Updated yearly
Last update Nov 25 2024
Since 2012 the cycling event known as the Taiwan KOM has been gaining prominence year after year and is listed as a must-do on many serious cyclist’s schedule of events to attend.
Considered by many to be among the hardest cycling climb events, elite cyclists from the pro peloton, serious recreational cyclists and casual cyclists turn up every year in late October to cycle 105km from sea level to a mountain pass—Wuling—that sits astride the Central Mountain Range at an altitude of 3,275m.
Contents
Background to the Taiwan KOM
There has been a bit of myth making going on in Taiwan where the island has come to be defined as the “cycling island”. The country has been long known as the “Kingdom of Bicycles” due to the prominence of the bicycle components manufacturing and complete bicycle manufacturing and assembly industry, one of the top three industries in Taiwan.
A coexisting image has been the ‘island of scooters’, which references the popularity of the locally built Sym and Kymco, scooters (Yamaha and a few others fill out the range).
Taiwan’s populace has had a decades-long love affair with the 100cc or 125cc scooters that are cheap to purchase, cheap to run and solve the problem of parking in Taiwan’s compact conurbations.
The release of the movie Island Etude in 2006 saw it turn into an unlikely hit in 2007 and 2008. The story focuses on a six-day bicycling trip around the island by a hearing impaired student toting backpack and guitar, no panniers in sight. The narrative thread comprises encounters with various interesting characters along the way and inadvertently presented biking as a romantic escape from worldly cares.
Up to this point, cycling in Taiwan was utilitarian. A bike got kids to school and some adults to work. But scooters, cars, and busses ruled the roads. And they still do.
The movie set off a cycling boom in Taiwan and May 2008 saw the inaugural cycling festival to celebrate the “Kingdom of Bicycles” which would begin to morph into the idea that Taiwan was also a cycling “paradise”.
The “around island” bicycle trip of some 1000km, taking it’s cue from Island Etude’s protagonist, became enshrined as a bucket list item. Since then bikeways have been built in various locations around the island seemingly making fact out of the cycling “paradise” fiction—the truth is cars and busses rule the roads everywhere as most consistent sports or recreational cyclists will tell you most of whom have been pushed into the curb by busses pulling into a stop or cars turning right and enforcing their (non) right of way (to name but a few issues).
A further development of this nascent cultural movement resulted in 2010’s inaugural Taiwan Cup. This low key event was followed in 2011 by a complete a pro-am event held over several days and culminating in a road race down Route 9 and back up Route 11 on the final Sunday.
It was a big day with the star attraction an offshoot of the (then) mighty Rabobank featuring the soon to be disgraced Carlos Barredo and a young Wilco Kelderman, who has gone on to much bigger things in the years since.
Articulating his vision of Taiwan as a “cycling island”, founder and then CEO of Giant International, King Liu, had himself become a keen cyclist. He could be seen on the day wandering around mingling with the cyclists, pleased that this element of his vision was shaping up nicely.
However, if you want to attract international attention, you don’t send cyclists in a circle around the county—you send them up the leg-buckling Route 8 to the pass at Wuling nestled between the three peaks of Mt. He Huan.
The “Taiwan KOM” was born in 2012 and, apart from the 2024 washout due to torrential rain and the Covid years prior, it’s been held every year since.
Stages of the Taiwan KOM
The initial rollout commences from the Qixingtan scenic park adjacent to the Airport at Hualien on Taiwan’s central east coast.
The race really begins with the left turn at the Central Cross Island highway. 85km remain until the top at Wuling pass.
The mountain climb begins at Tianxiang located at the West end of the Gorge.
The gradient increases with the road winding up in a series of mild switchbacks along a shallow valley that retreats north then hooks around south at the 158km (from Taichung) mark, the road turns 90 degrees and the direct ascent towards Wuling pass begins.
You can look straight down at Tianxiang far below and the valley only deepens the further you climb the goat track cut into the side of the ridge.
A key landmark is the Bilu Giant tree located at around the 3/4 mark and 2000m of elevation of the climb from the entry to the Taraoko Gorge.
The road hooks around sharply yet the gradient is still fairly mild especially in comparison to what lies ahead.
Times are recorded for all riders making it this far. Elite cyclists are not yet under a lot of stress, although regular cyclists may choose to drop out at this point. If you are not feeling good here, the likelihood of making the finish at Wuling is slim.
If you know the route, you know that the really hard kms are just ahead once the Dayuling intersection 15.6km ahead is passed. Dayuling is the point at which the Route 8 road from Taichung (alternate route long closed) and Yilan terminates at the end of a single lane tunnel on the central cross island highway. The turnoff provides a brief level section and marks the point where the final 10.2 km to the finish commences.
Times are also recorded at Dayuling since this is where the strongest riders and the top 10 on the day separate themselves from the dwindling peloton containing all the contenders on the front.
750m from the Dayuling intersection just past the 41km road sign is one of the fiercest ramps in what even the elite cyclists label the most nightmarish section up until that point. 300m @ 27.3% requires total dedication and concentration.
