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Taiwan KOM Challenge

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Price from
US$ 3,450
Duration
7 Days / 6 Nights
Distance
200 km
Difficulty
Tour Code
TWN-KOM
Next departure
On Request
Number of Cycling Days5
Average Climbing Per Day: 2500
0
2,250 m
Total Cycling Distance200 kilometres
AccommodationIncluded
Single SupplementN/A
Client Rating (based on 3 reviews)

About this Cycle Tour

The Grand Tours have popularized Europe’s highest roads, making them the bucket list of many riders, but there is another iconic climb that is quickly topping rider's bucket lists – the Taiwan KOM Challenge.

The pinnacle of this tour is the 105 km course from sea level up to 3,275 m, all the elements needed to test rider and machine against the mountains - long, twisting ascents, mind-numbing gradients and thinning air, all in the lush green surroundings of the tropics. Starting from Hualien’s Qixingtan, passing through the spectacular Taroko Gorge, then climbing to Taiwan’s highest passable road apex atop Route 14A to Wuling Pass. The route begins at sea level on the eastern coast and climbs up to 3275 metres. This 105 km route has tested even the world’s most elite riders.

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Itinerary

Day 1

Arrive in Taipei and meet up in the evening for a trip briefing.

Day 2

Stretch the legs, lungs, and get a feel for the terrain on a ride through stunning and world famous Taroko Gorge.

Day 3

Another great day of riding in Taiwan's fabulous mountain landscapes. We'll have some climbs, but will utilize the support vehicle to keep our climbing legs in good condition.

Day 4

Get a taste for the KOM course on an acclimitization ride through Taroko Gorge!

Day 5

Choose to rest up before the race or go on an easy coastal ride.

Day 6

An early 6 am race start for the ride of a lifetime.

Day 7

Transfer to Hualien Train Station for onward travel.

Elevation Profiles

Day 2 - Taipei - Fuxing Ride 30-50km. +600m.
Day 2 - Taipei - Fuxing Ride 30-50km. +600m.

Reviews

Amazing week, amazing race, fantastic guides and support!

Nicholas AshworthOctober 2018

What a week! So well planned and organised. Our guide was outstanding; knowledge of the routes and local customs was excellent. We can't wait to go back to Taiwan again.

Mark, our guide, was outstanding. He is a total credit to making the extra difference to this holiday. We so enjoyed spending time with him and our mechanic Leo. We would certainly go back to Taiwan on the longer tour with Mark.

Hayley DixonOctober 2018

Great way to ride the KOM with fellow hardcore cyclists.

Kaj Ville Jesper GrandinOctober 2018

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Tours in: Taiwan

Taiwan KOM Challenge
Tour CodeTWN-KOM
7Days
6Nights
DestinationsTaiwan
Tour MeetsTaipei
Tour EndsTaipei
Fly in toTaiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)
Fly out ofTaiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)
Group Size2-12 riders
Minimum Age18 (on scheduled departures)

Activity Profile

5Cycling days
200kmTotal cycling distance
kmAvg distance / day
2500mAvg climbing / day

Pricing

PriceOn request
Bike HireN/A
Single SupplementN/A

What's Included

  • SpiceRoads jersey
  • Water bottle
  • Support vehicle
  • Guide(s)
  • Meals (as indicated)
  • Airport drop off
  • Accommodation
  • Snacks and drinks
  • Entrance fees

What's Excluded

  • International flights
  • Domestic flights
  • Airport pick up
  • Visa fees
  • Alcohol
  • Tips

Departures

Final tour dates and price for this year's Taiwan KOM 2020 trip are still pending, but will be confirmed soon. To secure your place on this year's tour, please send us an enquiry.

Trip Profile

Our three days of riding before the race are meant to be warm up and familiarization rides that aren't too taxing. We do climb some, but the distances we cover each day are short.

Vincenzo Nibali, the 2017 the winner of the Taiwan KOM Challenge, set a new record for the event with a time of 3:19:54. He was more than a minute ahead of Spain's Oscar Pujol and 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans finished 10th. Britain's Emma Pooley won the women's race in 4:08:40. Nibali said he has “never ridden such a long and hard climb before in my entire life," after posing on the winner's podium.

The KOM is 105 km from sea level up to 3,275 m. Please note that the cut off time is 6 hours 30 minutes to have a recorded time. You are allowed to continue riding but will receive a DNF. In high altitude mountain area, temperature and weather can change very fast. Please prepare warm clothing to be waiting for you at the top in our van. The high altitude of the finish line may cause altitude sickness. If riders feel the onset of the symptoms of altitude sickness or any other unhealthy feeling during the ride, they are strongly advised to stop riding immediately and seek medical attention/support.

