Tour of Waikato, Stage 3 (Taumarunui)
BigRingVR’s Tour of Waikato is a ten-stage loop through the Waikato and the King Country, in the North Island of New Zealand. It starts in Cambridge, where a velodrome was opened in April 2014 by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The town hosted a round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in the 2015–16 season, and New Zealand’s national road race championships from 2020 to 2022. From Cambridge the stages run south into the King Country and loop back north through the Waikato.
This stage starts in Te Kuiti beside Te Tokanganui-a-Noho, a meeting house built in 1873 under the direction of Te Kooti, who lived in the area from 1872 to 1893. He gave it to Ngati Maniapoto in thanks for their hospitality. Te Kuiti stands at the heart of the Rohe Potae, the ‘area of the hat’: King Tawhiao placed his top hat on a map of the North Island and claimed all the land beneath it. The area, known in English as the King Country, was opened to European settlers only in 1883. From Te Kuiti the ride heads south on SH3 to Eight Mile Junction. There it turns onto SH4 and climbs onto the hill country to finish at Mapiu.
Region: Waikato
City: Te Kuiti
Distance: 38.98 km
Elevation Gain: 535 m
Elevation Loss: 282 m
Difficulty: 360 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 0.28 FIETS
Avg Grade: 1 %
Max cat climb: 3
Min elevation: 58 m
Max elevation: 338 m
Ride Category: Rollers