UCI Tour de Fukushima

The Tour de Fukushima is a two-day UCI Gran Fondo race series held in Hamadori, the eastern coastal region of Fukushima Prefecture. It includes a short individual time trial in Soma and longer mass-start granfondo and mediofondo routes starting in Naraha, located about an hour south. Though new, the event's purpose is established: it provides Japanese amateur cyclists a domestic qualifier for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships and introduces bike racing to an area still focused on recovery following the earthquake and nuclear disaster. The time trial covers 15.7 km on flat coastal roads starting in Soma. The course heads north for 4 km, then turns south along the coast before returning to the start. The granfondo begins with 40 km along the coast before turning inland towards the highlands. A significant climb reaches 617 m after 84 km, with the final 5 km to the summit reaching gradients up to 12%. Two additional climbs follow, one being a 2.5 km ascent at an average of 6%, before a mostly downhill finish back in Naraha. Men aged 19-49 qualify via the granfondo; women and men aged 50 and older qualify through the mediofondo, which merges with the granfondo course at 57 km and shares the finish line.