Hell of Marianas targets 75 riders

The Pacific Islands Club-organized 2nd Annual Hell of the Marianas is eyeing to have 75 cyclists competing in the 100-kilometer race on Dec. 6.

Participants will come from Saipan, Guam, and Korea and will be cruising along the various villages of the island, climbing hilly roads, and descending steep course.

All eyes will be focused on defending and inaugural Hell winner Eli Torgeson, who completed last year’s race in three hours, 20 minutes, 33 seconds.

Challenging Torgeson this year are two Tagaman veterans from Korea, namely Park Hee Chan and Cho Ka On. Park won in the 2002 Tagaman triathlon, while Cho prevailed in the 2008 Jeju International Triathlon and finished third in the 2008 Tagaman Triathlon.

Joining the four-man fight for the overall championship is Guam’s Jazy Garcia, who topped the pre-HOM 50-km fun ride last month.

Participants in next Saturday’s races will start from PIC’s parking lot and head north to the Chalan Piao intersection, make a U-turn back to the start and proceed south into the village of Koblerville toward the Saipan International Airport. From the airport, the cyclists will ride uphill towards the eastern fringes of the island, through the residential villages of San Vicente, Papago, and Kagman toward the Laolao Bay Golf Resort. From the golf course, the bikers will proceed north on Isa Drive and descend down to the Kingfisher Golf Course entrance, and make the U-turn, scaling the long, windy road uphill to Capitol Hill. At the bottom of Capitol Hill, the course converges on Chalan Pale Arnold Road to the next check point high atop Radar Hill in As Matuis. The last portion of the race will bring riders to the historical sites of Suicide Cliff, Bird Island, Grotto, and Banzai Cliff before they head back along Beach Road and to PIC’s finish line.

As a side event, PIC will be assigning “costumed devils” at hill climbs and deep descents to encourage cyclists to sprint and win cash prizes.

Registration will begin at 5:15am at PIC’s south parking lot, while races will start at 6:15am.

Aside from the individual 100-km race, interested bikers may join the two-person and four-person relays.

Entrance fee for the individual race, which will have competition in open and age group divisions, is $35 for NMITF members and $40 for non-members.

In the relays, entrance fee per team (two-person) is $80 for non-members and $75 for NMITF members and (four-person) $160 for non-members and $140 for NMITF members.

The top finisher in the men’s and women’s open will receive $1,000 each and a five-day/four-night Gold Stay for two at PIC Saipan. Second placers will take home $350 each and a two-day/one-night stay for two at PIC Guam, while the third finishers will pocket $250 each and a 2-day/1-night stay for two at PIC Saipan.

This year’s Hell of Marianas is sponsored by Aon Insurance, Aquarius Beach Tower, Asia Scooters, Chung Nam Corp., Coca Cola, COP, Deloitte, DFS, DPS, G4S, Hornet, Joeten Ent., JWS, Kautz Glass, KL Carr, MVA, NMIFA, PIC Boutiki, PIC Guam, PTC, PTI, Shell, Sunset Dinner Cruise, Taga Inc., Tinian Dynasty, Triple J 5 Star Saipan, and WDI Saipan.