Vincenzo Nibali will lead the Bahrain Merida team 2017 at the Taiwan KOM Challenge. The Italian, who is currently lying in second place at the Vuelta a Espana, will join his brother Antonio and Taiwanese local hero Chun-Kai Feng at the epic climbing challenge.

The one-day climbing race begins at sea level and rises up to 3,275 metres of altitude over a 105-kilometre route. After the first 20 kilometres, it turns into a steady 6% average gradient until the final 9.5 kilometres, where the riders traverse gradients from 10-22%, with a brutally steep maximum gradient of 27.3% on their way to the finish.

Brent Copeland, Bahrain-Merida general manager, commented: “We are very excited in participating in this prestigious event. I have personally heard a lot about Taiwan KOM Challenge. The amount of cycling enthusiasts who talk about it is ever increasing. For us, to have a champion like Vincenzo and Antonio receive an invitation is a huge honour and we look forward to being part of this magnificent event.

“We would like to thank William Jeng and all at Merida for the organization and invitation. We always feel very welcomed when coming to Taiwan. Racing in this beautiful part of the world is something we definitely looking forward to.”

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