The stars turn out for the Gran Fondo Colnago Miami

Miami hosted the final event of the 2011 Gran Fondo USA series, with stars from the world of pro­fes­sional cycling and Formula 1 join­ing 1500 par­tic­i­pants from 46 coun­tries for a spec­tac­u­lar ride around the US city.

Tour de France win­ner Jan Ullrich was the spe­cial guest for the event and he was joined by for­mer Giro d’Italia win­ners Gilberto Simoni and Stefano Garzelli. McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 dri­ver Jenson Button also took part, show­ing his love for cycling with an aggres­sive ride over the 55-mile distance.

The Gran Fondo Colnago Miami was the final event of the 2011 series. Others were held in San Diego, Los Angeles/Beverly Hills and Philadelphia. Colnago spon­sored all four events.

“The Gran Fondo USA events are a great way for us to reach out to our clients in North America,” Alessandro Brambilla Colnago said after rid­ing with Ullrich and Button.

Jan Ulrich has redis­cov­ered his love for cycling by rid­ing Gran Fondo USA events this year, while Jenson Button summed up the feel­ings of every­one who fin­ished the Gran Fondo Colnago Miami: “I had a lot of fun. See you at the next Gran Fondo.”