If you are a cyclist, there are a few places in the world that you “need” to cycle. The French Alps is one but the next location that you need to experience is the Canadian Rockies. Whether that is by mountain biking some of the trails around the beautiful town of Canmore, or riding your road bike along the Icefields Parkway, the Canadian Rockies are something to behold.
On 6th June, the Jasper Gran Fondo provides a special opportunity to experience Canada’s only mass-participation road cycling event inside a Canadian national park. Hosted inside Jasper National Park, which is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, this event offers cyclists a unique adventure.
About the Gran Fondo
Jasper’s Gran Fondo is now in its 10th year and offers cyclists the opportunity to tackle three different routes. These include the 165-kilometer Gran Fondo, the Medio Fondo at 100 kilometres and the shortest distance of all is the Piccolo, which is 65 kilometres in length.
With only 400 spaces available, this is very much an event where places sell out fast due to its exclusivity. The limited numbers are due to restrictions imposed by Parks Canada, who are responsible for administering and maintaining Canada’s national parks. They set the quota, ensuring that the impact on Jasper National Park is minimised, but at the same time want to provide an opportunity for people to experience Jasper in this unique way.
To ensure the safety of the athletes, the events start at 8am, and the roads are not closed. The early start means, however, that traffic is at its lightest and doesn’t impede the event.
Origins
This special event is hosted by Multisportscanada, which is owned and operated by Trevor Soll who is responsible for the Jasper Canadian Rockies Half Marathon and the Banff-Jasper relay. In a recent interview, Trevor explained that he had the idea several years before launching and one of the challenges was getting the routes established, noting, “There was a lot of back and forth with Parks Canada to find a route that would work, with minimal impact on the environment and tourists and then getting approval for Marmot Basin to go up to the top of the climb.”
The routes
With three routes on offer, there is something for all abilities, with the Gran Fondo returning to its original route, as a consequence of the recent fire that devastated Jasper townsite in 2024. Prior to the fire, Parks Canada had agreed to a route extension taking the Gran Fondo to a huge 190-kilometre route, that saw riders tackle the 17-kilometre winding road to Mount Edith Cavell, however, the recent fires melted the road and is currently out of commission.
The current Gran Fondo is still a long ride, at 165 kilometres and with an elevation gain of 1,691 meters and is comparable to a stage of the Tour de France. The route will tackle the Marmot Basin climb, that takes riders up to the ski resort, before continuing south on the Icefields Parkway before returning to Jasper.
At a slightly reduced distance of 100 kilometres, the Medio Fondo has 1,338 meters of climbing and also tackles the Marmot Basin climb. It’s near identical to the Grando Fondo but does not go as far down the Icefields Parkway before turning around. This route passes famous picturesque stops like Athabasca Falls and Sunwapta Falls.
The Piccolo route is the shortest and does not include any major climbs. This route takes riders down the quiet Highway 93A before looping back to Jasper townsite, via the Icefields Parkway.
Whatever route you decide to tackle, you will be surrounded by breath-taking scenery.
During the race, there will be an award for the fastest ascent of the Marmot Basin Climb, for both male and female competitors. This climb appeared as the fourth stage of the 2015 Tour of Alberta, with the winner of that stage being Tom-Jelte Slagter from Cannondale–Garmin.
To sign-up to the event, click here, the earlier you do, the cheaper. Prices also vary depending on the route you want to ride, with the cheapest entry being $237CND, which is $175USD or £128.
Added extras
Unlike many other major cycling events, this is hosted on a Saturday, which means you have time after the event to enjoy a post-race party that includes a barbecue, where funds go to Jasper Museum. With the event being hosted on a Saturday, that leaves you time on Sunday to take an early morning ride before heading home, with several notable roads to tackle, such as the Maligne Lake road, which is a roughly 50-kilometre ride from Jasper to the world-famous Maligne Lake.
TrainingPeaks Virtual
To help prepare you for the event, Mountain Massif has partnered with TrainingPeaks Virtual to host a weekly individual time trial starting with the Marmot Basin climb and other classic climbs will be featured. This will utilise TrainingPeaks’ unique functionality where you can ride specific GPX routes, to help with training.
This event will appear in their “Featured Event calendar” which consists of 3 events per day, 7 days a week, so 21 events in total. This event will be hosted on Tuesday 6PM MT (23:00 UTC).
In addition, starting in March, each route will also be made available on TrainingPeaks Virtual to ride, allowing you to best prepare for the event.
Summing up
The Jasper Gran Fondo offers cyclists an unparalleled opportunity to experience the stunning beauty of the Canadian Rockies while participating in a unique mass-participation event within Jasper National Park. With routes catering to all skill levels and breath-taking scenery at every turn, this event is a must for any cyclist.
