The pseudolactones 6 and 12 were prepared in a straightforward way from methyl α‐D‐glucopyranoside and methyl α‐D‐mannopyranoside, respectively. The pseudolactone 6 reacted with tert‐butyl lithioacetate to give the protected, trihydroxylated cyclohexenone carboxylate 7 (51 %). The sterically hindered, L‐ribo‐configurated pseudolactone 12 reacted with diethyl ethylphosphonate and dimethyl methylphosphonate to give the protected trihydroxycyclohexenones 17 (49 %) and 18 (62 %), respectively. The hydroxymethylated cyclohexenone 21 was obtained from 18 by treatment with Me2AlSPh and then formaldehyde, oxidation of the product 19, and elimination. Deprotection of 21 gave 2, identical with KD16‐Ul. Esterification of 2 gave 1, identical with the title compound. Alternatively, 1 was obtained in higher yields by esterification of 21, followed by deprotection of the hydroxy groups. This synthesis gave 1 and 2 from methyl α‐D‐mannopyranoside in an overall yield of 18 and 20 %, respectively, confirming their absolute configuration.