My snippet in GCN coverage of 2017 Taiwan KOM Challenge

While I was focused racing with the peloton, I could hear a guy chatting casually behind me. When I saw this clip starting at 5:00 minute mark, it had been Simon from GCN riding behind me in my ERTC jersey! I'm always surprised to hear comments from regular GCN watchers who had recognized me from this short snippet, below.

Full video link:

2nd L'Alpe de Grand Blanc 2016

link to RACE VIDEO

Beautiful start to the day at 22C 8 a.m… unlike the rainy conditions at last year's inaugural race.

photo Big White

New extended start from the East Kelowna Community Hall. Already hot in the sun, I found shade near the side at the front as we lined up. Double the participants from last year with 137 racers.

Map of course before Hwy 33 turn-off. Starting position was important as the switchback descent thru Mission Creek was less than 3 km away 

The group rolled out neutral for 800m. Just after turning the first corner, the orange cones marking the official start came as a surprise. The riders in the front pack were quickly out of the saddle picking up the pace.

The race began at the orange cones! - photo Big White

With a slight headwind, a one-line pace line formed until the twisty descent. Riders swooshed down faster than the usual Sunday ride pace. 

Approaching the start of last year's race, riders sprinted up the first climb ferociously. I held my own pace back of the lead group and caught up to Darrin Caruso, owner of Chainline cycles. With a few straggler riders ahead, we both worked to catch up, as Darrin bridged the gap. 

We now had a group of 5 riders. I looked at them and thought they were big guys, with my definition being they were strong flat-landers not skinny climbers.

Marg, tucked in behind 4 strong riders with
rider #150, Gary Wade leading - photo Big White

As we turned onto Hwy 33, the pace was constant and high. At that pace, my immediate thoughts were “ouch, this pace hurts!" and "I certainly need more of this in training” as I was breathing heavily. The lead peloton was barely seen up the road. 

After this first major hill climb, it was important to have a group for the next slight incline false flat sections. It was still another 4 km to the crest of the hill near the truck brake-check stop. I gutted the pace out.

After I took a turn leading the climb and looked over my shoulder, I was sad to see Darrin and another rider dropped off. There were three of us left. 

My typical out of saddle style seen in the distance (yellow shoes)
as we caught one straggler from the lead peloton - photo Big White

Now a group of four, the guys took longer pulls on the flats, with my pulls on any inclines. Flyweight did not match the power of these guys.

Finally on the 5 km climb to the Big White turnoff, I started with a nice chill pace. The straggler we caught took off. Super strong rider #150 with a Kelowna Cycle jersey set a faster pace than me. I attempted to pull ahead though he came around again. I was ultra impressed with his climbing power with our size differences.

At the turnoff to Big White, the other rider grabbed water at the feed zone. He kept with us for a short time up the next steep climb, then dropped back. Earlier he joked and questioned if we would ever get to coast!

I followed the pace of #150 as I could do no better. The headwind was nasty, so it fueled my fire to ensure I stayed with him. The wind factor added to my already ultra impressed-ness with his strength!

I quite enjoyed the speed following him on the short descent.

We caught the straggler climber again. I chatted with #150 and said “bummer to be stuck with two skinny climbers!”. His reply was super nice and said he enjoyed the company. The young climber eventually dropped back with what appeared a mechanical. 

Our pace was consistent. Every time #150 got out of the saddle for a break, his change of pace started to tire me. When we reached the final switchback hill, he told me he was fading and for me to go on ahead.

In my mind, I was thinking how I was already being challenged to stay on his wheel, and told him “no worries, I like the company!”

Lead peloton on Big White Road - photo Big White

I knew all the stats for this ride as I rode it earlier in the week. After the 2.5k switchback climb to the transfer station (high elevation point of the course), there was a fast 2.5k descent (120m drop) and then final 2k climb to the finish through the ski village. I quoted these stats to #150 who seemed to appreciate the description.

post-race stories - photo Big White

Once we finally reached the peak, the switchover to descending muscles was a teeny bit scary with a slight twinge of a cramp. Fortunately, he did not accelerate quickly. The final climb was welcome with a few locals cheering. I let #150 go finishing seconds back.

