KAILUA-KONA — The Hawaii Cycling Club kicked off a new cycling season with one of its more-popular events, the Prologue, a 10-mile individual time trial held Saturday on Queen Kaahumanu Highway.
Despite the challenging conditions of the windy morning, 36 cyclists from all corners of the island gathered at the start line located at the bottom of Kaiminani Drive — ready to push their limits in this ultimate test of endurance and speed.
Known for its unforgiving nature, the individual time trial format demands that each cyclist battle against the clock without the aid of drafting. Starting on 30-second intervals, participants embarked on their solitary journey — all aiming to clock the fastest time possible by the end of the 10-mile undulating course.
After all the times were tallied, it was Waikoloa’s Daniel Hill who emerged as the overall champion by crossing the finish line with an impressive time of 29 minutes and 56 seconds. Following a minute behind was Hilo’s Leonard Bisel, who secured the second position with a commendable time of 30:55, while Kailua-Kona’s Tobias Olney claimed third in 34:15.
On the women’s side, Kayla Segal showcased her prowess, clinching the overall title with a time of 34:22. Behind her to secure the second and third podium spots were Kailua-Kona’s Laura Yamasaki and Papaaloa’s Melissa Schad, who put forth strong performances with times of 35:33 and 37:13 respectively.
“Having 36 participants for the first event of the year made me quite happy,” HCC President Franz Weber said. “This is the first year after Tom Solis, who retired after decades of being the (HCC race director). I am very relieved that it went so smooth. Trying to fill the shoes and the big gap that Tom left can be intimidating and scary, but Tom provided such great instructions and had everything planned that the transition was as smooth as you could hope for.”
The Prologue marked an exciting beginning to the cycling season for the Hawaii Cycling Club, as it set the stage for more challenging competitions in the months to come.
“We want to make sure to offer a variety of events from cycling hill climbs to time trials to longer distances,” Weber said. “We also want to revive east-side events and hopefully attract a younger crowd.”