Racing The World’s HARDEST Hill Climb | Taiwan KOM Challenge

[@gcn]

What challenge should Ollie take on next? 👀 Let us know in the comments below! 💬

[@Gravel-Cult]

Crusher in the Tushar in Utah. Elevation to the nines and tough climbing on gravel.

[@bucketlist.original]

The Chiemgauking in Bavaria, that's a Mountainbikemarathon against the clock, 172km and 4800 meters of climbing! Maybe joined by Hank!

[@My_HandleIs_]

#gcn The Midnight Sun Randonnée in Umeå Sweden. 1200 km

[@Patrik6606]

Great job again Ollie 😊

[@gearknobz]

Get Emma back as a guest and pair it Ollie to conquer Colombian mountain range

[@Gravel-Cult]

Ollie has really become a legend of a rider in the last 2 years. Well done! Just a few spots short of a top 20 finish. A remarkable achievement for anyone.

[@gcn]

He truly is a special rider! Have you seen when he did the tour des stations?👉gcn.eu/Ultimate1000

[@alinapopescu872]

He's living his dream, clearly. ❤

[@nicklylak]

🚨 Spoiler alert! 🚨

[@gearknobz]

He looks so fresh that I think he can go down and up again and be faster

[@Life_Line8]

Thanks for the spoiler 😒

[@KimiTheCat09]

Ollie has a special place in my heart because he shows what a non-pro rider can actually do if they put their mind to it. It's been inspiring to watch him transform himself from the earliest GCN vids where he was constantly dropped to where he's now chilling amidst the clouds at the top of the Taiwan KOM finish. Big up, Ollie and GCN!

[@eilrach299]

And I remember when he was on that other channel!!

[@grintalcycles8266]

When he first started he was Cycling Weakly

[@charlesjungclaus]

I still want a repeat of 4 v1 !

[@KimiTheCat09]

@@charlesjungclaus Brilliant, GCN should definitely give that another go, Ollie on a TT bike now would be something else!

[@FlatSpinMan]

@@grintalcycles8266And we can’t even make that joke anymore, because he sure isn’t cycling weakly these days.

[@kelvinkinsuan4725]

Being a fellow cyclist from Taiwan it’s really nice to see one of the most influential cycling KZbin channel tackle this beast of a mountain. Love the Taiwan content please come back and visit more.

[@FlatSpinMan]

They’ve done it before, too. That video put this event on the map for a lot of people. Si and Matt rode it, but they made it look way harder than this legend.

[@Anaesdoc]

Averaging 27 km/h on this extreme long uphill climb and occasionally filming and talking is insane!

[@tristanclark7174]

Think you need to check your maths there mate. Nearer 21kmh. 👍🏼

[@gcn]

He certainly had his work cut out on this shoot... do you think GCN held him back?

[@johnpsyclex147]

@@gcn or he benefitted from the occasional (unintended) drafting :)

[@jerehada]

And. he looked as fresh as a daisy at the end.

[@mikekelly1771]

Holy smokes! Ollie, you're a machine! Nice ride mate. 26th is damn respectable. Chapeau!

[@gcn]

It's more than respectable! Ollie smashed it! 🙌

[@Albatrossamongus]

I've done this climb! Also the climb up from Puli City to the same summit on the West side. Utterly spectacular routes on both sides. The whole country is just a cycling paradise in fact. Jaw dropping scenery, excellent roads, awesome food, warm, generous, lovely people. Taiwan is one of the best cycling destinations on earth, truly special.

[@dt8101]

How can it be a cycling paradise when Taiwan is one of the most dangerous places for pedestrians and motor bikers, as reported by CNN. Car drivers there don't make way for pedestrians or people who are riding motor bike or bike.

[@Albatrossamongus]

​@@dt8101 If you're looking for cycling paradise riding a bicycle in downtown traffic in a city of millions I'm afraid there isn't a country on earth where you're going to find it, Taiwan included, obviously. But much of the countryside, the central mountains and their foothills, and Taiwan's East coast though... cycling paradise.

[@jonpoon3896]

@@dt8101I take it you haven’t been

[@jesuswouldkilhimself]

​@@dt8101???

[@黃啟維-i1u]

Sadly to say as a native person in Taiwan I still think it dangerous to go cycling in Taiwan. Lack of cycling lanes in downtown area, bad driving habits of most Taiwanese people all make me feel like I'm risking my life on road.

[@outdoor75]

Been living in Taiwan for 20 years and it is a bike riders paradise, especially if you love climbing. Ollie well done that is a amazing effort. Having done the climb in 2018 double amazing EFFORT!

[@barneyklingenberg4078]

They have some fantastic international bike brands as well.

[@sanynava9160]

​@barneyklingenberg4078 lol, thats because your fav bike brand is actually built in taiwan.....

[@DoritoFD]

My previous road bike had components from a taiwanese manufacturer called Sunrace.

[@sanynava9160]

@@DoritoFD 😂😂😂 you know like 3 companies in Taiwan makes 90% of all road bikes right ? They just slap the name of your "European brand "

[@outdoor75]

@sanynava9160 yes I'm riding a Spanish BH EVO ULTRALIGHT and it's made here in Taiwan

[@mkud1984]

Someone commented in the first video on this KOM about how they had cycled around Taiwan with Taiwan. I had plans to join Giant Adventures for this "Tour de Taiwan" in Marvh 2020, but then Covid hold the world hostage.Fast forward to Oct 2023: Me and my husband did the Tour de Taiwan with Giant and cycled 925km in 9 days. What a great, unique honeymoon in an awesome country. 😅😊

[@eilrach299]

Wow!!!

[@bernieraverty4319]

We’re you able to cycle Hualien to Taipei?….I have been told it is a good idea to train this portion.

[@mkud1984]

@@bernieraverty4319 Indeed, we took a train from Hualien to Yilan and continued biking from there.

[@bernieraverty4319]

@@mkud1984 okay thank you! ….quick follow up question is if you cycled the KOM climb and if you stayed near or just across the summit or even rode back down to Hualien in the same day? Sorry for the extra questions…just trying to sort out if a day trip to the summit is a possibility for a recreational cyclist.

[@mkud1984]

@bernieraverty4319 no, the KOM part/Taroko wasn't part of the trip. That would have been to challenging - the group consisted of 35 people. I guess some would have been able to do it, but most wouldn't. Like me, and I consider myself reasonably fit...

[@ryancid]

It's nice to have selfies with Ollie before the match start. Happy to finished under 5 hours. Great to found Ollie's stunning performance under 4 hours. It's my third time for the KOM event. The first time finished line moved to 2100m due to typhoon. The second time finished 5:21 way below expectation. Guess third time's the charm.

[@gcn]

Awesome! Great to hear that you had a good race 🙌 We loved going back for the race, such a cool event! Ollie loves taking selfies 🙌 Will you be back next year?

[@jvogel431]

I suggest that Ollie go to Hawaii and take on the Mauna Kea volcano challenge. It starts on the beach and climbs for 54 miles and gains 13,800ft. The final stretch of very steep grades is on gravel. I did this climb a couple of years ago. Completely incredible. Might be the longest hillclimb in the world. Phil Gaiman holds the KOM.

[@dannystaten5701]

The first gcn video got me excited for this ride and I did it in 2019. It was absolutely incredible! The gorge near the bottom was unreal, and the last 10k was brutal! Congrats to Olly for an impressive result!

[@weatheranddarkness]

Ya, the video doesn't even do it justice! It's amazing in person! Just watch out for falling rocks!!!

[@gcn]

That's so cool to hear! Getting people excited to ride bikes is why we do what we do 🙌 So cool to hear you enjoyed the race, pretty epic isn't it!

[@miche_amico]

The scenery is absolutely stunning. Congrats to Ollie on the great result.

[@alanmckellar908]

Bravo! Well done Ollie. Thank you for taking us with you on your journey. Brought a smile to my face as you shared your joy with us and it recalled my ride of the Triple Bypass last summer. You had an amazing ride.

[@craigjhudson6787]

Road surface looks incredible, proper cycling paradise!

[@hh_88]

see the fan taking a photo together with ollie in the last section of the video it's awesome, and as always very good video, and congratulations to the entire team..... ride safe everyone.

[@vbalas9214]

I started cycling last year. I am 30 years old. Ollie is the reason why I am still riding and hoping to improve!

[@capio78]

Ollie's improvement is an inspiration to us all. Top stuff.

[@gcn]

Brings a tear to the eye 🥹

[@mattobrien8718]

Once again, Olli smashed it. Videos like this are not just stunning to watch, but hugely motivating for the average (never been a pro, holding down a day job) rider. I probably won't ever get to ride in Taiwan, but it shows me I can be better cyclist if i put in the work. Nice one!

[@albionmarch]

Great to see GCN riding in Taiwan again. It really is a bucket list cycling destination. Hope you'll try a few more routes next visit!

[@AlpineCadenceCycling]

It was great to ride with you for a fair part of the event Ollie, have followed you on Strava in recent years and seeing your level I suspected I'd end up near you once the selections happened. Sure enough we hit the tough bits together. Well done and hope to share the road with you again some day.

[@jacakopl]

Great video Ollie & GCN - you have promoted this stunning place well ☺️. Taiwan is incredible

[@gcn]

Such an amazing place to ride! We can't wait to head back, Si might want to his crown back 👑

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Damn you GCN! You’ve just increased my bucket list.

[@gcn]

It's what we are here for 😉 Have you checked out our other bucket list rides over on GCN+👉gcn.eu/Ultimate1000

[@DmitriiKovergin]

@@gcn 404 not found :(

[@DL-iq5zo]

I wished this video was at least 30 minutes. I would have liked to see longer clips of the amazing scenery. Really appreciated the beautiful aerial views. Congratulations to the organizers and riders.

[@jacob_tung]

I love this! I was just in Taiwan last month on these exact same roads in Taroko National Park! My family is from Taiwan (I was born and raised in the U.S.), and this was my first time back in over twenty years. I didn't bring the bike because cycling wasn't in the trip itinerary. I guess I need to correct this deficiency by planning a trip back, this time with road bike, climbing fitness, and race registration along for the ride! 😁

[@vlain16]

I mean, Ollie became a monster in just a few years, crushing it like no tomorrow. Great job, as always GCN on these amazing sceneries!!!

[@stevedog3934]

I rode the first part of the Taroko gorge on a crappy mountain bike I hired from a local shop. Absolutely stunning place, this video brings back such great memories.

[@camcastellani9547]

26th, under 4 hrs, WOW! Chapeau Ollie. From once being dropped to now the dropper just love it!

[@AlistairLattimore]

Amazing scenery, wow. Congrats Ollie & thanks to the sponsors for making it possible!

[@Seppster58]

Well done Ollie!! Your energy and enthusiasm just explodes out of this video. I have been a huge fan ever since you joined this team at GCN and astonished at your improvements over this time. This is just another huge feather in your cap.

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

Your energy and enthusiasm (two things) just explode* ...

[@santibaiona]

Well done Ollie. Fantastic achievement as always in your epic ride videos. It's an inspiration to see how you've developed as an athlete. Congratulations mate! 👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@gcn]

His Development has been great! Have you seen his epic Alps ride over on GCN+👉gcn.eu/Ultimate1000

[@SteveHill68K]

I'm sure Si will be doing it next year to take the GCN crown back. 😂 Well done Ollie.

[@gcn]

Hahahah there have been some evil looks between the two 👀

[@alistaircassidy]

Si got his time when he was so much younger and closer to being a pro. Not a chance now… 😜

[@林聖閎-f7l]

Thanks for sharing the beauty of Taiwan.

[@matt_acton-varian]

Another bucket list ride. That was some going Ollie well done.

[@McLovin38FFs]

Another magnificent video and effort from Sir Ollie! Sir Ollie mentioned his favourite thing to do is ride up mountains……please come to Australia and do the Peaks Challenge. You get to ride up 3 mountains in one day! Would love to see Si, Sir Ollie, Hank and Alex all do the same ride at their own pace and do 4 separate stories on it!!!! Thanx GCN and keep up the good work!

[@gcn]

That could be an idea 👀 Who do you think would win?

[@McLovin38FFs]

@@gcn On current form I would have to say Sir Ollie. Hank would destroy himself (once again) just to try and win because he is such a competitive beast. Alex would do well if he trained more for it and I think Si would be a good bet at lower odds and would have second place sewn up! Please make this happen at Peaks Challenge!

[@mitch_smith]

@@gcnwell, depends on puncture protocol…

[@rickkuny6591]

Honestly, I never get tired of watching you guys are GCN suffer! It never gets old

[@nelbertricafort8265]

The scenery is absolutely stunning wow 😮 congrats

[@renatab8293]

It must be so hard to film a real event like this as it happens, one take on everything. Well done, production team!

[@scpromark]

I was there too, I couldn’t agree more, amazing race but really really hard. Ollie made it look easy, don’t be fooled, this is one not one to be taken lightly. I’d say a minimum of 34-34 gearing is necessary and probably more. I hadn’t appreciated how good Ollie really is, chapeau sir, very impressive.

[@arianefranzdelosreyes9711]

My favourite GCN presenter riding in my Dream Race! What a ride! Congratulations 🎉

[@fourlakes]

Fantastic video. Fantastic result. And a big thank you to those sponsors that enabled this to happen!

[@johankromhout5093]

I'm surprised you didn't look cold at the top. It was freezing up there when I reached the top after 12 pm. Raining, too! You killed it, though, man. Great ride.

[@cphipps1969]

Cool! I did this in 2014, it was an amazing experience!

[@martinhauske155]

Outstanding! Thank you very much for the great video. I rode it from the western side and also struggled mightily with the altitude

[@dalis994]

Ollie, congrats. What an epic feat! You are my favourite GCN guy!

[@philridley7457]

Brilliant result Ollie love what your doing with your cycling and look forward to all your videos

[@WarHammerWH]

To be honest I knew Ollie would do well on this. He’s definitely energized by the competitive aspect of it. Well done!

[@gcn]

He's secretly very competitive... well, maybe it's not the secret 😂

[@WarHammerWH]

@@gcn Yes, not much of a secret. I remember a video recently where Ollie was passing either Frank or Conor... and the look on his face made it very clear he was enjoying this... Good for him!

[@Joshua-dx7zn]

That is amazing to come in 26th out of a thousand people. All that hard work has really paid off for you Ollie. Great job!!!!

[@Ryschleck]

Have been waiting for this video for the longest time. Well done Ollie! This has inspired me to wanna try this.

[@frankducett9]

Best video of the year. Really good, you should find out why and do more videos like this one. Thanks.

[@bradpeterson6894]

Well done, Ollie! Crushed it again! I love watching you do these types of things because I feel inspired to do the same!

[@Grant_Ferstat]

Well done Ollie. Great presentation and really impressive result.

[@dougford5691]

Ollie you are AWESOME. Great achievement mate.

[@jasongerrard353]

Seriously tough challenge and top result! enormous improvement Ollie has made from his earlier GCN vids. Genuine commitment and graft! Clearly loves his cycling and all things bike! His infectious enthusiasm and grit are quite inspirational!

[@steve-d0]

Ollie walking along talking about Taiwan had me laughing as all I could hear when he was talking was the "Brilliant" guy from The Fast Show. 🤣

[@StoccTube]

Me too 😂

[@GCNuser123]

hahaha

[@jasehoad9397]

Ollies puppy like levels of excitement and enthusiasm is something we should all aspire to, chapeau.

[@oldmonkeybones]

Ollie is my hero! Well done! Also, Ollie, I'd love for you to do more nutritional research content. Excellent stuff!

[@clintonshiells3095]

What an incredible ride Ollie! Congratulations, and great video

[@238949]

Fabulous video, beautiful views, Ollie is now a legend, and what a great result for him 🤩🤩🤩

[@angellosmalefakis1321]

Wow! An amazing route and bike ride.

[@lecturer28]

Brill - so glad you included the comparison to Si. Had to be done!!!

[@patrickenglish9593]

“I’m only doing 220 watts and it feels like threshold”. Ollie-that is threshold…well for me at least. amazing performance. great Vid. they surf in taiwan too so looks like a great destination!

[@frankrizzo367]

Epic ride!!!! Always great content, thanks!! Great job!

[@michaeloconnor9809]

The Taroko gorge is incredible. Did it on a mtb boke

[@Ostsol]

That's an amazing effort. 20 km/h for four hours would be pretty good for me _on level ground._ 😅 That's why even on a bike I'm still basically a pedestrian... Taiwan looks beautiful, though. Travelling there is definitely a bucket list item.

[@johne7100]

Well done, lad. Really enjoyed this video, too - reminded me of a few climbs I've done and the feeling, both on the way up and on arrival. Glad they had the warm jacket ready. KZbin need to introduce a button for two thumbs up.

[@gcn]

Thank you! What big climbs have you done?

[@johne7100]

@@gcn Not that many, I was a late starter. Biggest was the Kaunerthal-Weissee-Gletscher, when I was 59 - stretches at 18% and rest-periods at a mere 8%. Did it when I was 60, too, then the cardiologist got me. Not allowed over 2500m since. The rest were classic French stuff: Ventoux, Tourmalet etc. Did you get to ride down again afterwards? IME very steep descents are harder than the climbs.

[@nicholaschia8280]

Good job mate! Great seeing ya at the Rapha store in Taipei!

[@BTcycle]

Ollie has be come a great inspiration of what hard work and training can result into.

[@guyelliott1286]

Love these videos. Well done guys.

[@simonk337]

We need more Ollie. He's like an excitable puppy, he's clearly delighted to be doing what he does.

[@jonpoon3896]

Taiwan is a great place for intro to touring. Cheap accommodations and 24 hr convenient stores everywhere. Giant (bikes) stores everywhere. You can rent a bike and bags, then they’ll deliver your luggage to the Giant store in the city where plan to finish

[@andypierce6593]

The aboriginal singing group. Nice touch. Cycling in Taiwan has really exploded. It’s a great venue

[@duncandixon2035]

Amazing ride, very inspiring. Next up, please try Mauna Kea, which I have heard is the hard climb in the world. Love to see you do it before I try it. ☺️

[@MarrafaCycling]

Congratulations Ollie, always inspiring videos. I'm interested in taking part in the event next year, I'd be very grateful to know more or less what the budget is? Travel, hotel, event, etc. It would be a great help. Thank you!

[@AlpineCadenceCycling]

I was lucky enough to ride the event this year and will be back again next year with a small team of riders. Drop me a line if you need more info on all the costs, certainly not an expensive thing to do

[@GggGg-su8ph]

Taiwanese local here. The starting point in the video is in Hualian County (Countryside), where living price are not as high as Taipei (Big City), so expect a higher overall cost if you plan on visiting Taipei like Ollie did. 1. Plane ticket's price depends on where you are from. 2. The KOM event itself cost about 100$ USD (another 16$ for timing chip's safety deposit), including a clothing bag, a T-shirt, number plates, finish medal, insurance and numerous supplies along the way. 3. A 4-star hotel will cost around 100$ USD per night, of course you can go a lot fancier, or something simpler, I’d say the 50-80$ ones are already good enough. 4. Feel free to stay for a couple more nights and explore! Everyone is most welcome; we can use some international visibility. 😊

[@MarrafaCycling]

@@GggGg-su8ph Thanks for the info! I live in Brussels in Belgium and I'm going to research flights from here to there. It probably makes more sense to hire a bike there? Do the new dates for this event exist yet? Best

[@AlpineCadenceCycling]

@@MarrafaCycling I flew direct with EVA Air from Milan - Taipei, return for just €700, 2 x 23kg included in luggage allowance in economy so costs nothing to take a bike. Think they go direct from Heathrow too. Date for next year's event not be announced until well into next year but it's 99% certain that it will be Friday October 25

[@MarrafaCycling]

@@AlpineCadenceCycling Thanks for the information. Looking forward to it

[@lesliereissner4711]

Breathtaking video in every sense. So impressive to see Ollie, once the only non-ex pro at GCN, go from Everyman to Superman! 4 hours for a ride like that is amazing.

[@gcn]

He's incredible! Have you seen his epic alps ride!👉gcn.eu/Ultimate1000

[@lesliereissner4711]

@@gcn That was a great one too! Did a review on Pezcyclingnews of it.

[@johnandrews3568]

Pretty impressive, Ollie. Well presented and well ridden. Just crushing these past few years. And 27th place is outstanding... beating Si's time is just the icing.

[@gastonparedes5482]

You should check the 3600 race in Bolivia. It starts at 1400 meters over sea level on a rain forest, and goes up to 5000 riding on a mostly dirt road

[@mstrasser]

I've done this and it's beautiful and beautifully hard! when you realize you're done more than half the distance but like 20% of the elevation it hits you 😄Not the longest or highest climb I've done, but probably the hardest

[@kristopheradams782]

EPIC ride Ollie!! Well done my man 👍

[@vickyl5686]

Congrats to Ollie! I love his way of storytelling - it's so inspirational! Will have to give this a go sometime - I would love to know more about the training and prep work involved for something like this!

[@JSquare1]

Amazing Ollie, just amazing. Inspired again to stay healthy and on the bike.

[@cruachan1191]

Ollie and Hank are really showing up the ex-pro GCN presenters at the moment, Conor dropped by Hank yesterday and Si's time smashed by Ollie today!

[@angrymikko]

Fog looked beautiful in this. Insane looking challenge.

[@djrlloyd]

Impressive stuff Ollie. Loved seeing you slowly pass those other riders near the end. That must have helped spur you on.

[@黃楷翔-d6t]

Should have a rematch for Si and Ollie in the kom challenge

[@gcn]

This would be very interesting! Who do you think would take the win?

[@youtubechangemynamewhy]

O

[@volkervoit]

Did the KOM Challenge in 2019, amazing ride and event. Definitely the second most amazing climb I ever did after Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

[@FaiscaaaH]

Chapeau Ollie 👏🙌👏🙌And I must add, that's one hell of good looking bike.

[@kennedystuart5685]

Way to go Ollie. Congratulations. You truly represent a very very strong rider.

[@THR-zf6ti]

Respect Ollie! 26 of 1000 and so funny that you were faster than Si 🥳

[@syafiqrenaissance6490]

That's gorgeous scenery especially at mountain area... wow😯

[@richardvarndelljr1756]

WOW!! What a beautiful and epic ride! Ollie, you're a BEAST!!!

[@fotmheki]

Looks like a fantastic event to be in! Hope to ride it once 👀

[@goldenmath4091]

Stunning Ollie, looks so beautiful, great job

[@kurtobermeyer3356]

Ollie, you are the man. Just a beast going up that thing. Nicely done.

[@smudger404]

Ollie has gone full on The Fast Show Paul Whitehouse "Isn't everything MEGA!" in this into. Love it!

[@GCNuser123]

BRILLIANT

[@DuoTheGodOfDeath]

Taroko Gorge was by far the most beautiful place in Taiwan I visited.

[@gcn]

It is stunning! Did you do the climb?

[@DuoTheGodOfDeath]

@@gcn Oh no, I was visiting my wifes family for the first time and she took me all around Taiwan. We round around on a moped and just took tons of pictures and listening to the rock slam on the safety nets above. The most I've ever climbed in one day was in Japan from Yokosuka to Yabitsu Pass (761m) which was all around 1212m high and about 152km overall. It was by far the worst I have ever felt biking in my life. Had old timers passing me like I was going in slow motion. My wifes cousin may have done it but he mainly does triathlons but he will occasionally post 200+km rides which is insane to me.

[@pietervanschaik]

Taroko Gorge is so beautiful! Visited it last year, will visit my wife's family there again in December, and now I want to climb it. Any suggestions from the crowd where to rent a decent roadbike in size L?

[@youtubechangemynamewhy]

Almost impossible to find a size L in Taiwan, tried and failed. Better bring your own

[@robertdavis4169]

great video. inspiring. a couple of other vg Taiwan rides. the east coast is spectacular and less traffic. and there's a Southern cross-island highway. also less traffic and beautiful scenery.

[@DragonRides75]

Well done for better Si, hope we see more videos of you and the team.

[@NZWozza]

Awesome. Live adventure/challenge videos and GCN nails them.

[@gcn]

Thank you! Have you seen our other adventure challenges over on GCN+ such as El Diablo where Mitch Docker attempted to emulate one of the greatest Tour de France rides in history!👉gcn.eu/ElDiablo

[@NZWozza]

@@gcn I need to watch more of the GCN plus docos- keep forgetting as admittedly I bought it for the downhill mountain bike racing.

[@gcn]

@@NZWozza There is so many great Docs on there! Let us know which one you go for!

[@TheBassallyear100]

epic ride, Ollie. love the final comment "share with your friends if you've got any" 😅