From HsinJu, one of Taiwan’s high tech centers, to Sun Moon Lake, Stage 4 covered 194km. Leaving at 9.30am the leading group had completed the stage by a bit after 2pm.
The 2011 Tour of Taiwan kicked off just as Taipei Cycle 2011 drew to a close. Normally the Tour is organized so the final day is a 60 x 1 km crit around Taipei’s City Hall. Coinciding with the show has made it impossible for anyone involved in the show to really pay the Tour much attention. This new arrangement is pretty good.
The tour this year covers 1,137km in 9 stages.
Today’s route took the Tour through country familiar to many, but not all, Taichung cyclists. The main climb for the day was over Mt. White Whiskers, around 130km into the stage. I took a few hours out of the office to head over there and take some shots as they came over the top of the climb.
Andrew at Taiwan in Cycles has recently blogged about this climb and the descent. From the north, the direction from which the peloton approached, it’s not so steep. The descent to the south is very steep, however, with sharp bends.
A few of the guys rode this route from the south on Sunday. With the temperature hitting 35° in places, it was tough going.
Today was overcast with a cool breeze. These were much better conditions for high octane riding over the hill.
The leader WONG Kam P0 approaches the top having opened up a good gap. He finished in a time of 4:36:12.
10 seconds to going over the top and into a very fast descent.
Here come the pack.
Adam Phelan a leading contender is right up there. A little to his left is team mate Adam Semple.
What a great effort from Chao Wai Man.
JEONG Eun Seong 4:39:57
A tough day at the office.
This member of the Netherlands National Team would probably like to take in the view — and it really is a great view across to Big Snow Mountain. However, that will have to wait until another day.
Here come his team mates.
Ruud van Wel, who finished in a time of 4: 50:34.
Shinishi Fukushima also in a time of 4: 50:34
Further back in the field.
Guillaume Bourgeois finished in 5:01:56
“Hey up there…!!”
“Get set for a fast descent”.
There are still a few groups further back. The climbers have asserted themselves. The sprinters are in survival mode.
There is still some 20km of climbing to do after the descent to get into Sun Moon Lake. But it is not all that steep. I planned to go and get some shots of the awards ceremony for the day but traffic banked up from traffic control put an end to that.
Tomorrow’s Stage 5 involves 136km in route around Taichung’s north. The last 2.5km involve a climb with 5oom, mainly down, to the finish. Should be a great one! If time allows, I may have my spies take some shots.