Gran Fondos: you’ve possibly raced one, and almost certainly heard of them. Big events, essentially timed sportives, that take place most weekends across Europe, and increasingly more so across the rest of the world. The biggest ones bring thousands of riders together, and can generate significant revenues for organisers. It’s little wonder that each year there are more of them, and that the UCI have jumped on the bandwagon – the sport’s world governing body now has a successful Gran Fondo World Series of 25-35 qualifier events that culminate in the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships.

Just one problem: doping. And a lot of it. Second problem: almost all of it goes undetected.

While professional cycling appears to have a grip on doping, with the number of positive tests among UCI-registered riders hovering around the 15-25 range for most of the past decade, doping cases at age-category amateur levels are becoming more and more prevalent.

This article was published by Cyclingnews in September 2025. You can read the full article here.