That the GFNY World Championships NYC (commonly known as GFNY NYC) is a gran fondo that has achieved cult status in the U.S., and certainly far beyond, is beyond question. But the fact that there is a Belgian touch to the race on May 18, 2025, is interesting.

The origin story of New York, which can be traced back to the Netherlands, is widely known. The Dutch origins of the current borough names Harlem (Haarlem) and Brooklyn (Breukelen) are easy to guess. But the fact that it was a group of Walloon families in 1624, together with the Dutch, who founded a settlement on what is now Manhattan Island (well before Belgium existed), is less well known. Except among the Belgian community in New York and one of New York’s most famous Belgian cyclists: Filip Vanden Bulcke, Consul General of Belgium….

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