I was very pleased with my efforts to hang in. The thought to battle the wind on my own terrified me to work harder. Found out rider #150 was Gary Wade, a very strong former racer on Team Total Restoration, and I had heard "legend" in general! I was super fortunate to get to ride with him.

Annie Bergen, Marg Fedyna, Amanda Kosmerly

Annie Bergen, my very close competitor, caught up to Darrin and placed 2^nd. Emily Millard, a local rider, placed 3^rd with Amanda Kosmerly, my training buddy, in 4th.

15-yr old Conor Martin, Marg Fedyna, Big White Ski Moose!

Race organization was superb, full water bottles handed out at feedzones, post-race fruit, post-race meal with home-made ice cream bars were fantastic. Guy at the free beer table looked bored!

Ascent 1705m

Descent 418m

Distance 58 km

Time 2:14.49

Avs 26 kph

Mxs 75 kph

Small Village Ashcroft Hillclimb

My cycling buddy Annie Bergen loaded up her two sons, and we carpooled to Ashcroft, a 2.5 hour drive away. Ashcroft was a major supply centre in the historical Gold Rush days. 

wildernesscommittee.org photo

On-route it was impressive to drive by the Highland Valley Copper Mine that went on and on. Seeing the sand and the water, one of Annie's sons asked if we could stop at the beach later!

On the drive to Ashcroft, we had to pass the race course in reverse. The hill climb race started from the edge of town and immediately went up 17.3 km to the top of the highway. The grading varied though seemed to be mostly 7-8%.

all photos - Ashcroft Facebook page

Around 40 people showed up. The mass start went out quickly. I latched onto the front guys and attempted to hold on for a couple km. When Conor Martin made an attack, the peloton splintered.

I managed to hold onto the even pace of Greg Timewell, a racer from my past duathlon days in the '80s. Up ahead, I could see that Emma Lujan, young racer from Penticton, clung onto the front group.

Nice to have a group - Emma, John, Greg

I did not last on Greg’s wheel for long. Greg then caught Paul Berry, then Emma who was shelled off the front group. She was waiting to work with riders. The three of them worked together as I rode solo into the slight headwind. 

Paul Berry dropped off, and I caught up to him. Up ahead, a rider from the lead peloton who hovered on the side of the road decided to jump back on course. It was Devon Moonie who set the course record last year. He had stomach cramps and was now out of contention to keep his win, so was dejected.

Paul Berry encouraged Devon to at least ride to finish the race. This pepped Devon up as he picked up his pace. I hung on briefly to Devon's wheel and laughed to myself as it was a tough pace for me to hold and it was his just ride to finish pace. I soon dropped off.

Annie

Devon caught Greg and Emma, though continued on. Closer to the finish Emma took off on Greg and another rider they caught. I finished back of Greg pleased with my efforts to keep a continuous hard pace. Devon still finished 3^rd with his just finish the race efforts.

A nice well organized low-key event…
results

L'Alpe de Grand Blanc - Big White

click to watch VIDEO recap of 2015 race

Cool first time local event starting in Kelowna, BC and travelling up some 5500' to the ski resort Big White 58-km away was held July 25th. Prior to this, the weather had been scorching hot.

Race day - unexpected rain!

From past experience if the rain was to continue, the first half of a hill climb event will have warmer temps and the second half will be survival temps. It was 18C and humid at the base.

I decided to go with unusual extras for a summer race - an undershirt, knee warmers, cold weather arm warmers, a goofy hat underneath my helmet to prevent rain from hitting my eyewear, bootie covers, with my lightweight rain jacket in my rear pocket. Not ideal setup for racing though I was taking the chance for a gnarly day as we were going up to 1800m.

all photos courtesy BigWhite.com

Small crowd of 60 eager riders lined up. Supposed neutral vehicle pulled away quick with 3 guys on its tail.

