Lake Taupō Cycle Challenge, live.

One lake, 160 kilometres, and a start at half past one in the morning

The 48th Lake Taupō Cycle Challenge is on Saturday 28 November 2026. Every event, road, gravel or mountain bike, finishes in central Taupō, and the first riders roll out at 1:30am to go round the lake twice.

The pillar is Shimano Round the Lake: about 160 km and 1,779 m of climbing, a single lap of Lake Taupō from Tongariro Street. It heads out on Poihipi Road through farmland and geothermal steam fields, climbs Waihaha Hill and Waihi Hill, drops into Tūrangi and comes home the length of the lake over Hatepe Hill. Since 2023 it follows the original 1977 course again. The Enduro rides that loop twice, 322 km, starting in the dark. Great Lake 100 starts at Waihaha and Length of the Lake at Tūrangi, so shorter rides share the same finish.

Off the tarmac, Gravel Grind covers 83 km that are about 70% gravel, much of it on private land open only on event day. The three Huka rides, 70, 50 and 30 km, use pumice forest tracks and Craters Mountain Bike Park, pass Huka Falls and Aratiatia Dam, and cross the Waikato River on a bridge built for the event. The organiser is a Rotary event run by a charitable trust, and surplus goes to local community groups.

On Livebib, the rider shares a link to their own broadcast. Family and friends open it in a browser, no account or app, and see position on the course line, distance covered and a finish estimate that updates as the day goes. Where the phone loses signal on the far side of the lake or in the forest, the position is carried forward along the course and marked as estimated, never frozen. The rider decides who gets the link.