Gran Fondos, known in English as "big ride", are aimed at being mass participation events which allow riders of varying abilities to participate.

The UEC confirmed the event will take place in the Italian city on June 9.

It will be included as part of the Granfondo Alé la Merckx, with a course of 129 kilometres.

Riders will be challenged by a course which has a total altitude of over 2.600 metres.

"The creation of the Granfondo European Championships is another step towards achieving the objectives that we set in our development plan," Rocco Cattaneo, the UEC President, said.

"The mass cycling movement is continually developing as we have witnessed with the extraordinary success in terms of participation of our events in the masters, cyclo-cross and various mountain bike disciplines.

Cattaneo added: "The Granfondo Alé la Merckx is a reputed event within the gran fondo movement and is raced in a beautiful landscape giving its competitors infinite sporting, cultural and tourism opportunities, it will start from the charming Piazza Bra and finish at the famous Verona Arena, which will host these historic Championships.

"I would in particular like to thank the company Alé, our sponsor for many years, its chief executive Alessia Piccolo, for the passion and enthusiasm with which they have welcomed this event, the City of Verona, always devoted and at the service of cycling as well as the Italian Cycling Federation."

The UEC confirmed eight titles will be awarded in both men’s and women’s categories at the Championships.

Entry is open to all cyclists, amateur cyclists between 19 to 65 years old or above, with a valid UCI licence for 2019.