Why FoCo Fondo's Boring Safety Upgrade Actually Matters
FoCo Fondo 2026 doubles controlled intersections, adds para athlete scholarships, and a costume relay. Here's what matters if you're actually riding it.
FoCo Fondo is doing something most gravel events won't: doubling down on controlled intersections. For Year 11 (July 16–19, 2026), the Fort Collins event is nearly doubling the number of staffed road crossings compared to prior years. That's not sexy, but if you've ever had to slow-roll through a blind rural intersection at mile 80 while a pickup decides whether physics applies to them, you know it matters.
The event offers 30, 60, 100, and 120-mile routes across northern Colorado gravel, with separate elite starts for men, women, and non-binary categories. There's a $15,000 prize purse, equal across genders, and the 120-mile route gets livestreamed with commentary. If you're racing, that's relevant. If you're riding, the controlled intersections and post-ride Fat Tire at New Belgium Brewing are probably more so.
Here's the catch: this is still a fondo. You're not riding closed roads. You're riding controlled intersections for the first and last segments, plus additional coverage in 2026—but the middle miles are still you, gravel, and whatever's coming the other way. The safety upgrade is real, but it's not a crit course. Plan accordingly.
New for 2026 is a Saturday costume relay fundraiser at the brewery, benefiting the Friends of FoCo Fondo nonprofit. That org runs a 30-rider scholarship program (now including para athletes), free clinics, and year-round community rides. The scholarship program has supported nearly 100 riders over six years, with compensated leaders from underrepresented communities shaping the programming. If you care about who gets to show up at the start line and why, that structure matters more than the beer tent—though the beer tent is also there.
I've ridden this event every year, so I can tell you the northern Colorado gravel feels like magic in mid-July, the temperature not so much, and that 120-mile bolo tie cutoff takes some real work. If you want a gravel event that's thinking past the finish-line photo and into who gets access to the start line, FoCo Fondo is doing the work.
