Mark Gray's blog of the Tour 2025

In August 2025 we were back again for our second Tour of Samoa. It felt good to be rolling along, windows open, down the coast road from the airport to the capital city, Apia, and to once again become part of the Tour of Samoa family. Like all families it has its rituals and customs, but this time around these felt familiar and we were quickly back in the spirit of the race.
Although it is a race and taken quite seriously by those at the front, it has a very welcoming atmosphere and is accessible to anyone who likes riding a bicycle and can cover the distance. Also, being on two wheels is a fantastic way to experience Samoa’s two main islands, Upolu and Savai’i, and connect with the landscape and environment.
The race also has the best photographer that I have come across at any sporting event, Scott Taylor, so in this post I have only used his photos. It was hard to pare them down to a small enough number to use in a blog. I hope I have done them justice. Thanks Scottie for the photos and Seti and the team at Samoa Events for organising a memorable and enjoyable week for all of us.
The route and stages of the tour are shown on the map below. Savai’i is the island on the left and Upolu, where Apia is located, on the right.

Prologue (1.2km)
This took place on the Saturday two days before Stage 1.
A no show from the Apia Police meant that it was held on a shorter than planned circuit of 2 x c.600m. The second lap was surprisingly painful. It felt like my whole body, not just my legs, were being saturated with lactic acid.
It was raced for the honour of wearing the pink and yellow jerseys on Stage 1. The photo below shows the main road through Apia and about a third of the prologue circuit.

Lillian had a strong ride and was the fastest woman, winning the pink jersey.

Amongst the men, most of the contenders took 2 minutes plus or minus a second or two, with Cliff being a couple of seconds faster. Impressively a local rider Hastings was a second quicker than Cliff, and our mechanic Kurt, on the bike that was going to be offered as a prize to the fastest local rider in the tour, was two seconds quicker than him. In the defence of everyone Kurt beat, he used to be a national level bike racer and now specialises in tearing around the pump track in Whangarei.
The weather was cooler than normal which was just as well. It was a relaxed way to spend the afternoon and see the government sector of town.

Stage 1 (40km, 511m of ascent)
A 6am start saw us leaving the Tanoa Tusitala Hotel in Apia, completing a circuit of the clock-tower and riding 28km along the coast to the start of Stage 1 in Falefa.

---

​As the sun rose the palm-fronted coastline took shape and the villages and roads came to life.

Falefa, where Stage 1 started, is the village where Hastings’ cycling club and one of most active local cycling groups, The Mountain Boyz, is based. As a gesture of respect for the club, Hastings and Lasi, who wearing the red jersey for best local rider, led the peloton through the village.
After a brief stop just beyond Falefa, the race proper commenced, kicked off with an early attack from Gordy on the flat section before the climb to Le Mafa Pass reared up.

As the gradient started to bite and the legs started to burn, the peloton began to fragment. Cliff (on the left of the picture below) came to the fore and showed his climbing prowess. He was the first up the climb with me cresting the pass about 50 seconds behind him.

Lillian ended up in a group with Malcolm (in yellow and black below), Hastings and Lasi. As they started the descent of the pass, a dog darted in front of Lasi and he was flipped over the bars. With that moment of bad luck his race was over. Lillian stayed with him until he was picked up (luckily he had no serous injuries) and although she ended up riding solo to the finish she was given the same time as Malcolm, less an additional adjustment for a puncture that she had a few kilometers down the road.

In my part of the race I thought that I would not see Cliff again before the finish, but I was caught on some of the rollers following the top of the pass by Marlo, who was third quickest up that climb, and then the two of us were overhauled by Gordy and Dave on the descent. On the final 20km undulating section (which had formed the last half of Stage 2 in the 2024 race and is quite draining) the five of us reeled in Cliff. We finished together with Dave winning the sprint. I was fourth though we were all given the same time.
This photo is of Michelle, Jason’s wife, wearing a creatively made hi-vis vest at the finish.

We all then coasted downhill to the beautiful Sinalei Resort, where King Charles stayed for the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, to dry off – I was drenched with sweat – and for a second breakfast.

Stage 2 (35k, 505m)
This year the stage climbed back over Upolu by the Cross Island Road. As this was south facing the ascent was going to be in the full force of the searing Pacific sun.
Lillian had joined our start group (the ‘A Group’) but some initial surges chasing the inevitable Gordy attacks meant she did not have a restful ride at all. Thankfully – for Lillian at least – Gordy punctured and as the front group slowed down Lillian and Malcolm were able to catch back onto us.
The pace did then increased and as we started to line out on the main climb the group was whittled down to seven. I put in an early attack and Cliff followed. We both rode together to the finish with Cliff taking the win just ahead of me. More importantly I now had a couple of minutes on Marlo and Dave, my main rivals for the podium.
Lillian had a strong ride, finishing as the first woman and in the top 10 overall. It started raining torrentially as we started the climb, which was a blessing as it kept us cool. In the photo below Lillian and Hastings are battling the gradient and rain.

