Sam King has surged ahead on the opening day of the two-day individual open category at the 2025 Kathmandu Coast to Coast.

Competing in humid conditions, King finished in 4:57:14.

That gives him a three-minute advantage over under-23 elite Jordan Sutherland heading into day two.

“It was hot and muggy and sticky, but I had a good first ride,” King says. “I worked on my transition well; I think I made Goat Pass pretty well, I wanted to get out of sight, out of mind.”

Rounding out the top three men was under-23 elite Alexis Migounoff with a time of 05:18:38.

The women's two-day event is also highly competitive, with Emily Trevail clocking in at 05:34:50.

Courtney Hawke (05:55:39) arrived at Klondyke Corner second and Louise Darwin (06:01:14) third.

They are among the 700 athletes participating in the two-day events, embarking on a 55-kilometre bike ride from Kūmara Beach on the South Island's West Coast to Aickens Corner.

There, they swapped their cycling cleats for off-road shoes – traversing the Otira River, ascending the Deception Valley and crossing Goat Pass, covering 30.5km to reach Klondyke Corner.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, the first two-day wave leaves at 7am from Klondyke, riding 15.5km to Mt White before kayaking 70km and finishing with a 69.5km bike from the Waimakariri River Gorge Bridge to Christchurch’s New Brighton.

The Longest Day competitors begin their race at 6am from Kumara Beach.