Nat Bromhead
Bicycling Australia’s first Gran Fondo cycling event for 2024 took place on Saturday with more than 2,000 cyclists and supporters traveling to the Snowy Mountains for the third-annual Snowy Classic.
The sun was shining as the event kicked off from the regional centre of Jindabyne, where cyclists embarked on their journey through some of alpine Australia’s most stunning towns including Berridale, Dalgety & Perisher Valley.
Completing either the 110km Challenge Classic or 170km Maxi Classic, both courses included the infamous Beloka Climb. First rider over Beloka was Leo Yip who led the lead pack by close to 4-minutes at that stage. But Leo was caught on the Perisher climb by Brad Bannister who was ultimately first home to Jindabyne.
“It was a great ride, a great day,” Brad told us. “It’s my first time in the Snowies and I absolutely loved it. “I saw Leo on the Perisher climb, he was rocking side to side a little so I put the hammer down, passed him and never looked back. I was starting to cramp at the end but made it.”
