Fred Rompelberg, the man of record, joins the EPIC Gran Canaria challenge at 78 years old

 

Fred Rompelberg is in love with Spain and after participating in the EPIC Gran Canaria RIU Hotels & Resort no longer misses his annual appointment with Gran Canaria every edition. Currently 78 years old, he will get back on his bicycle on February 10 and 11, 2024, in order to crown the midlands and peaks of the island in an event to which he declares himself faithful.

 

 

The cyclist from Maastrich rose to fame for his attempts to break the world bicycle speed record, a challenge that finally paid off when on October 3, 1995 he pedaled behind a dragster from the Strasburg Racing's Brother team on the Bonneville salt flats. , Utah, where he made history by reaching 268,831 kilometers per hour. For 23 years no one could take away the record, which was under his name until 2018, when Denise Mueller-Korenek reached the speed of 296,009 kilometers / hour in the same place.

 

During the 70s, 80s and 90s, Rompelberg served as a resident, and his victories included the Dutch Championship in 1977, among others. The Dutch cyclist has accumulated 11 world records, 12 European records, 7 victories in road cycling races and still holds several bicycle speed records behind a motorcycle.

 

 

His career in pursuit of the record was not an easy path, since this stubborn cyclist did not give up in his efforts until he achieved his goal, although to do so he had to suffer several accidents and break several bones in his body, as he himself relates. His experience, his years of traveling around the world and training to become the fastest in the world for more than two decades is an added value that is added to the EPIC Gran Canaria RIU Hotels & Resorts, which will take a big international leap as the venue for the Gran Fondo World Championship.

 

The EPIC Gran Canaria RIU Hotels & Resorts will crown the world champions, and in addition, in this edition it debuts its twinning with several events in Italy, such as the 5 Mila Marche, and the international Prosecco Cycling event in Valdobbiadene. 

 

The EPIC Gran Canaria RIU Hotels & Resorts reinforces the objective with which it was founded seven years ago, the firm commitment to show the world the island of Gran Canaria as a sports paradise and destination for international cycling. Due to its services, security, accommodation and sports infrastructure, its routes, landscapes and the hospitality of its people, Gran Canaria is one of the most privileged training and competition places in all of Europe, with a stable temperature all year round, unrivaled for outdoor sport.

 

 

Two stages and the best routes in Gran Canaria 

 

The EPIC Gran Canaria RIU Hotels & Resorts will have two stages, with 115 kilometers and two timed sections on Saturday the 10th, and 75 kilometers and a competitive section on Sunday the 11th. This cycle sports race will launch an intense weekend of sport, with a first stage that starts from the RIU Palace Maspalomas on one of the most popular routes on the island, which runs through Arteara, Fataga, Tirajana and El Pajar to Pasito Blanco. 

 

This first stage has a first timed section of 12,3 kilometers at 470 meters of altitude and an average inclination of 4,4%, which runs between Aqualand and Ayagaures, with the finish line at the Pedro González summit. The second time trial has 45 kilometers and 1.304 meters high, with an average slope of 4,7% in a circuit between Pasito Blanco on its way up to Ayacata, passing through Cercados de Espino, Soria, Barranquillo Andrés, the Las Niñas dam to Ayacata and with a great atmosphere throughout the entire journey.

 

The second stage has 75 kilometers of circuit and a time trial of 22 kilometers, at 1.304 meters high, and with an average slope of 4,7%. This stage passes through Fataga to Tirajana, in an explosive and dynamic time trial that will fill the town of Tunte with energy, to return to the RIU Palace Maspalomas via Santa Lucía, La Era, Vecindario, Doctoral and Bahía Feliz along the GC-65 and the GC-500.