Please help send Goni to the World Championships

The first ever Albanian has qualified to compete in the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships (the pinnacle of amateur cycling). Sponsorship is required to send him there, so this is your chance to give a very talented Albanian a shot at the World title.

Agron Kasapi (Goni) is a 67-year-old cyclist from Tirana, Albania. He is one of the toughest and most mentally strong people I have ever met, and always has a smile on his face.

From the first time I met Goni, I was blown away by his fitness, speed and skill. It was immediately clear to me that he is more than just a strong cyclist; he is world class in his age group.

In addition to being insanely talented, he is an incredibly kind man. He spends a large portion of his time recruiting, mentoring and coaching younger riders. He is truly an inspiration and has played a huge role in promoting and growing cycling in Albania - he gives so freely of his time and experience, and is always there to help those in need.

To Goni, age IS just a number and he consistently tests even the most hardened of the group. He’s a phenomenal climber, a skilled descender and what I would call “the complete cyclist”. He is also “old school”: he doesn’t use Strava, doesn’t have a Garmin, he uses sugar sachets as gels, and unbelievably has trained his body to need only one bidon of water for 150km.

In 2017 I tentatively threw around the idea of sending Goni to compete in the UCI Gran Fondo World Series where he could race against some of the best cyclists Europe. This was partly fuelled by my curiosity to see if he is in fact the best, and partly to give back to someone who has given so much to cycling. Unfortunately, we struggled to gain corporate sponsorship and it never got off the ground.

However in 2018 we made it happen. Goni’s friends and I personally sponsored him to race Maraton Franja in Slovenia, one of the toughest qualifiers for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships.

Goni rode the perfect race, qualifying for the World Championships and finishing in second place, only 30 seconds behind the winner of the ‘over 65’ category. He rode 156km with 1600m of climbing in just 4 hours and 8 minutes, at an average speed of 37.7km per hour.

Due to Albania's isolation, Goni was not able to compete internationally in his prime. Nobody deserves the opportunity to compete at the World Championships more than Goni, however sponsorship is required to cover his modest travel and accommodation costs. Every little bit helps and we would be grateful for any donations made. Please help make history by sending the first Albanian to the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships!