Le Tour de France is the biggest cycling race in the world where competitors hope to fulfill a dream by winning on the Alps and Pyrenees, spending a day wearing the yellow, polka-dot, or green sprinter’s jersey, and riding down the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
As with tradition, the 103rd edition began on the first Saturday of July and consists of 21-stages — or daylong segments — that covers a total of 2,200 grueling miles spanning over three weeks, taking riders on a tour throughout some of the most scenic roadways of France.
Here on the Big Island, participants readied themselves for a micro version of this epic race with Team Mango’s Ronde Von Kona – a four-stage cycling race held over Saturday and Sunday that featured some of the tougher hill climbs on the island.
“For this event, the stages highlight our really neat web of roads right here in our backyard,” said Carl “Gecko” Koomoa, event organizer of Team Mango Races. “Instead of going around in circles, we have some really tough hill climbs, descents, varying terrain, and even checkpoints to see where everyone’s at. Having four stages keeps it fun.”
Koomoa added that he changed the course from what it was two years ago, the last time the Ronde Von Kona was held, leaning toward more hill climbs and hill-top finishes while keeping it laid-back and fun at the same time.
An added challenge was the near 12-hour span between each stage, making recovery a crucial factor for cyclists competing in all four stages.
David Furtado had no problem taking the victory on Stage 1 — a six-mile individual time trial course on Alii Drive — clocking in with a blazing time of 16 minutes and 54 seconds.
John Howerton, the 2014 Ronde Von Kona champion, followed in second place at 17:13, with Koomoa rounding out the top three with his time of 19:19.
“It was perfect,” Koomoa said of the course. “The roads were quiet, no wind, no traffic, and it was not hot due to the 6 a.m. race start.”
Stage 2 had cyclists line up at the Chevron Gas Station on Lako Street at 4 p.m. and featured various hill climbs before ending at the top of Walua Road for a total of 1814 feet in elevation gained.
Adam Ankrum, a 2015 Hawaii IRONMAN World Championship finisher and who has become a top contender at most local running and cycling events, won the 11-mile hilly course with a time of 47:01.
“Gecko made the second stage more lumpy with two crazy downs Puapuaanui and Lako streets, and dirt down Hienaloli road was equally sketchy but fun,” Ankrum said.
Over two minutes back was Furtado in 49:18, followed by Harry “The Hammer” Yoshida in 54:27, and Koomoa in 1:05:22.
The very next day, Stage 3 once again began with an early race start time of 6 AM. The mountainous route nearly mirrored the hill climb profile of Stage 2, and challenged cyclists to various steep hills over the 14-mile course to finish at historic Paul’s Place in Holualoa for a grand total of 1850 feet in elevation gained.
This time it was Howerton who prevailed, but not before encountering some drama along the way.
Howerton said he was on an initial fast descent, riding at nearly 50 miles per hour when he hit a rock and — boom — his front tire went flat.
“After I slowed to fix my flat tire, I saw everyone who was behind me whiz by,” Howerton said. “Of course they all asked if I was okay, which I was. But after I had everything out to change (the flat), and during my struggle to fix it, I realized that the valve to my tube had snapped off. So there was basically nothing I could do but wait for help to come by and pick me up. I thought I was done.”
But then a stroke of good fortune happened.
Howerton said that when Koomoa pulled up with his truck and found out he had a flat that couldn’t be fixed, he immediately pulled off the front wheel to his own bike sitting in the back of the truck and gave it to Howerton.
After being sidelined for what seemed like an eternity, a newly revived Howerton cycled his way back in contention, and caught all who had passed to amazingly win with a stellar time of 59:39.
“It was definitely surprising to win but I felt good,” Howerton said. “Especially since the last time I actually rode my bike was in April, at the Captain Cook Challenge.”
Nearly two minutes back and in second place was Jurgan Poehlar in 1:01:30, with Yoshida following close behind in third at 1:01:55. The lone female of the morning was Jelena Skopin who finished in 1:10:50.
The final stage was an old time Team Mango classic – the infamous Pedal-2- Paul’s – a five-mile individual time trial that began from the corner of Lako Street, went north on Highway 11, zig-zagged up Hualalai Road and ended at Paul’s Place in the heart of Holualoa town.
Cyclists from near and far have tested their metal against this prestigious climb that dates back to 1993, with course records belonging to Keauhou’s Penn Henderson in 16:26 (2014), and Hawaii X-Terra World Champion, Shonny Vanlandingham, in 19:50 (2008).
Two years ago Ankrum placed third overall on this climb but on Sunday, he was well ahead of the field winning Stage 4 with his time of 21:39.
“It was a fun, steady, quick 20-plus minute effort,” Ankrum said of his win. “With doing only half of the races, my legs were fresh, and being able to sleep in and do afternoon races was awesome.”
Furtado was next to cross the finish line in 24:33, with the only female in the field, Lori Henbest, third overall in 26:18. Team Mango’s fearless leader, Koomoa, finished fourth in 32:42.
In the general classification (GC) standings, which are the lowest cumulative times after all four stages, Furtado finished first in 2:38:47, followed by Koomoa in 3:15:20.
“Ninety-nine percent of us will never get to be in an actual stage race,” Koomoa said of the Ronde Von Kona race format. “Now that I was able to do the race, I realized how much fun it is and actually how hard it can be to do four stages over a two day period. This is something I wanted to do to get in the spirit of the Tour De France. The whole idea is to do something fun when the Tour starts instead of staying home and just watching TV.”
Coming Up
Saturday: Club Rehab will host its 2nd Annual Ohana 5K run/walk at the Royal Kona Resort. Start time is 7 AM for the 3.1-mile out-and-back course on Alii Drive. Packet pickup and registration will begin Friday at Big Island Running Company from 8 AM – 4 PM. For more information contact Barbie Nakamura at 329-7744.
Sunday: The 3rd Annual Hilo Triathlon will begin at 7 a.m. at James Kealoha Beach Park in Hilo. The Olympic distance event will feature a 1500-meter swim, 40K bike and 10K run. Registration is closed but for more information on the event schedule visit hilotriathlon.org.
