Set in Kumano, Wakayama, Rapha FAR02 KUMANO 2026 challenged RCC members to a 195km mountainous route with 3,500m of climbing. From LOVE CYCLIST, Tats and Ryuji joined as official photographers. Here we look back on a brutal day that saw a 55% finish rate and a rash of punctures.
Photographers & Riders
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| Tats (@tats_lovecyclist) Editor-in-Chief. Enjoys discussing the road cycling and sports bike industry through a marketing lens. Pre-rode part of the course the day before, and on event day followed the ride by car to shoot. | Ryuji (@ryuji_ride) Company director. 17 years on sports bikes. Deeply plugged into the industry through past roles at a cycling magazine and a cycle apparel brand. This time, shot photos while riding the full 200km (brutal). All riding impressions in the text are Ryuji’s. |
The Land of Rebirth
Skirting the edge of the ancient Kumano Kodō
FAR is a twice-yearly RCC (Rapha Cycling Club) members-only ride event covering roughly 200km. Its theme is an adventure to discover your own limits, so self-sufficiency is central, but a minimum level of support—resupply at Control Points (CPs) and roaming mechanics—is provided to back up the challenge.
Kei Tsuji, who knows every road in Wakayama
The route was crafted by cycling photographer Kei Tsuji, a devoted lover of Wakayama and its embrace of sea and deep mountains. Long known as the “land of rebirth,” Kumano was somewhere he wanted RCC members to ride again, following 2023’s Rapha Prestige Kumano.
Starting from Nachikatsuura, the route crosses into Mie and Nara before rolling through big mountain swings
195km total with 3,500m of climbing—the profile alone tells you this will be a hard day, but deep in the mountains the road surface is far from well-maintained, ratcheting up the difficulty. As a safety net for participants, a shortcut course is on offer (though at 172km/2,500m, “shortcut” is a generous word).
Kumano’s Baptism
Start and finish were at Nagisa-kan of Hotel Urashima, the Kii Peninsula’s premier onsen resort. In the still-dark early morning, 85 riders signed the start list and rolled out.
Participants split into two categories: Solo / Free Group, for those riding alone or with friends of matching pace, and the RL (Ride Leader) Group, where a leader manages the pace. The RL Group was further divided into two tiers—Fast, targeting around 35km/h on the flats over 9–10 hours, and Middle, 28–32km/h over 13–14 hours. Which group you chose fundamentally shaped how you rode the day.
Rolling out into the dim first light
Push a little inland and the wild tarmac takes over. Damp asphalt lingers year-round in many spots, so we picked our way carefully to keep tires off the moss. Punctures and slips started early, and one by one, riders received Kumano’s baptism.
The harder it got, the more beautiful the scenery grew. The further we pressed on, the more breathtaking the vistas that opened before us. That’s why we couldn’t stop moving.
The Fast Group’s cadence looks effortless
CP1, set up at Kumano Hongū-kan
Knowing a support car would come running no matter what surely gave riders peace of mind. This time, a Mazda CX-60 wrapped with the Rapha logo added an extra flourish to the event.
The torii gate at Oyunohara, Japan’s tallest at roughly 34m
The first control point is Kumano Hongu Kan. Directly across stands Kumano Hongu Taisha, one of the three grand shrines of Kumano and the spiritual heart of Kumano worship. Beyond it stretches Oyunohara, the original shrine site where the halls stood until the great flood of the Meiji era.
Once, everyone from retired emperors to common pilgrims spent days on foot along the Kumano Kodo to reach this place. The riders here covered 79km from early morning and arrived in just a few hours.
The CP offers refreshments unique to Wakayama. The plum vinegar drink, which ought to taste sharp, goes down easily into a tired body. Fatigue eases just a little, and the strength to press on returns.
← Nuts and Kumano Hongu’s kama-mochi are the ultimate fuel | → Maurten’s gels and powder are also reassuring, giving a sense of raised endurance
The reality of a 55% finish rate
As the 55% finish rate suggests, this course pulls no punches. Beyond the DNFs, punctures broke out all along the route.