The rest of us sauntered not knowing where the neutral part ended. Still not sure, we all sort of went a little harder once on the main Hwy 33.

Even though the rain felt light, I was getting soaked by the rear wheel spray from the bike in front. Clothing choice so far, pretty good, as I was keeping warm while wet.

Legs were a little rigid from doing the Thursday night crit 36 hours ago. Jeff Innes from ERTC was hanging with me for awhile, though we wondered where Terra Manca, a fellow ERTC-er was.

Once my legs loosened up, I clung onto the wheel of a tall guy's bike at a good pace. We both drifted away on our own when I took a pull at one point up the first 12k climb section.

At the top near Goudie road, I said to my riding buddy that we either bridge to the group of 3 riders ahead or he was stuck with me for the flat section, as the next group was abit further back.

Both of us worked together and caught on to this group of three guys in the photo. Once we did, the pace of our group was a little slow. Whenever there was a longer climb, I took a pull up the climb hoping to get the pace going a little quicker.

The roads were rough when I noticed my rear tire was flat. New tire, so bummer. As I stopped to change it, a truck immediately stopped and two guys, Shaun and Caleb, helped me. I assumed they were with the race. I quickly shifted the rear derailleur to the small cog, and attempted to ignore the extra click that did not sound like a clean shift.

I was anxious to be losing time so was chirping for the guys to be quicker. Their help was appreciated so I hate when I lose perspective like that. The peloton with the next woman & Jeff just went by.

I put the rear wheel back on and was dismayed when I could not shift the rear cable to larger cogs. Doh, it was true the shifter had broken in the front. The gear choice of a 50/34 with an 11 cog would not be fun for long. I had to bail.

With my warm clothes bag already at the top, the guys suggested I jump in with them to get a ride. They were watching friends of theirs in the race.

As we drove past the racers, it was cool to see the little groups and the odd singled out person. This was a great race course!

On the turn to Big White, I noticed Terra and was confused to see her there. She mistaken the start time to be 1 hour later so managed to get into the half distance race which started at this turnoff.

Dean & Todd, the guys in 5th & 6th that my truck was following.

Cool scenery!

Roger Sherwood who solo-ed the whole race into 2nd place, an ERTC rider favourite!

ERTC Jeff incognito in a very large blue rain-cape that a volunteer lent him. Jeff said if it was not for the volunteer's help at the feed zones, that he likely would not have finished. The cold rain was an unexpected extra element.

It was 5C and close to sleeting at the top!!

Volunteers at Big White were excited to put on this 1st time event. The support at the top was great with warm blankets and hot packs, and food.

kids raced up the hardest last 2 km of the course!

The organizers are excited about the turn-out and have proclaimed their interest in putting on the event again in 2016, and possibly a series of hill climb events.

I'd like to give it another go!


Later in the week, Jeff & Terra joined me on my favourite route up to Crystal Mountain and back through Boucherie.

Marg & Terra on Boucherie Road

Jeff, Marg & Terra about to descend Gellatly road

Wildfires within 5 km where I stay at Mike's chalet circled in green - abit scary especially when we went through an evacuation one night

Great Reports from Taiwan KOM Challenge 2014

The scenery is outstanding!!

Awesome recap video of the race in action… well, mostly the men's race… exciting to see eventual winner John Ebsen make his move on the 27% grade! 

Link to my post-race CBCradio interview with Doug Dirks, where I bumbled through and forgot to mention "raw food"!! and green juice...   

