Cyclists battle wind and heat to finish 2018 Gran Fondo
MEDICINE HAT, AB – Wind and heat were the enemies for cyclists on Saturday taking part in the annual Medicine Hat Gran Fondo event south of the city.
Hitting the highway at 8:00 on Saturday morning, around 110 racers were tested with a strong headwind over the first half of the race.
Trent Allard has competed in the Gran Fondo each of the last five years and said his speed drastically improved once he turned his bike around.
“You really didn’t get a lot of speed, but you had to manage your fluid intake, your food,” said Allard. “But once you got out there at the 50 [kilometre] turn around, coming back was very fast. I topped 58 or 62 [kilometres per hour] consistently.”