Scenes of puncture repair became a recurring sight
Painful sights, too, appeared again and again
Out on the road, the questions kept coming: Push straight through? Shift your line? Or stop altogether? Moments demanding all-or-nothing calls arrived one after another.
That’s how unforgiving the moss-covered back roads were to cyclists, and we advanced by carefully reading the feedback of surfaces on the edge of slipping.
The pre-event briefing recommended 28C or wider, but the right tire width really depends on the rider.
Even at the recommended 28C, the risk of slipping is high. If you want stability, a wider gravel tire might be the answer, but with 3,500m of climbing ahead, there’s no guarantee your legs will last the second half.
That said, most of the riders who finished were running around 28C.
The ride leaders’ blue jerseys pull the group forward with authority
A solo rider grinding on at an unbroken pace
Faced with the brutality of it all, Tsuji-san keeps looping through the same self-interrogation: “Who the hell designed this course? …Oh, it was me.“
CP2 at Enmanji Park, at the 136km mark, has a 14:00 cut-off. Miss it, and you’re routed onto the shortcut. Solo riders make the call themselves; RL groups leave it to their leader. Weighing legs, time, and weather, each rider arrived at their own answer.
With the day’s longest climb waiting ahead, we fuel up thoroughly and get ready
No choice but forward
Leaving CP2, the wall of a climb starts immediately. On gradients like these, a cyclist has only two expressions to choose from: agony, or a wry smile.
Whichever face we wear, there’s no option but up.
5km at an average gradient of 7.4%. At the top, we finally exhale. There was hardly room to shoot photos along the way; we just aimed upward, listening to the rustle of trees and the breathing of our companions.
An overwhelming sight that evokes something mystical, beyond human power
Near the end of the course, we encounter Nachi Falls, counted among Japan’s three great waterfalls. Watching the water plunge 133 meters in a single drop from a cliff surrounded by primeval forest, you feel the animistic faith of Kumano, where the waterfall itself is worshipped as a deity.
As dusk approached, rain began to fall. We tucked the camera away and pushed on toward the final climb.
One by one, finishers came pouring in, reuniting with the members who had taken the shortcut course and arrived earlier, all celebrating a safe return. The smiles on riders’ faces were no longer the wry grins of struggle but expressions of pure joy. That happy moment on the far side of suffering burst open between each of us.
Finishers kept trickling in past 19:00, bringing the long day to a close
The completeness of Rapha’s products
Naturally, every participant was dressed head-to-toe in Rapha. After covering 200km, rain and all, we were reminded once again that Rapha simply makes great gear. Durable, supremely comfortable, and the harsher and longer the conditions, the more clearly your body registers the difference.
Having cycled through a range of brands over the years, this ride made us feel the quality of Rapha’s products all over again.
This is what Rapha is
Since its founding, Rapha has carried the motto “glory lies beyond suffering” (Ex Duris Gloria). When the brand launched in London in 2004, its inaugural exhibition was “Kings of Pain,” a tribute to the legendary riders who had suffered through the Tour de France.
Stepping inside the RCC for this ride, the 200km of personal suffering and the pain shared with our fellow riders brought us right back to Rapha’s origin. The philosophy Rapha set out over twenty years ago still lives on, unchanged, inside FAR.
The road was genuinely hard, but we also learned that the presence of a community empowers the will to push through that suffering. A profile with 3,500m of climbing steadily drains your resolve in the back half, yet what kept us grinding upward was the strength of will that the community around us imparted.
We’re truly glad we took part. As long as Rapha’s philosophy and the community that shares it endure, the will of cyclists chasing glory will never fade.
That Kumano, the “land of rebirth,” was chosen as the stage for this ride feels like nothing less than inevitable.
Rapha FAR02 KUMANO 2026
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Venue: Hotel Urashima Nagisa-kan (Wakayama)
Course: 195km / 3,500m elevation gain
Eligibility: Rapha Cycling Club (RCC) members
Route design: Kei Tsuji
Photo & video: Tats, Ryuji (LOVE CYCLIST)
