24.05.2025, Polanica Zdrój, Poland

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Race Through Poland is a one-stage, self-supported, long-distance bicycle race in which the main objective is for riders to make their way from start to finish through the four control points located in the heart of Central and Eastern European mountain ranges.

The race’s seventh edition will focus its routes on the Bohemian Massif, which reaches the three neighboring countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany. With its natural beauty, interesting and rich culture, and demanding land, our next race is looking to be a stunning and unforgettable adventure and a proper routing challenge for our riders!

START

The start of No.7 will occur in a place super close to our Race: the city of Polanica Zdrój and our beloved OSIR Polanica (osirpolanica.pl). This place is well known to all our brevet riders and this is where we will hold the pre-race check-in also. All riders will find a cozy bed, warm food, a great breakfast, and fantastic coffee before the race starts.

The parcours will take riders out of the city, up the local hill called Szczytnik, from where we will climb more, through the bordering mountain range of "Góry Bystrzyckie" to the beautiful city square lying underneath in Duszniki Zdrój.

Once there, our riders will be finally led to use a well-known to local cyclists mountain 7km cobbled road leading them to the very heart of the "Table Mountains". Once they reach the summit, their routes are all up to them! DETAILS CONTROL POINT 01

Our second parcours will start in the little Polish town Leśna, located on the northern foot of Jizera Mountains, a range that lies on the border of Poland and the Czech Republic, pretty near to the German border already.

Our route will cross the border to Czechia first, and traverse through the most of this impressive range, giving our riders a full experience of this amazing place. These are super small, empty tarmac roads, where cars have no access at all, where there is very little population with only a few tiny settlements on the Czech side. Riders will be riding through the Jizera dark-sky park, and ancient and primeval beech forests of the region, to finally cross the border again to get back to the Polish side of the range, where they will have to conquer one of the steepest climbs in the country called a "hardship road" where the slopes reach way above 20% gradient for long.

Once on the top, there will be still about nine kilometers through the plateau to the Jizera Medow, where negative temperatures are recorded every month with snow easily remaining until May each year.

Due to the lowest average annual temperatures, this alpine meadow is considered to be the Polish cold pole, and reaching the shelter of Control Point No.1, located in the only building that stands there, will be like winning the race already. It is a small mountain hut, 840 m.a.s.l. with a fireplace, a bar, fantastic staff, and the best pancakes that you can get in the Polish mountains. This is where riders have to reach to be successful in their adventure. DETAILS CONTROL POINT 02

It is the first time in our race history, that we are crossing to Germany, another country bordering Poland but what's most important for us, another with impressive mountain ranges to explore.

The third parcours will focus its route on the Ore Mountains (so-called Erzgebirge) located on the Czech-German border, a little bit south of Poland, and it will start in Czechia just underneath Klínovec, the highest mountain of the range that grows up above all of the others. Riders will have to ride to the very top of it, up to the 1244 m.a.s.l., taking a long 22-kilometer relentless climb, and this will only be a small part of the whole parcours experience.

The route will swing across this challenging mountain range to Germany, through the roads that are all tarmac, perfect, fast, small, windy, and most of the time empty from any traffic. But do not think this will be an easy one. It has 121 kilometers in total and over 3100 meters of elevation gain, through the land that is one of the snowiest areas in the German Central Uplands and because of the average annual temperatures was often called a Saxon Siberia.

At the very end of it, there will be the final climb. Super short, but super steep, and it will take us to the top of Bärenstein, an 898 m.a.s.l. mountain, where the fancy hotel will keep our riders warm and safe, and most importantly ready for the rest of their journies. DETAILS CONTROL POINT 03

The fourth parcours will start in Germany, Bavaria, just a little bit south of Czechia, from where we will enter the mountains that are recognized as the natural border between Slavic and Germanic people and culture. We will quickly reach above 1000 m.a.s.l. and we will stay close to that nearly throughout the whole parcours, never descending lower than 700 meters.

The Bavarian part is stunning. Wide, smooth tarmac through the high and impressive forest, with majestic mountains rising everywhere around. Once we reach Czechia, the feeling will change, taking our riders deep into the range, in the Czech language called Šumava.

