The Taiwan KOM Thread

Since it’s one of the biggest cycling events on the island, I figured we should have a dedicated thread for it.

The latest…

And we thought Omar Fralle was the best that would come out.

Awesome. I wish Taiwan will get more international attention. There could be really tough (and dangerous!) races here for EU/other teams to show their skills and power.

Previous champion, John Ebson, was probably crying himself to sleep knowing Nibali has decided to attend.

Fraile has attended the past two years and despite his results not living up to his La Vuelta polka dot jersey standards, it just seems like he’s here to have fun.

Only tangentially related, but I think Taiwan would be a great place for an extreme triathlon like the Norseman or Celtic. It’s common to start in the ocean and end at the top of a mountain for these extreme races. The mountain for KOM could be used for part of such a course (220km for an Ironman distance triathlon, with only 3.8km of that from the swim).

I know it’s being talked about, but have been told that it’s extremely difficult to stop traffic for these races. Too bad. It would be a great race.

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Yes, closing roads for an Iron Man is definitely much more work than Taiwan KOM. Assuming all two “road” events are on the road, that’s twice the amount of work!

They also have to hold the race on a weekday. Previously, Taiwan KOM held their event on a Sunday and they had cars coming over from the Puli side and rolling down into Hualien. Not…good.

I attended last year via support car and there was almost no traffic since there are a few places to stay overnight in the gorge and also on the road up from Yilan. So it’s not traffic free, but pretty damn good for Taiwan.

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Nibali and Evans. Things are looking up. And up. And up. And up. (I think you get the point :wink: )

I think I said it before… but probably one of the reasons why there aren’t big events here is roads. I mean, these mountains and their roads are lovely for us, slow riders. These roads are not safe for people competing, trying to win. I’m sure that there would be several casualties if we had many “serious” races in the mountains.

Another reason would be that this country is the middle of nowhere.

Fraile isn’t really a pure climber, is he? Going after (and winning) a GT KoM jersey is not necessarily an indication of a proper mountain goat. Not demeaning his achievement as it’s no mean feat, but can be won by smart tactical riding, it seems.

There’s nothing slow about your downhill times.

What road is safe though? Even on closed courses that the pros ride on, outside of Taiwan, they have accidents. What makes Taiwan so much different if they successfully close the roads? Last year, I experienced first hand and they did a pretty damn good job with stopping cars that were not supporting the race to get into the gorge.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Taiwan KOM has not seen any fatal injuries in the years it’s been operating. I think the worst was three years ago when it rained and riders slipped and fell early on in the course.

Jesus, if Nibbles and Cadel are racing I’m getting some media accreditation. Could be a frenzy up the mountain.

Did not notice Cadel’s name. Might try to go and spectate!

Taking pics near the peak, or in Taroko? That’s tough

Mountain roads are narrow, very narrow, if compared with the ones ridden in Europe. Then pot holes, twists and rock slides don’t help either.

If I’m not mistaken, not every mtn road that are on the grand tours are like…4 lanes wide. Of course I’ve never been to Europe and never ridden on those roads, but on TV, they look pretty damn narrow to me.

TBH I don’t even follow the races, but when I watch them, the roads are like… what I remember them to be. Not always 4 lanes, but not as narrow as the average mountain road here. Remember that sometimes they narrow down a lot…

I’ll hire a Youbike, ride along beside the peloton, ride ahead for a few segments so I can set up somewhere. Maybe launch a drone. :sunglasses:

Hi, I’m the Comms Director for the KOM, great to see you all chatting about the event! This year will be the biggest event in the race’s history, we also have GCN coming to cover the race and four top female pros coming too, will be announcing them soon on our FB page. This is the year to sign up to ride for sure. Our aim to become the world’s unofficial Hill Climb Championships is gathering some real momentum. Go Taiwan!

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We got Lee Rodgers here! Welcome to Forumosa!

Aaaaany chance we’ll see any kind of live feed this year?

Hi Lee. Really good year to ramp it up building on the momentum and international exposure of the Taipei Universiade (which had no cycling). Taiwan really starting to stick its neck out, good to see.

This.

Depending on when it is, I could even take on my motorcycle some camera man

(I hope I don’t end up provoking any accident!)