It was a sea of bikes, spandex and helmets as thousands of cyclists flooded South Okanagan for 10 on Sunday.th Annual Okanagan Granfund.
The event has been put on hold since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to the record number of participants this year.
“That’s the most we’ve ever had. There [were] It was great to see 3,000 registrants, 350 volunteers, and yes, everyone back,” said Okanagan Granfondo owner Jodi Merckx.
“We had people from Australia, the United States, all over the world come to the city. We [had] 80 percent of the people [were] from the province of British Columbia, and everyone seemed so excited to be back. ,
The cyclists rode through Penticton, Summerland, Okanagan Falls and Oliver, and organizers say the event went off without a hitch.
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“I would like to thank our volunteers, sponsors and businesses at Penticton very much because without them we would not have been able to hold this event in this beautiful city,” Merckx said.
“We started it with the beginning of this year, which made everything a lot safer on the road and everything went a lot smoother.”
Large events such as the GranFondo provide a large economic impact to the community, especially in the hospitality and tourism sectors, which are much needed after a two-year hiatus from events.
The City of Penticton echoed what GranFondo has proven to benefit the community.
“This is a great event for the City of Penticton. This is a huge economic development for the City of Penticton,” said Penticton Mayor John Wasilaki.
“It fills our restaurants, our motels and hotels and all the other facilities that are needed by all these people. It really propelled the economy for those facilities and revenue which they have been missing for the last two and a half years. So, it’s a very, very big event for those people.”
The event raised more than $70,000 for the Desmoid Foundation, which the Merckx family holds close to their hearts.
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“My daughter is battling with the disease. It causes tumors in your body, and she’s struggled with it since she was 13 and she’s 17 now,” Merckx said.
“We’ve actually raised over $200,000 for the Foundation over the past two years to try to find a cure.”
By almost all accounts the event was considered a success by the organisers.
“Our team is thrilled with the end result – a successful day enjoyed by thousands of cyclists and visitors, supported by Penticton’s 350 best volunteers,” Merckx said in a press release.
Registration for the next year is already open and the spots are already filling up.
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