​Stage 3 (35km, mostly flat)
This consisted of a ride to the ferry terminal with an even earlier start than the previous day. Lillian, who had dropped to the B Group, started at 5.30am and the rest of us at 5.45. I was concerned about racing down the coast road – probably the busiest road in Samoa – in the dark, but when the attacks started we were out of town and the faint light from the rising sun lit up the road.
Malcolm went off the front about half an hour from the ferry and everyone seemed content to let him go for the stage win. At least until Dave jumped into the draft of a passing bus and zoomed away from us. I think he was just bored rather than out to win the stage – he let Malcolm come in first – but unfortunately for him some additional bus drafting earned him a penalty of about 2 minutes.
Lillian’s group were much more sensible leaving the racing to the last kilometre, where Pam, Gordy’s partner, took the sprint in the women’s competition.
Having learnt from last year I had some dry clothes for the wait for the ferry and the one and a half hour journey to the island of Savai’i. Once there we drove to the nearby Lusia’s Resort, where the photo below was taken, for a second breakfast.

Stage 4 (34km, 111m)
I remembered from last year that this was the stage across the lava flats. They sound hot, and I can confirm, having raced across them for various reasons solo in both years, they are indeed scorching.
However, before the section that was raced we had a 14km group ride from Lusia’s Resort to the Amoa Resort, where we would be staying after Stage 7.
On the way to the Amoa Resort, we passed an imposing church, which like many churches in Samoa had two distinctive tower-like spires.

It’s one of the photos that Scottie loves to take as it is so impressive and an iconic view of Savai’i.

After a short stop at the Amoa, our group rolled down the driveway of the resort onto the coast road. Within 200m we crossed a mass of potholes. Bang! My rear wheel smacked into the lip of one of them and I had a pinch flat. Luckily Kurt reached me quickly and within 4 minutes I was moving again.
I knew I would be bleeding minutes on the bunch and that I would get no help for the 34km that was to follow. Fortunately I had a tailwind most of the way and, whilst I wouldn’t it enjoyable, riding a solo time trail was satisfying. And yes it hurt, but at least I was in control of the pace.
Lillian’s ride was less pressured but she still rode the lava flats section solo (see the photo below). Although called ‘flats’, they were actually one of the hillier parts of the stage.

In the end I only ended up losing around 6 minutes to my GC rivals, Cliff, Dave and Marlo. Jason took the win after a bold attack about half way through the stage. I was happy with my ride and the back of my neck bore evidence of the fact I spent the afternoon in as aero a position as I could sustain.

State 5 (31km, 432m)
The time trial, my chance to try and make up time lost to Dave in Stage 4. He was in third place and a couple of minutes ahead of me in GC.
The start, at Tanu’s Fales, is a lovely spot. Daybreak was a spectacular tropical sunrise but the temperature soon began to climb, reaching 35+ degrees in the sun by the time we were riding up the climb at around 9-10am.

We had dinner and a traditional fiafia night the previous evening in and beside the big fale (a traditional open Samaon house) at Tanu’s Fales shown below.

Some of us stayed in the neighbouring Stevensons Resort, mainly because the rooms were air-conditioned, though it sounds like the fales were also nice and cool for sleeping as they are completely open for the breeze to waft through. They have mosquitos nets in them however which was a relevant consideration as a dengue fever outbreak in Samoa had kept schools closed for several weeks.
In the morning Lillian and I rode with our day bags to Tanu’s for the time trial.

Lillian was in a strong position in GC and did not have to give 100%.

I on the other hand was in a battle with Dave, seen here saving every second using an impromptu support to start with both feet clipped in, …

… and Marlo (below) who was a few minutes ahead of me in GC but still potentially catchable.

Chris, CEO of the race’s main sponsor, Negative Split Carbon, was looking very pro and gave this little boy a great morning workout

Whilst Lillian didn’t have to give everything, riding up-hill for around of an hour is never easy especially as the slower you go the longer you are exposed to the full heat of the sun.

