Cycling: Dates confirmed for new-look Gran Fondo IoM

Event will switch to MTB and Gravel races for 2026

Dates have been confirmed for the new-look Gran Fondo Isle of Man in 2026.

Organisers have announced the two-day meeting will be held on Saturday, 25 July and Saturday, 26 July next year.

The first of those days (25 July) will feature both a family-friendly session and a non-competitive sportive event whilst the two main races of the meeting will be held on day two (26 July).

In a major switch for 2026, Gran Fondo Isle of Man is becoming a gravel and mountain bike racing series having run as a road racing meeting for the previous ten years.

Saturday, 25 July will include two different sessions of the 'Minisculo Fondo' from 11am and 'The Gran Fondo Challenge' starting at 1pm.

The Minisculo Fondo is being described as a 'fun, family-friendly' event on a half-mile closed-roads circuit and is designed for children and young riders.

Meanwhile, The Gran Fondo Challenge will start and finish in the North of the Island and involve participants taking on a 50km route in a non-competitive sportive format.

Elsewhere, Sunday, 26 July will showcase the two main races of the weekend - the Gran Fondo Gravel and Gran Fondo XC MTB races, both of which will get underway on the day at 9.30am.

Both of those, organisers say, will involve competitors tackling a 100km route which starts in the North of the Island and finishes in the south in Castletown, and will involve 'rugged coastline, open moorland, and scenic trails.'

Full route details are expected to be unveiled 'early in the New Year' with entries currently expected to open in January 2026.