Day 1 Arrival in Taipei

Arrive in Taipei and transfer to our hotel in the city. We’ll have a pre-tour meeting over a welcome Taiwanese feast.

Les Suites
Dinner

Day 2 Taipei - Fuxing

We pick you up from your Taipei hotel in the morning and drive outside the busy city to start our ride to Fuxing. We will just have a short ride, a gentle start through undulating hills to get the legs warmed up before we start the serious climbing. You’ll be riding through thick forest , and the thick moss and huge ferns that line the narrow road give the whole place a Jurassic aura. Depending how much climbing you wish to do, we can drop you off at specific locations to offer between 600 and 900 metres of ascent.

Li Wu Zuo Cun B&B (or similar)
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 30-50km
+600m

Day 3 Fuxing to Wuling Farm

To avoid wearing out our climbing legs, we will have a transfer to start the day. We start our ridng with a descent then we will engage those quads to power up to 1,900 m. We will be using the North Cross Island Highway that takes us up to the high point of Shih Yuan Pass at 1,900m. The forest will be thick and will change from cedars to bamboo. The scenery is spectacular up here and the air fresh. We overnight at an area that was part of a 1960s government scheme to resettle veterans as farmers and in the 1980s the focus shifted towards developing tourism and agriculture.

Wu Ling Farm
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 60km
+1500m

Day 4 Wu Ling - Taroko

Again we transfer by vehicle to avoid overdoing it prior to the race. Though the distance is short today it is almost all up! Starting in Lishan at 2,000 metres, we warm up for 20 kilomtres to Da Yu Ling at 2,500 metres. We get our first preview of the race route- cycling up the last 10 km of the KOM to Wu Ling at 3,275m! Depending on the time and the weather, we can either ride of transfer by car down to Hualien. The descent is about 90 km from 3,275 m to sea level. We check in to our Hualien hotel, our base for the next 3 nights.

Parkview Hotel
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 30km
+1000m

Day 5 Pre-Race Rest Day or Coastal Spin Around Hualien

Today’s easy ride will be rolling out in the morning, building camaraderie while taking in the smooth tarmac and scenic coastline north of Hualien. Our ride finishes early today to attend the registration event. In the evening, we will talk tactics over a hearty pre-race meal.

Parkview Hotel
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 40km
+300m

Day 6 Race Day

Rise early to fuel up before transfer to the start of the race. Our team will provide full vehicle support during the ride, and transfer back down to Taroko afterwards, so you won't have to ride down after the climb. Rest up after the ride of a lifetime, and regroup to transfer to the Taiwan KOM post-race banquet for dinner. * Race Fee Included

Parkview Hotel
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 105km
+3500m

Day 7 Onward Departure

After a final breakfast at the B&B, our local team will transfer you to Hualien rail station for onward travel and departure. We highly recommend you extend your stay with SpiceRoads in Taiwan, to enjoy more of the cycling, scenery, and culture the island has to offer on our South Taiwan Road tour.

Breakfast

Disclaimer: The adventure cycling tours we operate often go beyond the beaten track, and the countries where we ride are not always predictable. Due to these reasons, it is occasionally necessary to reroute or update itineraries. Our guarantee is that we will not change a trip unless for safety or to improve it. Our listed hotels are always accurate at the time of writing, but should we have to change any hotel, it will always be for a similar or better one.

Nuts & Bolts

Bikes

We highly recommend you bring your own bike with appropriate gearing to take on this challenge.

Bike Repairs

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

Safety

Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.

Guides

You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.

The Nitty Gritty

Passports and Visas

Visa requirements for Taiwan vary depending on your nationality, the purpose of your visit, and the duration of your stay. Many nationalities, including citizens of many Western countries, are eligible for visa-free entry or visa-on-arrival for short stays (usually up to 90 days). See here for the full list of visa-exempt countries. If the passport you hold is not on this list, please review the information on this website and get in touch with the embassy/consulate nearest to you if you require assistance. All nationalities require a passport for entry into Taiwan. Please ensure your passport is valid for at least 6 months after the duration of your stay.

Health

We recommend that you visit a travel medical doctor and ask about the following vaccinations: typhoid, polio, tetanus and hepatitis A. A certificate for yellow fever is required when arriving from an infected area within six days.