My race report in Pedalmag

Press Conference with Lee Rodgers - photo Changmin Park

First race report out by Lee Rodgers, Director of Communications for the event

Aaron tasting his 1st Persimmons I bought from a street vendor

Articles: by Eurosport-Australia writer Aaron S. Lee:

Cdn Marg Fedyna Wins Taiwan KOM, Will Routley Finishes 15^th
Awesome article focusing on the women:
Queens Rule Atop Taiwan KOM Challenge

Chris bravely trying "stinky tofu" in the streets of Shuishe

Descriptive account from 14th spot by Velonews journalist Chris Case: Case Suffering Taiwan

Dave & Marg could not resist hugging the Bear at Press Conference

Coverage (report and video) from Cycle Tips journalist Dave Everett: The Definition of  Epic Tackling a Rain Soaked Taiwan KOM Challenge

Pre-race Video by Dave Everett

I enjoy Dave’s humour... comment to Nicole Cooke (World/Olympic Road Champ) and Tiffany Cromwell (5^th Road Worlds this year)... "both of you got not bad results"! Love Nicole’s response at the end talking about compact crank.

Live Video during the race by Dave Everett

The coverage Dave shows while racing is cool, to see how wet and cold, and steep it was. How Tiffany talks about the crash is admirable. Seeing Jo riding was great! I'm bug-eyed in the video, learning not to do next time!

Jo waiting at a light with the many scooters

Peloton Pillow Talk video with Jo with Dave Everett

- 2 min in, shows the wicked Taiwan scenery on a ride the first day we were there… and my climbing style which I have never seen on video. It feels smoother than it looks. 

- 3:40 Pre-race, Jo mentions my raw food and being a dark horse... so very cool coming from a competitor friend!

 

The crash about to happen... photo Danial Hakim/Taiwan Cyclist Federation

Jo and Tiff are directly behind the fallen rider. The men's winner Ebsen is right in front of the crash. Front of peloton is usually considered safest!

Day after the race, we all went riding in the countryside by Taipei

One of my favourite photos of the "engaging conversations" eight cycle jounalists and photographers had during dinners!

My Pedalmag Article: Taiwan KOM Challenge 2014

Taiwan KOM Challenge Report, Photos – Canada’s Fedyna Wins, Routley 15th

by Marg Fedyna    

 

November 20, 2014 (Taiwan) – Working with a few racers on the 7% graded highway at a hard though comfortable effort, I glanced down at my GPS. It registered 42km in distance of the 105km event, though only 450 metres for elevation! After starting at sea level in the eastern coastal village of Hualien, it was hard to comprehend the elevation gain left to finish at Wuling, Mt. Hehuan at 3,275 metres.

 

Sub-tropical vegetation early on. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

The wet weather was playing havoc with the GPS readings though I took heed. With the pounding rain keeping me soaked, I was quick to note that I needed to gauge my effort, food intake and warmth level to get to the top.

After the inaugural Taiwan KOM race in 2012, fellow ERTC club racer Greg Nicholson sent me a link to the personal account of Daniel Carruthers’ race with this message “Bucket list! Never knew this climb existed. Outstanding! Marg, I think this one has your name written on it.”

I was definitely intrigued by this event and was excited to be a part of it this year.

The rains began the night before. The racers staying at the Parkview Hotel were huddled under the hotel loading zone roof waiting for the last moment to ride the 8km to the beach location for the 6:30 a.m. start.

Forecast was 16°C, to cool to 13°C by the top of Hehuan. Since the air was humid and warm, most racers wore basic jersey and shorts.

I was contemplating clothing options with Nicole Cooke (GBR) who was here as a journalist. She was the only Olympic and Road Worlds winner in the same year. Will Routley (Optum/Kelly Benefit Strategies) from Abbotsford, BC offered his feedback that whatever he wears… he’d be too warm at one point and too cold at another.

With only a slight predicted decrease in temperature I decided to add arm warmers, and wore a lightweight Sugoi rain jacket to keep me dry for the start.

On-route riding to the race start, the spray from the roads and cyclists’ rear wheels already made my clothing damp.

