Ambassador HQ
Dear ambassadors,
With the new year shortly behind us, it feels a timely moment to kick off the second year of the RBC GranFondo Whistler ambassador program as we all gear up for another exciting cycling season.
Conceived as part of the 15 year anniversary celebrations in 2024, our goal in inviting your participation echoes a conscious effort to give back and grow ever more connected with the community and places who have helped create and make sustainable the largest Gran Fondo in North America. The phrase "it takes a village" is true and you, as influential leaders, are an extremely important and valued part of that.
Aside from welcoming you into the class of 2025, the purpose of this message is to bring you behind the curtain and provide perspective as we work together towards expanding access to the sport we all love. It's great timing too, as news just arrives of being voted the best Gran Fondo on the continent again for the fifth time in the past six years of nominations.
For 2025, people have more options and lower barriers than ever to get involved.
The event's loyalty program is now in effect. This is helping to reduce the price of entry to RBC GranFondo Whistler by up to 15%. Starting from 2023 when our switch in technology partner enabled the ability:
2 years of riding unlocks 5% off,
3-4 years unlocks 10%,
5+ years provides 15% off.
These discounts are permanent, and work by a one-time code that participants are automatically emailed once unlocked.
Speaking of prices, we're happy to say that across the board, all prices have been frozen from last year.
Moreover, we've introduced Save My Spot to help break up the cost of event entry into smaller pieces. Similar to what you might have used through retailers like Afterpay or Sezzle, people are now able to "reserve" their spot for $150 down, and pay the remainder of their balance when convenient to complete their registration.
In addition, Ride Club has launched to provide a public ledger of results, achievements and participation. Anyone can log on and see their Club (eg the 8 year club shows everyone who's completed 8 rides since 2010), download printable certificates and collect badges.
Project 30by30 moves into its 2nd year, an exploration and journey towards the goal of seeing at least 30% female participation by 2030. We always want to be growing the conversation about how we move closer to this target.
In fantastic news, both our all-terrain XFondo event and Clinics training program are at 52% and 50% gender split as of this year!
Speaking of the Fondo Clinics, the 12 week program returns in an expanded format with soon-to-be-announced partners Bici. Designed with tiers for all abilities, the Clinics stated aim is to get participants to the Whistler finish line in a fun, social and safe supportive environment.
This year, we're adding bi-weekly Vancouver social rides ending with a coffee that all clinic members are welcome to join together, plus new sessions on bike maintenance, preparation and hill climbing.
There will also be a new no-obligation intro session before the program starts to meet the coaches, ask questions, and see if it feels like a good fit. Clinics will run in-person and virtual between June 9th 2025 - Aug 29th.
We've also worked to bring a new website online! While similar in look to the last one, the goal for the new site was to simplify complicated events into more a digestible format. Case in point: where there used to be 80 pages, there are now 10. The website is still in live beta, so plenty of updates will come in due course.
To help bring more value to your peers, you will have received a promo code to share out for $25 off. This helps reward those within your sphere, and provide a cherry-like incentive to compliment your own efforts at support and inspiration.
In 2025, we're headed to Mexico, returning to all-terrain at XFondo and celebrating RBC GranFondo Whistler with the theme of Be Iconic.
Don't forget, each event will have pre-event days of activities too!
Check out a bunch of photo, video, logo, theme resources and more in our 2025 library. This year's theme for RBC GranFondo Whistler is Be Iconic.
You have all been hand-chosen to be in this program because in the world of cycling, people look to you in matters of trust, guidance and inspiration. Meanwhile, at the Fondo we're working to create opportunities for events, gatherings, goals and memories to become reality and meaningful part of peoples' lives.
Have fun out there, and please feel free to reach out to Andrew or me (oli at rbcgranfondo dot com) anytime. Personally I always welcome getting to know people and hearing ideas face to face - plus it makes for a great excuse to feed the coffee addiction!
With gratitude,
Andrew & Oli