Weather

The Tropic of Cancer runs straight through the middle of Taiwan resulting in a subtropical climate. Summers can be hot, humid and wet, although rainfall is often limited to short showers. Typhoon season hits in late summer to mid-autumn and tends to strike the east coast particularly hard. Winter temperatures are mild and the only snowfall is on mountain peaks.

The annual average temperature of the northern part is around 21.7C (71F) while it is around 24.1C (75F) in the southern part. The coldest months are from January to March with the lowest temperature to about 10C (50F). The average temperature of the rest of the year is around 25C (77F).

Rain is always a possibility in Taiwan so please come prepared with waterproof jacket and pants. As we also cycle to high altitudes where the weather can be cooler and change quickly it is best to have layers available.

Taiwan is also prone to earthquakes as it sits on the colliding Eurasian and Philippine plates. These grinding plates are also responsible for the beautiful mountains and amazing hot springs that make the trip to Taiwan truly worthwhile. Most of these quakes are small earth tremors.

Food

Meals are included as per the itinerary where B = breakfast, L = lunch, D = dinner. Most meals are local and feature noodles, rice, and soups. Any special dietary requirements can also be catered for as well. Please let us know at the time of booking.

Drink

Keeping you completely hydrated is a job we take very seriously. Cold water, some energy-restoring drinks while you are riding are included in the tour price. Soft drinks and other beverages during meals are not included. Beer is freely available everywhere but is NOT included in the price.

Solo Travelers

SpiceRoads does not require you to pay a surcharge for traveling alone. We will arrange for you to share accommodation with another traveler of the same gender and if we can not match you up we will provide a single room at no extra charge. If you prefer not to share a single supplement is payable to guarantee your own room. The cost of the single supplement is listed above.

Extra Expenses

We recommend that you tuck away a few extra dollars, perhaps US$20 a day, for incidentals.

Money

Taiwan’s currency is the New Taiwanese Dollar (NT). ATMs, which are abundant, are the easiest way to get NT. With more than 4,000 7-Elevens across the country, there are ATMs on the international Plus or Cirrus network and have English-language options. Have a supply of US dollars in cash on hand, just in case your card doesn’t work. Credit cards are accepted in big cities and resort hotels but you’ll need cash for family-run guesthouses or restaurants.

General booking info

If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:

FLEXIBLE BOOKING CONDITIONS

Booking a SpiceRoads cycling adventure is easy and we try to do everything possible to make sure you have full flexibility and peace of mind. We do not require a deposit to hold your place on a tour and once full payment has been made your money is protected in our client account and you have the flexibility to cancel or change your booking if needed.

CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING

Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.

You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.

TRIP STATUS

There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.

BOOKING ONLINE

From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).

If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.

BOOKING OFFLINE

Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.

The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.

In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.

In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.

The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.

FULL FLEXIBILITY FOR TOUR CANCELATIONS

If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).

If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).

Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.

If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.

Loyalty Riders Club

For those who have been on several long tours with us, we reward customer loyalty by offering repeat customers a special discount off the tour price (excludes single supplement and bike rental). If this is your fourth scheduled tour or more you will receive a 5% discount. If this is your eighth scheduled tour or more we will extend a 10% discount. The discount will be reflected in your online booking, but please contact us if any questions. Loyalty discounts cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Note: Only tours of 7 days or more will be applicable for a loyalty discount.

International Flights

International flights, to and from the start and finish points are not included in the tour price. Once your tour is Guaranteed to Depart you can book your flight. Please contact us for advice before arranging flights for the best arrival and departure times. We would only cancel a trip for an extreme circumstance, but in that case, where we cancel your trip, we cannot be liable for losses incurred relating to any flight booking you have made. Please claim any losses from your travel insurance that you acquired when you booked your holiday.

Newsletter

Our adventure travel e-newsletter is full of travel news, trip information, interesting stories and contests. To avoid missing out on special offers and updates from SpiceRoads, be sure to subscribe.

The information in this document is given in good faith, and covers the average range of conditions likely to be found on this trip. Please note that the itinerary is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances, however, we will always do our best to adhere to this original itinerary

Contact Us

45 (Sub Soi Pannee) Soi Pridi Banomyong 26
Sukhumvit Soi 71 Klongtan Nua, Wattana
Bangkok, Thailand 10110
Tel: +66 (0) 2 026 3295
Email: info@spiceroads.com
Website: www.spiceroads.com