Former World Tour pro turned KOM hunter, YouTube, and social media star, Phil Gaimon, just reclaimed the KOM on Mauna Kea. On the Big Island of Hawaii, the Mauna Kea climb is considered one of the toughest road climbs in the world, ascending 13,762 vertical feet over 55.59 miles from sea level to the observatories on the summit. Gaimon, who has been posting updates from Hawaii for the past week or so, announced the success of his KOM attempt yesterday, on his 40th Birthday.
On Gaimon’s Instagram (@philgaimon) yesterday, he announced his KOM, saying, “NOT BAD FOR AN OLD MAN. WORST 40TH BIRTHDAY EVER video coming soon (today is my actual birthday).” The post included a screenshot of his effort and the new leaderboard. He put down a blistering time of 4:34:10, beating the existing KOM by over nine minutes. Also visible is the new State Carbon Aero road bike that he teased when he announced he was changing sponsors earlier this month. Apparently, the new bike is pretty quick.
This most recent KOM is actually Phil’s third time atop the Mauna Kea leaderboard. Near the beginning of his “retirement,” Gaimon set the KOM in 2016 with a time of 4:59:19 and held it for seven years. After it was taken from him by Larry Warbasse in late 2023, Gaimon returned to the Big Island and reclaimed the KOM in early 2024 with a time of 4:52:55. In April of last year, a cyclist who goes by elevin 11 on Strava claimed the top spot by nine minutes. It was just a matter of time until Gaimon returned to Mauna Kea to take back the crown, an impressive feat that he accomplished just two days ago.
The majority of the Mauna Kea climb is paved, but after the visitor’s center, the road turns to gravel for a significant and steep stretch. In the short Instagram video below, it appears Phil rode the new State Carbon Aero road bike on the paved sections of the climb and was able to switch to an all-road bike with gravel tires on the unpaved section.
The full video of the attempt isn’t up yet, but we’ll post it here when we see it.
Congrats, Phil, and Happy Birthday!
Follow along with Phil’s antics on his Instagram @philgaimon or check out his YouTube channel @worstretirementever