We will be winding through the forest and meadows, and somewhere in the middle of the 100-kilometer route riders will find themself in a Knížecí Pláně, located on a bare plain at an altitude of 1021 m.a.s.l. The only populated building, a restaurant, and accommodation stands in this former village on a cattle farm, and it will be our control point No.3 and host our riders with everything it offers. Leaving will be a struggle, as this place takes you away from reality, and you wish to stay there forever.

For those who manage to continue, there will be much more. We will follow through all the ups and downs across the big part of the Bohemian Forest, to finally reach Germany once more, and proceed into the final 12 km climb, up to Dreisessel, 1323 m.a.s.l. It's a mountain that if we are lucky enough will open up the view that no other during the No.7 will be able to deliver. We can't wait to see our riders on the top of it. DETAILS DETAILS CONTROL POINT 04

And here we are again. Six years after a memorable snowy edition of our race, we are once more back in Jeseníky, where our last control point will be located, on the very top of the fifth-highest mountain in the Czech Republic.

We don't think we have to present this amazing mountain range to anybody, but to make sure, Jeseníky (the High Ash Mountains as they are sometimes called in English) is a place where nearly everything can be found when we are talking about seeking adventures. It is a mecca for road, gravel, and mountain biking, it has amazing and wild hiking trains, perfectly maintained skiing areas, and with all that a fantastic natural protected area where fauna and flora amaze with their richness and beauty.

Our fifth parcours will differ a lot, from the one we had in 2019, and it will start in Nové Losiny, a small Czech village, not far from the Polish border. With first relatively easy climb, will lead riders to the valley of River Desná, from where they will start their way to get lost in the deep hearth of this mountain range.

Riders will have to conquer a difficult 12-kilometer climb to the top of Dlouhé stráně, a 1354 m.a.s.l. mountain with an impressive hydropower plant on the top with over 700 meters long upper reservoir and a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains. Doing this is a huge achievement already, and it could be enough really, but for our parcours this is only part of the whole experience. Riders will be diverted to descend to the upper part of the Desná Valley, from where they will start their second and the main challenge of this part. The climb to the top of the mighty Praděd from the West side. It is not a well-known, and popular way, but it will present the mountain from a totally different perspective. Over 13 km climb with narrow and empty tarmac and about a 3.5-kilometer gravel section somewhere in the middle, and finally, a monumental finishing part, where reaching a spectacular tower on the top of the mountain will enforce the feeling of victory and fulfillment. This 50 kilometers with nearly 2000 meters of elevation gain will be a true challenge, located just before the finish line.

We are so happy to take our riders once more to the top of this very mountain top! FINISH 05

We are back in Poland now, and for the final parcours, we will not leave the country. The finish line of the race will be placed in our beloved OSIR Polanica, exactly where everything started.

The final 70 kilometers will start in Stronie Śląskie, a small town hidden between the mountains, and proceed from a climb to the well-known skiing resort, Czarna Góra. This climb is not the hardest one, but it will take some time for our riders to get to the top where they will enjoy the fantastic view of the surrounding mountain ranges.

After a long, fast, and enjoyable descend to the titular Kłodzko Valley, the parcours will visit Bystrzyca Kłodzka, the only city in Poland with such classical examples of preserved medieval architecture.

Leaving this extraordinary city will lead us to the so-called Spalona Pass, recognized as one of the best road climbs in the region. It is steep in places and long in total, but it is built from smooth, winding tarmac leading to the great mountain hotel on the top. Short descend from here and then return to OSIR Polanica, through the forests of "Bystrzyckie Mountains" and a pleasant minus-grade road along the river. After a couple turns in the city, riders will be back "home", eating, resting, celebrating, and sharing stories.

By completing our sixth parcours, they will create a loop of their journey, totaling about 1500 kilometers and 24000 meters of elevation gain focusing in full on the Bohemian Massive. It will be an adventure to remember. DETAILS

Race history:
#rtpl6
#rtpl5
#rtpl4
#rtpl3
#rtpl2019
#rtp2018

mail: race@racethroughpoland.pl

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