Pre-race performance by the Taroko drummers. © Taiwan Cyclist Federation

I missed out on truly enjoying the powerful beat of the Taroko dummers as I was concerned how to keep my damp body warm before the start. Valuable energy was already burning to do so.

Despite the drizzling weather, the atmosphere was quite relaxed at the start line. I took a place near the front of the field for the neutral start.

Neutral start from 0m elevation at the coast ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

Once the event began, the large peloton of 473 racers rode out the main road at a pace controlled by the commissaire vehicles and motorcycles. The constant bike wheel spray was tough to avoid.

Even though Cooke is retired from cycling, she instinctively was at the front of the peloton. Jo Hogan (Rapha Ambassador) and Tiffany Cromwell (Specialized-lululemon), both Pro racers from Australia, were hovering near the front as well.

Crossing the bridge before the turn to Taroko Gorge ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

The pace quickened before the turnoff 18-km in. Once on the Central Cross-Island Highway, we rode over the official timing mat. Though damp, the humid air was warm. I wondered when best to remove my rain jacket to not overheat.

I hovered within the top 30 of the field. As the peloton squeezed onto the narrow road, the riders began to string out. The road gently snaked its way beside a tall rocky ledge. The slight grade of 3% allowed the high pace of the peloton to continue.

Marg Fedyna amidst the peloton. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

On the first gentle descent, I was spooked by my lack of braking power to scrub off a little speed. With the wet roads and closeness of the riders, I relaxed my pace dropping further back from the front group.

The marble walls in Taroko Gorge. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

Within kilometres on this narrow highway, the marble walls in the Taroko Gorge towered hundreds of feet above us. I tilted my head back to take the full view in! Outstanding!! The height of the walls surpassed any photos I had previously seen and was eye-widening. The media described it as out of Jurassic Park.

Even while racing and with my raindrop-spotted eyewear, I was able to take in the magnificent views.

Tunnels built into the mountain. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

The road was narrow and occasionally undercut into the rock. Wherever a section was impassable, a tunnel had been built through the mountain. The highway is an engineering wonder that was completed in 1960 with enormous effort and at the cost of 212 lives.

Riding through the tunnels gave relief from the pelting rain. With no wind, there seemed little need to draft other than for moral support to be together.

Rock slide that occurred with the evenings rain. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

The road surface was pleasantly smooth. With the recent rain, loose rocks had fallen in places with a human-sized one in the middle of the road.

On a tight left hand turn 25 km in, a few riders had collided just ahead. The group I was with managed to ease around safely. This reinforced for me to be cautious.

Soon after I heard “hello” from Nicole just before the first big increase in grade. The rain seemed to let up and I was considering removing my rain jacket.

Slowly, I moved up in the field and came by Tony, Will Routley’s dad, riding well. A few racers passed by which had Tiffany pulling strongly.

I figured the top women were up ahead with the lead peloton so I was surprised to see both Tiffany and Nicole.

Tiffany Cromwell pulling strongly after an early crash. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

My rain-spotted eyewear gave limited visibility though I wanted to keep my eyes protected from grit as long as possible. I then noted that Tiffany had ripped shorts and it wasn’t just a rain spot on my glasses.

A few km later when Tiffany eased her pace, I asked if she needed anything. Her reply was “new legs”! The grade was steepening as I continued at my pace.

Tunnel reminiscent from an amusement ride. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

Countless number of long tunnel sections through the mountain also kept me wary of other racers riding skills. Fortunately, there was sufficient lighting in the tunnel to make out the road and riders.

Early on there were plenty of racers around. As the gradient slowly rose, I mostly rode my pace jumping in to follow another rider’s quicker pace every so often.

To help conserve energy, I backed off my effort when sporadic 12% grades popped up. Then I rode harder on the lesser grades suitable to my riding style.

Periodically, I ate some of the chopped up pieces of dates I had in the side pockets on my shorts. The humidity unexpectedly softened the dates to goo. I had to squeeze them out of the plastic bag like a gel.