The finish was a bit further along the road than last year, right outside at a nightclub. They turned on the sound system and put out some chairs in the shade for us. Some of us waited for the final rider, Ric, to finish. In the photo Vicky is showing us her moves. She used to be a professional dancer. Unfortunately she requested that we delete the video!

I finished second, about 50 seconds behind Cliff and 40 seconds ahead of Marlo. That was good enough to move me to third in GC behind Cliff and Marlo, positions that would remain unchanged for the rest of the tour.
At our evening briefing – in the tranquil surroundings of Va-i-Moana Seaside Lodge – the general vibe was much more relaxed. We all knew where we stood in the pecking order and our minds were as focused on getting safely to the finish of Stage 7 as they were on trying to gain seconds.

The night sky at the resort was spectacular.

Stage 6 (53km, 619m)
This was the longest stage of the tour but, as was the case last year, with the GC almost decided there was no benefit from anyone attacking early so we had an informal truce until about 5km from the end. The main excitement was caused by piglets crossing the road. These seem more scary than dogs as they don’t react when you shout at them. Marlo launched hostilities and Dave, Cliff and I were able to jump across to him. The four of us finished the stage together with Dave taking the win.
Lillian’s group started 30 minutes before ours so she rode up the main climb, 7km into the stage, just as the sun was rising.
​

Brenda, our team medic, probably did not expect that shooing pigs off the road would be one of her duties.

There was a hiccup for Jason when he thought he had a puncture on a rough descent. In this photo Chris, who slowed down with Jason, is just catching us. Jason, along with another one of the strong riders Steve, were to make contact a couple of kilometres later.

This is a nice photo of Ric giving it some beans towards the end of the stage.

Lillian and Vicky had an armchair ride behind Gordy who had decided to help Pam through the stage.

This photo shows Wes – more about him later in this post – and some of the colourful roadside foliage.

At the end of the stage in Taga we sat in the shade of a fale drinking coconut water and rehydrating. Tragically we heard that Bruce, the little puppy living at the neighbouring store who had been there last year (see Tour of Samoa 2024), had been run over when his owners took him in a visit to New Zealand.

Stage 7 (34km, 130m)
The final stage of the race. My main objective was to remain on my bike and in the bunch. We all started as one group, instead of splitting into a faster and a slower group as had been the case since Stage 2.
Initially Lillian and Cliff, the presumptive pink and yellow jersey winners, had to lead us out. I started to get worried that Lillian was going to spend too long on the front so I came through to try and help her.

Josh, one of the local riders wearing a Swiss jersey that our friend Chris had donated the previous year, made a short-lived bid for glory.

Once we regrouped, one of Dave or Gordy attacked and stretched out the group. Just as I pushed to accelerate my foot pulled out of my right hand pedal and the shock knocked off my chain. I should have replaced my worn cleats! Thankfully no-one else attacked – for which I was very grateful – and after 3 or so minutes of effort I was about to catch up.
After that there were several attacks, which whittled down the group, but with the headwind no-one could get away. Lillian managed to stick with us to finish in the final 8 riders, a fine effort, and the two of us rolled in at the back of the bunch. Dave gave another masterclass in sprinting and took his third stage win.

We continued around the island to the Amoa Resort which felt to us like the promised land. It was hard to imagine that we had passed by it only two days previously.
Victory Ride
The promised land did not disappoint. We had a day relaxing in the Amoa. Lillian and I didn’t ride our bikes but most others did. Some to do “redemption rides” to make up kilometres of the tour missed by riding in the van, the longest of which was 110km! That was much further than any of the stages we raced.
Wes and Cliff both rode the Savai’i 180 starting at 5am to complete a lap of the island. Both attempts were impressive. Wes’s because this was the fourth and fastest time he’d done it and Cliff’s because he completed it in just under 6 hours (5:59:30!) setting a new official record.
The following day we started our “Victory Ride” with a group ride from the Amoa to the ferry back to Upolu.

Luckily as it was just to roll on and off the ferry the bikes were reasonably safe on the back of the truck from scratches and damage.

As well as posing for a mass selfie I spent a long time on the ferry journey staring at the sea looking for a whale that had been spotted… alas I never saw it.

Our cycle convoy back into town went smoothly, and by 11.20 we were all cycling around the clock tower again and reaching the official end of the tour.

As is tour tradition, we had our group photos on the steps of the Government Offices.

And the champions were feted.

That evening in our formal prizegiving at the Tanoa Tusitala, Hastings, the fastest local rider, was given by Gordy the new bike that he’d brought from New Zealand. A very cool prize.

And Lillian was given her prizes by Helen, Dave’s wife.

It was a nice way to end a fun and successful week,