we’ve ever created,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Ethan Varian at ethan.varian@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5412. On Twitter @ethanvarian.