Passing the first feed-zone offering food, only bananas were available. I hollered ahead “banana, peeled” as I wanted to grab the banana as I rode by.

Banana hand-offs at the feed-zone. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

The first couple of volunteers were caught by surprise with the request as I passed by. Soon, I had five feed-zone volunteers running to hand me a peeled banana! Big thank you for their effort, as I grabbed one.

The climb went on and on. In no way was I bored!

Tranquil scenery. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

The guard railings painted red and yellow made a nice contrast with the green lush foliage brightening the limited rainy view. Though the scenery in the distance was hidden on this rainy day, the amazing road with its constant change in grade, twists and turns offered sneak peeks of the twisty road below on a switchback.

As the rain pelted down harder, I was glad to have kept my jacket on. Now, I was concerned for my finger dexterity. Over the years of endurance racing, especially 24-hour mountain bike racing and adventure racing, my fingers and wrists have taken their toll with overuse under extreme conditions.

My fingers were becoming numb. As I rode, I began to shake one hand at a time and do one-arm windmills. I even tried sitting on a hand while riding or warming my fingers under my armpit.

Fortunately, my body core was warm.

With my finger dexterity limited, it was more difficult to grab my food from my pockets. Passing the next feed-zone, I made the effort to slowly eat the whole banana welcoming the energy.

I had taped the distance and elevation points onto my top tube to appease the analyst side of me during the race. In the rain, I found I barely glanced at it.

At that time, I did notice 3 hours of duration completed from the start-line on my GPS. I guessed I had at least another 2 hours – two more hours to ride with frozen fingers!

Would my fingers keep mobile that long? I was also concerned with how much body heat would be zapped on the upcoming descent section. I was smart enough to not look at the temperature reading! I did not want to know.

I began playing distance games thinking once I had 35 km to go that this would be just like the climb leaving Penticton on Green Mountain Road going all the way up to the end of the pavement at the Apex Ski Resort.

Occasional kiosks of fruit vendors. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

I managed to grab a Vega gel from my rear pocket and wished I had a few more.

At the 85 km mark, the few km of descent began. I passed a couple of riders braking to a crawling speed. Only one guy zoomed by being brave enough to go fast.

My dexterity was diminishing. It was scary to gain too much speed on the narrow roads with limited braking power. I hoped my hands and wrists would not fail me.

The descent was over before I knew it. I welcomed a nicely graded climb to relax my grip and warm up. My pace picked up with new-found energy. At this time, a motorbike hovered behind me with a helmet cam. No smiles were to be had.

Within a few km, I was 95 km into the climb reaching Dayuling at 2,565m elevation. I was relieved to make it to this point with the “real climb” up next.

Even though the course so far was interspersed with short increases in grade, the 7% average grade for the first 95 km was quite enjoyable to ride. I was happy to be riding in my big chain ring of a compact crankset wondering why I even switched my cassette to an 11-28 for the race.

When I looked up ahead, I immediately knew the 11-28 cassette was a necessity. The road just rose steeply. It was time for the small chain ring! The way the road snaked up with steep pitches around corners was wowing with the exclamation each time “not again”.

Last 10km. ©Taiwan KOM Challenge

The last 8-km was an average 17% grade with a short pitch of 27.3%! I passed a couple of riders traversing the road zigzagging. And a few walking, already.

The grades were very inconsistent. The minute time in between allowed for a brief rest. Each time the grade ramped up, I hoped I was in the proper small gear.

With 8 km left, my hands were still an issue. I was furiously shaking them to bring back feeling.

The rainy weather was playing games with the GPS gradient reading so I did not get to see the unbelievable 27.3% grade show up! It reminded me of a road going up a steep driveway to a house on a hill with a plateau, before it rises again.

The scary wet metal grates. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

On the steep pitches, I was spooked each time my rear wheel spun in one spot over the intermittent metal grates across the road. It was hard enough to focus on keeping momentum going let alone to give an extra pedal stroke to get over the grate without toppling over as I was climbing out of the saddle.

