What's Next? In the search of the perfect soup
Every year, at the end of the Odyssey, we ponder. What’s next?
At the finish line, endorphins-fueled riders ask us about the next edition, about what our plans are, about the route. And the honest answer is, we don’t know.
Every edition bring its own set of challenges, and for us to prepare for the next, improved event, we need some time to reflect.
2025 was a special year.
Ten years passed since that cold, rainy morning of September, when we gathered four cyclists at the foot of the Sapporo TV tower. Our small event has changed quite a bit since then, morphing from a quite straightforward long distance journey to a much wilder endeavour, deep in the mountains, on Japan most remote routes, with relentless climbing.
TJO 2025 was certainly the hardest edition so far. With only seven riders to complete the challenge (less than 10%), it certainly asks the question — do we just want to see people fail?
And that’s an easily answered question: no.
It has never been our goal. In our search of beautiful and remote roads, we have let the difficulty creep year after year, without us really noticing.
So what’s next?
Once the reflection time is over, then we will go back at the kitchen, as we always do.
To try to achieve that fleeting goal of the perfect soup.
We will gather new, untested ingredients ; add tried-and-true flavors of strong partnership and support from Eigo, from Masafumi, from Keishi and all the people at the sport division of Kagoshima City.
And then we will tweak the recipe only slightly. With a mix of checkpoints and segments just right between beauty and insanity. With a difficulty level that proves itself challenging even for the stronger riders, but still offers something for those looking for discovery, camaraderie, and adventure.
A route that brings excitement, amazement and a bit of fear.
For this, Japan always delivers.
For the rest, let us some time, and we will come with a new bowl of soup, maybe less salty than this year.
We know the perfect soup doesn’t exist, and yet it won’t stop us to try to achieve it.