Just about a month to go til the World Masters Games kicks off in Taiwan!

I live on the coastal road that is featured in the route so know it quite well.

Follow me on Strava to see some of the route recces I’ve been doing.

Also see my cycling tour company KOJO Collective and feel free to get in touch about cycling tours here in Taiwan.

Here below is a map of the 80km road cycling race route.

The majority of the climbing comes at the end of the race, with a near-20km climb up to finish at a car park just below the summit of Yangmingshan National Park.

The start sees the riders head north then east along the coastal road, which almost always features wind – usually northwards up the east side then a tailwind down the west, but not always. At times this wind can be very strong.

At the 27km point the route turns and goes into the mountains, just a small 2km climb that is about 5% average. Then we turn left downhill and go through the town of Sanzhi, before the climbs begin again at the 30km point. Lasting about 5km, there are some steeper sections here but generally it will be a quick ascent over good roads, before heading back to the coast briefly.

At 42km the route goes back into the mountains, and a 5 km climb faces the riders, a beautiful ascent through the jungle on a fairly narrow lane. Then there is a steepish descent with some twisting corners that takes us back to the coastal road, and then all that is left is the 20km uphill to the finish line.

This is a challenging climb, with a wide road at the start that includes a 2.5km section at around 8%, then it narrows and calms down in terms of the incline, at about 4% average. The final stretch of about 1km to the line is quite steep and will test the legs of all who have got that far.

It’s a good route that will produce a worthy winner.