Finally seeing the 5km to go sign, I was mentally confident I would be able to gut it out with ice block fingers to the end. Physically, I was feeling fine. The grade lessened for a couple of km until the last vicious km.

Maybe it was a good thing the top was not visible with the rainy clouds.

With 500m to go, the course was marked with a sign every 100m. Time ticked in between each sign as the road rolled through more open rocky terrain.

Winner John Ebsen visible metres before the finish. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

The finish line popped out of nowhere. As I approached the finish, I was told I was the first woman!

That did not register quickly with me as I had pictured Jo working with the peloton ahead and wondered how far back I was.

Early on, both Jo and Tiffany had been directly behind a rider that fell. It was inevitable for both of them to crash. Both women courageously finished which is a statement of perseverance. Jo made her way back to 4^th place.

Nicole was riding as a journalist and successfully finished. She stated she would rather attempt such a challenge with the appropriate training.

Women’s Podium. ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

Next women to finish were from Taiwan with Qin Xin (ECT-Specialized) just over three minutes back and Guo Nian Wen (YCCAA Yilan Cycling Team) another 12 minutes back. Cool to have ridden my best and bonus to come out on top!

Five Canadians finished the event with just over half the field making the time cut off of 6.5 hours.

Top Canadian male was Will Routley in a competitive field including the previous winner from 2012, John Ebsen (Atlas/Black Inc.) from Denmark. Ebsen also won the 2014 event breaking away on the challenging 27.3% grade to the finish.

Will came to this race already settled into his off-season, though gave it his best effort. Battling the altitude was a factor for him. He stated “it would certainly be nice to show up with better form, and with the experience of having done it once. All in all it was a great off-season adventure I got to share with my father.”

A recovered Will Routley greeting his father Tony Routley at the finish © Daniel Simms Photography

Tony Routley, Will’s dad placed 6^th in the 50-59 category. Knowing Tony had previously ridden the road up Haleakala in Maui, a 52 km climb from sea level to 3,037m, I asked how it compared. Tony stated, “Haleakala is a consistent and gradual climb”. Taiwan KOM Challenge “is definitely more difficult”. Tony also mentioned “the altitude and cold combo absolutely killed me in the last 5km.”

Dylan Cunningham (Russ Hays’ Accent Inns Cycling Team) from Victoria who finished 31^st at the men’s National Road Race Championships in Lac Megantic, QC this year, placed amongst the top of the field in 19^th.

Fraser Young, originally from Victoria now living in Taiwan, who raced for his 3^rd time placed 28^th worked his way to a higher placing and time in the more inclement weather.

Gearing choice is a major factor for this event. While standard gearing is possible at a deathly effort, compact gearing reduces the effort. The choice of cassette matters as well. My selection was limited with the rear derailleur. I was quite happy with using an 11-28 as I climbed mostly out of the saddle.

Prior to the race, I noticed the large cassette on Tony Routley’s bike. After the race he said “the 32-tooth cog was perfect. I was really happy with that choice.” Even with his perfect gearing choice, Tony found the altitude and cold combination haunted him within the last 5 km.

The 2014 poster for the race came to reality ©Taiwan Cyclist Federation

This mountain climb needs a strategy to conquer.

After the 95km “warmup”, the last 10 km of the course is the toughest part. That final section is unique in its steep undulations to create the average 17% grade. No other climb I have done compares to it. I definitely want to ride this course again in dry conditions.

The scenery alone puts Taroko Gorge on the Top 10 Best Things to see in Taiwan.

Taiwan KOM Challenge is at the top of the list for Top 10 Epic Hill Climbs in the world!

Special thanks to the Taiwan Tourism Bureau and Taiwan Cyclist Federation, as well as Race Organizer Gary Shu and Director of Communications Lee Rodgers for the opportunity to experience the hospitality and beauty of Taiwan.