The B2B was announced last year as a qualifier for the championships, making it one of two qualifiers in Australia including Victoria’s Great Ocean Road Bike Ride.

Bathurst Cycling Club’s Mark Windsor, who was one of eleven club cyclists to qualify, said the B2B being a qualifier shows how far the event has come in the past decade.

“It’s wonderful and an exciting development for the race,” he said.

“In the past 10 to 12 years, it has moved from being a regional event to an international event. It started off as just a club event between Bathurst and Orange Cycling Clubs and then Rotary took over the running and then the council.”

Windsor said it was great to qualify for the event at his home event.

“I was excited to get up on the stage and it was special to qualify through my native event,” he said.

“Alpi is a famous place in France and cycling. The course is off the side of the Pyrenees and the Tour de France has had events there in the past.

“It’s [Gran Fondo] a classic cycling event in cycling heartland. It’ll be a challenging course.”

While Windsor is not 100 per cent certain to participate, due to the event clashing with a triathlon commitment, he said if he was to enter, he would be going over as a state cycling champion.

“There’s a big group of us considering to go over,” he said. 

“I’ll be looking to ride well. Two others [from the club] will be going over with state rankings.

“I’d be going over with a pretty high seed, I’d imagine.”

Former world track championship Charles Gascoyne will be a cyclist to watch, according to Windsor.

“Look, he was pretty lucky to qualify. He’s bike had a puncture and he got in by a few seconds,” he said.

“But I’d imagine he’d be looking to go well.

“A lot of these guys have been working for it for a while.

“Bruce Goddard is also a good cyclist. He competed in the B2B but qualified via another qualifying event – the Great Ocean Road Bike Ride.

“Peter Wilson is another Bathurst cyclist that has qualified for the worlds via the Great Ocean Road Bike Ride.”

Qualification to the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships works not by time but by finishing ahead of other cyclists.

The gold wave left Blayney first, which was made up by people aiming to win the B2B.

Made up of three qualifying groups, the silver wave left Blayney after the gold wave left and consisted of the cyclists aiming to qualifying for the championships.

The three categories were split up into 19-34-year-olds, 35-50-year-olds and 50+ (the category Windsor was competing in). 

Cyclists qualified for the championships from both the 110 kilometre road race on Sunday and the hill climb on Saturday.