There is one more ramp ahead although not quite as bad. Yet the overall gradient over the final 10km is reportedly around 17%. (You’ll want to make sure your cranks are up to the task [quite apart from your legs]).
The aspect you’ll remember halfway through the ascent of this particular ramp are the tires insulating the wall from vehicles experiencing brake failure hurtling down in the opposite direction.
The view back down the valley along which you’ve traversed in the previous hours provides a sense of achievement and wonder. But nobody’s in the mood for such daydreams at this stage.
Most non-elite cyclists must walk this initial 1km section that encompasses two hairpin bends. Any cyclist able to ride without dismounting can certainly be classed as exceptional.
Watching the top athletes hardly miss a beat through these elevators is a sight to behold.
Key Cyclists and Rides Across the Years
John Ebsen
John Ebsen is a Danish elite cyclist who burst onto the Taiwan KOM scene with his 2014 win—he went on to dominate the event in the following years, winning the top spot in 2018, 2019, and 2022.
His fastest time was 3:21:00 in 2020.
The day of his first win was as brutal as conditions get. A cool, drizzling late Autumn morning . . . cool at sea level anyway since the temperature was in single digits at Wuling’s 3,275m finish.
Light cloud and no rain for the 2019 edition makes for a somewhat easier day at the office.
Cadell Evans and Vince Nibali
2017’s event was not only a fine and sunny day but arguably the biggest year for the Taiwan KOM ever, the main drawcard being the 2011 Tour de France winner, Cadell Evans and top pro Vincenzo Nibali.
Nibali convincingly won in a time of 3:19:54 with Evans coming in 10th in a time of 3:34:25. John Ebsen also competed but was outclassed by the in-form Nibali, finishing 3rd, clocking 3:24:21.
If you’re going to showcase an event, great weather certainly helps. The organizer’s play the lottery every year with the weather since cloud and rain will more than likely make a hard day simply miserable.
Benjamin Dyball
He won the event in 2023, smashing Nibbles’ 2017 record from the previous year by more than 3 minutes in a time of 03:16:09.65 and can said to be the reigning KOM—for now and into the future.
Ben first had a crack at the mountain back in 2018 but Ebsen edged him out by 11 seconds at the post: 3:26:01 vs 3:26:12.
Ebsen has dominated up until now with Dyball looking to take over the crown of absolute King of Wuling. Perhaps this will give John a target to aim for, to keep coming back especially on those years Dyball is confirmed in the lineup.
Feng Jun-kai
A-kai as he’s known among the local cycling community has consistently been Taiwan’s top elite cyclist. His results for the KOM: 2014 5th (3:44:19), 2015 7th (3:38:19), 2018 16th (3:40:44), 1st place in 2021 recording his best time ever (3:33:21).
Ultra Cyclist Rides the Event 4 Times in a Row
The Taiwan KOM is a tough event, even if you take it easy. Many cyclists return repeatedly to pit themselves against the mountain. Australian ultra cyclist, Jack Thompson, chose the 2018 event as the backdrop for what for any ultra cyclist would be seen as a hard day at the office.
In a Perth coffee shop having been told that the even is 3000 meters higher than any climb in Perth he said, “Oh, I could do that four times…” Why? For the mental aspect of it. It’s all about the mind—it plays games with you. So for Jack it had all the right ingredients constituting an “epic challenge.”
He began suffering obsessive compulsive disorder from the age of 14 which turned into bouts of depression in adulthood. “Out of ten, where if ten was the absolute pits and if you go to ten you are sort of never coming back, I’d say I got to eight or nine, like I was pretty sick.” He stopped working and turned to making a career out of ultimate cycling.
The plan was to make four consecutive ascents of the mountain, the fourth and final climb would take place in the actual KOM event on the day. Total hours on the bike were expected to be in the range of 36 to 48 hours.
The 1st climb took 4hrs 45 min. An added complication was the ongoing shoring of the canyon walls of the climb just out of Taroko Gorge to reduce rockfalls. The road was closed for 40 minutes to one hour in each direction. The weather was also awful, drizzling rain and cold, although the day of the event was relatively clear.
The 4th and final ascent was the actually the KOM event itself. He came in at No. 107, clocking 4:35:38. The 22:00 to 22:23 minute mark of the video (below) shows you a side of the race you won’t see elsewhere, breakneck speeds and sickening crashes, totally unnecessary since the real competition is each rider with themselves and the final body- and mind-breaking 10km from Dayuling to the finish at Wuling. As Jack said of this final ascent “I just ride at my own rhythm.” Holding back from the main mass of riders and the chaos once he got into his rhythm he began passing hundreds of competitors.
Jack’s words of advice to anyone considering doing the challenge are instructive:
A challenge you set out to complete, the time that it’s going to take you to complete that challenge is a minuscule slice of your life and so even when it feels tough … as a percentage of your entire life [it’s] nothing. The feeling afterwards having completed it will last forever.
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