Gran Fondo Hincapie has been creating cycling experiences for over 12 years and this year, launched its latest event taking place in Bentonville, Ark., Sept. 6 – 8. The multi-day cycling celebration will offer scenic rides, live music, and a family festival with free fun, food, and drinks. Additionally, new programming has been officially announced, elevating the event to new heights.
The event series is one of the only large-scale Gran Fondo events in the country that puts a primary focus on the experience as a whole and not just on creating epic courses. This is evident in the new programming announced today:
- On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, Sept. 4–6 at 10:00 a.m. at the Meteor Café, former professional cyclist, George Hincapie, and his family will host group rides for locals and anyone in town early for the event weekend.
- A Celebrity Chef Dinner (tickets here) will take place on Friday night for participants to sample culinary creations from the country’s top chefs. Participants can enjoy each course with a glass of wine selected by a master sommelier. Riders will have the opportunity to mingle with one another, the chefs, and the Hincapie team. The night will feature culinary masterpieces from a handful of well-known chefs from around the country, including Matt Accarrino, Restaurant Director for SPQR and Owner/Chef of Mattina out of San Francisco, Ted Cizma, Multi-Disciplinary Chef & Hospitality Professional, Haydn Shaak, Head Chef at Restaurant 17 in Greenville, and Michael Kuefner, the Culinary Director of Bentonville’s local Thaden School, as well as student chef, Avery Roberts.
- Join 2024 Junior Men 15-16 Time Trial National Champion, Enzo Hincapie in the Junior Challenge, an opportunity for Junior riders to have their own stage at this year’s Gran Fondo Hincapie–Bentonville! For George Hincapie, learning to ride, win, and lead a team started from an early age in countless events across the country. Giving back to the sport so that it can grow both at home and abroad is a priority for the Hincapie team. The Junior Challenge is for all cyclists ages 10–18 who wish to compete for a large cash purse, and prizes. Additionally, junior riders 18 and under not interested in competing, are invited to register to ride the Gran, Medio, or Piccolo events for free.
- On Saturday night, local Chef Biju Thomas will cater the After Party (tickets here) at the Red Barn at the Momentary. Enjoy drinks, appetizers, and live music, and mingle with celebrity guests, while enjoying the beautiful mountain views.
For the riding portion, cyclists can choose to ride the paved roads of Northwest Arkansas and Missouri on Saturday (course info here), Sunday (course info here), or both days, each day offering multiple distance options. The event weekend is expected to bring in more than 1,300 total riders, from cycling pros, celebrities, weekend warriors, and first-time riders. Participants can choose between a shorter Piccolo (approx. 15 miles), a mid-length Medio (approx. 50 miles), or a longer Gran (approx. 80 miles) ride on one of the scenic routes mapped and tested by George Hincapie himself.
After both days of riding, athletes are encouraged to hang around after the finish at the free Family Fun Festival and enjoy an afternoon of music, food and beverages, and other fun activities with their friends, family, and thousands of other cyclists.
The Bentonville, Ark. event adds to Gran Fondo Hincapie’s world-class lineup of other upcoming events. Registration is still open for Bentonville (link to register here). The final event of the calendar year will take place in Greenville, S.C. on Oct. 18-19 (link to register here).
To learn more about Gran Fondo Hincapie please visit https://hincapie.com/ or follow along on social media on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.
About Hincapie
Cycling is our life. It’s what we know, and it’s who we are. But we are not a bike company. We’re a people-who-ride-bikes company. We are cyclists, and we are makers. We are master craftsmen of custom-made, high-performance cycling apparel. Our team is our family. Not only do we design our cycling apparel, but we also make it in our family-run factory. We also create and run upscale cycling events. We have a restaurant and hotel that hosts visiting cyclists from all over the world. We manage a spring series of races. Cycling inspires everything we do, and every day we work even harder to improve the sport, make it more accessible to others, and build a strong community for future cyclists. Join us on our journey.
