Tour of Waikato, Stage 5 (Kuratau)
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 follows SH 41 from Manunui, near Taumarunui, to Kuratau Junction. Early on it crosses the Whanganui River, New Zealand’s third-longest, which rises on Mount Tongariro. In 2017 the river became the second natural feature in the world to be given its own legal identity. The river’s Great Walk, a canoe journey, starts at Taumarunui. The road climbs through bush onto the Central Plateau, and just past the summit it crosses into the Waikato region. New Zealand’s regions largely follow drainage basins, so here the ride passes from the Whanganui’s catchment into Lake Taupo’s. It ends at Kuratau Junction, where the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge turns onto SH 41.
Region: Manawatu-Wanganui
City: Manunui
Distance: 38.55 km
Elevation Gain: 773 m
Elevation Loss: 503 m
Difficulty: 519 (Moderate)
FIETS Index: 2.03 FIETS
Avg Grade: 2.86 %
Max cat climb: 1
Min elevation: 185 m
Max elevation: 893 m
Ride Category: Hilly