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ENTER THE RTPL900

RTPL900 is a shorter format of Race Through Poland, built on the same DNA as the full race. Covering approximately 900 km, it shares the same start, dates, rules, and philosophy.

Riders face a fully unsupported bikepacking race that demands self-reliance, strategy, and endurance. They will have to navigate from start to finish through the control points located in the heart of the Central and Eastern European mountain ranges.

Instead of four, RTPL900 includes two control points, maintaining the race structure without changing its core principles.

It is not an easier race.
It’s the same challenge, drawn on a shorter line.

START

Nowy Targ, the Royal Free City, the capital of Podhale (Polish Highlands), and the natural gateway to the highest Carpathians. A town of contrasts, with its proud highlander’s character but also post-communist blocks of flats standing side by side, where old mountain traditions meet the sound of traffic and weekend markets. The legendary marketplace, once the beating heart of trade between Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, still gathers people from both sides of the mountains for wool, cheese, tools, and stories.

From here, next to the highest-located airport in Poland, the opening parcours leads our riders straight into the heart of the Western Carpathians. A gentle mix of cycle routes, short gravel sections, and a set of quiet secondary roads. All that framed by impressive views of the High Tatras and spiced with a couple of classic, and unforgiving climbs of the region, will take them across the border to Slovakia - deep into the shadow of the Tatras and further down into the Poprad Valley, where the first real decisions begin: which way to go next and how to shape the route that will carry each rider through the race.

This will be the start of RTPL900. Sunrise, 5:00 AM, 23.05.2026! DETAILS CONTROL POINT 01

The first control point is not just a location. It’s a crossroad of decisions where five different parcours meet, each revealing another face of the Beskids, a six-hundred-kilometre-long Carpathian mountain range. Here, in the quiet settlement of Kudłacze, a small mountain hut marks the moment when the first real shapes of the race begin to emerge. Some riders will arrive after sunrise, finding the door open and warm light inside. Others will come too early, or maybe too late, greeted only by silence and the stamp waiting at night.

The obligatory parcours are much more than just roads leading here. One reaches deep into the Low Beskid, the most remote range in Poland, through Magura National Park, land of wolves and bears, where fading villages sleep between dark valleys and the night feels heavier than anywhere else. Another, a gentle Poprad River Gorge, a short Slovakian section and a moment of calm through the gap of the Sądecki Beskid, before the climbing starts. The Island Beskid, familiar to many, but this time only a taste of its steep madness that riders of previous editions still remember. Only one or two over 20% ramps are left as a reminder of its cruel character. The Maków Beskids, modest and human, where centuries of mountain life shaped quiet hamlets clinging to the slopes These are the northern gate to the Carpathians, where Kudłacze itself awaits. And the last, fully paved yet far from easy, skims along the steep foothills of the Żywiec Beskids, with Babia Góra, the mountain queen of the region, watching from afar. She is a promise and a warning of what might come next.

Five parcours, one control point. The first real convergence of RTPL900! DETAILS CONTROL POINT 03

Yes, this is not a mistake. A Control Point 3 will be the second location for RTPL900 riders.The place, where two races cross their paths. Here, where the Western Tatras rise steeply above the valley, closing the horizon with rugged ridgelines and snow-capped peaks that seem almost too high for this part of Europe. This is where the race reaches its wild, demanding, and untamed character.

Riders will climb deep into the Žiarska Valley, under the watchful eyes of marmots, chamois, and brown bears, to reach the control hidden just under the top of the highest Carpathians. But this will be far from over, as the road forward will be their choice. The land they are going to cover will show them the snowy peaks of two the most beatiful mountian ranges in this part of Europe, High and Low Tatras. DETAILS FINISH

The last dance of RTPL900. A pleasure of riding and a return to the place where it all began. The final stretch of the race is about contemplating what has just been achieved. A tribute to an adventure of about 900 kilometres in the hearth of the Western Carpathians. There will still be some climbing, but every ascent here exists for the beauty of it!

Riders will cross Spiš, a region forever tied to the High Tatras, an entrance hall to their snowy peaks, which will accompany them almost all the way, appearing and disappearing on the horizon like a silent farewell. A road often ridden and deeply admired by our race director, with the most favourite moments chosen to highlight the beauty of this land. It is here where the parcours turns back to Poland and joins the Spiš Loop, one of the most beautiful cycling routes in this part of the Carpathians, leading straight to the finish line in Nowy Targ.

A finisher stamp, a warm meal, highlander hospitality, and the applause and stories of other riders will be waiting. Our race community will gather once more to celebrate the sport, the adventure, the challenge, and the connection with nature. Everything that bikepacking racing gives us. DETAILS

Race Through Poland and its rules are built around these four chapters

Self-supported

Self-supported riding means complete independence on the road. You move forward using only your own physical power and the equipment you carry. Food, rest, repairs, and accommodation have to be arranged along the way, using services that are publicly available to everyone. There are no official resupply points, no support car, and that is exactly the point. The race rewards preparation, adaptability, and the ability to manage yourself over long distances.

Route and navigation

Each rider plans and navigates their own way between the start, parcours, control points, and the finish. This freedom of route choice is a core part of the race and one of its defining features. There is no single “correct” way to ride Race Through Poland. Every decision shapes your race and turns the route into a personal challenge and adventure.

Riding together

Race Through Poland is primarily a solo experience. Riders travel independently, making their own decisions and riding at their own rhythm. Encounters on the route are natural, and they build friendship, community, and we even call it a family. But the essence of the race lies in riding on your own terms. For those who prefer to share the experience completely, a separate pair category allows two riders to race together as one unit.

Law and safety

The race takes place on public roads and trails and follows local traffic laws at all times. But we go much deeper, and for years now, we have implemented a golden rule called No-National-Roads. This rule sits at the very heart of Race Through Poland, and makes the race not only safer, but also more interesting and rewarding. A helmet and proper lighting are obligatory to ensure safety throughout the journey. Each rider manages their own safety and risk, gaining not only distance but confidence and experience.

Dziewczyny Jadą Ultra / Girls Go Ultra

We want more women on the start line of Race Through Poland. That is why we are proud to take part in the program Girls Go Ultra, which is built around women who have already finished Race Through Poland and want to support those who are preparing for their first or next start. This is a women-for-women initiative and is currently available in the Polish language only.

The program includes:

a series of thematic online webinars focused on unsupported racing
—
practical bike maintenance and bikepacking theory sessions
—
shared training rides and preparation meetings
—
individual mentoring and one-to-one support
(women supporting women)

The goal is to pass on real experience, reduce uncertainty, and help more women arrive at the start line prepared and confident. Girls Go Ultra is available to all women who are interested in taking part in RTPL – now or in the future.