The race summary.

Day seven - A party day.

Day Five

Day Three

Day One

Day Zero

Adam Bialek

Krystian Jakubek

Roman Jagodziński

Mariusz Cukierski

Wojciech Bystrzycki

Björn Lenhard

Paul Niehoff

Jair Hoogland

Tomasz Rozmiarek

Peter Batt

Arno Burgi

Krzysztof Wolański

Karol Kamyczek

Grzegorz Kalenko

Konrad Boksa

Julian Klose

Aleš Vaníček

Jesko von Werthern

Łukasz Tarnawski

Sandro Poppe

Artur Kamczycki

Marek Muszynski

Krzysztof Skowroński

Ian MacNab

Steffen Lohrey

Andreas Wittkemper

Thomas Chateau-Stanislas

Gerold Lehmann

Anna Małecka

Filip Bieleszuk

Dawid Stanek

Jakub Osadnik

Michał Kacprzak

Rafał Wanat

Paweł Sojecki

Paweł Pieczka

Tony Geraghty

Szczypior Piotrów

Kacper Podołowski

Sylwia Kuropatwa

Kuba Lisowski

Roman Zychowicz

Oskar Szlachta

Paweł Walerczyk

Michał Jelonek

Piotr Gałka

Szymon Bernat

Radek Bilski

Thomas Ceyrowsky

Przemysław Chabrzyk

Leighn Chambers

Matúš Chmelo

Christian Dietrich

Jakub Dvorak

Artur Hajduk

Grzegorz Jemiolo

Jakub Jeznach

Łukasz Karpiński

Błażej Komander

Jakub Kopecký

Piotr Krajewski

Roman Królikowski

Grzegorz Kryza

Susanne Löschke

Karolina Maciejewska

Piotr Marzol

Jan Matuszny

Carlos Mazón

Łukasz Mirowski

Wojtek Ostruszka

Taavi Piller

Wojtek J. Gubała

Armin Poursalout

Szymon Sapeta

Andrzej Sękowski

Remigiusz Siudziński

Daniel Struckmann

Michal Switalski

David von der Tann

Tomáš Zaplatílek

Agata Matejczuk

Radek Rogóż

Tomasz Bondarewicz

Krzysztof Wesoły

Paweł Figiński

Marcin Powalski

Tomasz Sieczkowski

Kacper Kaczmarek

Magdalena Sobczak

Ewa Modrakowska

Łukasz Sieczkowski

Mariusz Niepsuj

Media 2

Media 1

Sunday night (3.10.2021) last dots (Magda and Ewa no 104)  reached the finish line, and since then, the race map is now empty.

Race Through Poland was an amazing event and most important it was safe for all. Fifty-three riders starter their journey from Wroclaw Velodrome towards the Carpathian mountains and back, and thirty-seven reached the finish line located in a small village Ożary in the Klodzko Valey. The weather was something that nobody expected. Mostly blue skies, with only one or two days with rain showers. Nights were cold, yes, but it is the end of September and having 20 degrees during the day in the mountains, was definitely a luck!

![Parcour1 tadek](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/7r2rpe5TNaqsaLN9H1QEHP/55e1d8986fa7839f14653adf66b84212/DSC09351.JPG)
*Weather at the CP1 parcour - photo: Tadek Ciechanowski*

Race Through Poland is a free routing style race, so riders had to find their way on their own between the control points. There is another unique rule inside of this. Riders are not allowed to use any of the National Roads what makes the race more safe and interesting in terms of different routing options that riders can take. This is the reason also, why we have to wait for official results to be announced. All the routes are now being double-checked by the race team, to make sure that no national roads were used. We will have to wait a bit for this to be done, but as for now, we can recall some of the fantastic performances that we could experience during the race.

Surely the most impressive of all was Adam Bialek ride. After sixty-five of totally sleepless hours, he arrived at the finish line as the first rider home. Riding such long hours without even five minutes of sleep must have been a real torment for him. Adam stated that he wasn't sure what his body will allow him to do and that he was always ready to listen to it. In the end, he managed to ride without stopping until Ożary but he also said at the finish line, that he wouldn't like to repeat this sleepless experience one more time. It was a huge dedication from him for sure, and he surely deserves a huge congratulations for this outstanding performance. We are super interested to see this amazing rider racing all arount the world in the future.

![Adam Białek (finish)](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/54j7XwP1rBWry5pwl8tIDe/ed4cd70fbcabd6320508d649707df213/ADR02682.jpg)
*Adam at the finish line - photo: Adrian Crapciu*

The second rider home, Krystian Jakubek also deserves a huge congratulations. During the whole race, we could see an outstanding fight for the result from this young but quite experienced already Polish rider. After staying just outside the podium for the first half of the race, he pushed his body a lot on the second night and by cutting his sleep to one hour only he managed to leave CP3 with the second position in his hand and he held it safely until the end of the race. Even an unlucky crash, that broke his front wheel into pieces and forced him to walk to the finish for the last four kilometres, did not threaten his arrival as a second rider home.

![ADR02826](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/5pvmGMWYOqnSYst0kc8vX5/48859d960ffbee9d8a10e7299a32d6f9/ADR02826.jpg)
*Krystian at the finish line with his bike - photo: Adrian Crapciu*

Mariusz Cukierski and Roman Jagodzinski were the two riders who were jumping up and down of the top six of the leaderboard throughout the whole race. From leading the race for Roman until the CP1, losing it to sixth at the CP2, and then fighting his podium position back until the CP3, Roman ended up as a third rider at the final parcour. Mariusz lost some time on the first and second night of the race, due to his main front light issues, but he was always somewhere close to Roman, and fight between these two were always visible. He arrived at CP3 a few minutes after Roman and left the CP3 as the fourth rider, with a clear message: "I'm motivated to finish third you know" he said. They ended up head to head at the final parcour and after about 100 kilometres of racing each other, they decided to roll in, into the finish line together. Such a story.

![ADR02885](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/2whLG9P7IJvqFgGp7nZQ1P/8d9c9c3cff65c46c0d66e3646ba3627e/ADR02885.jpg)
*Roman and Mariusz on the final kilometre before the finish line - photo: Adrian Crapciu*

Wojciech Bystrzycki, the youngest rider and the ex-pro U21, was also the one to watch during the race. It was his first long race like that, and as he stated at the finish line, he beat all his personal records. He started super strong, keeping the podium in his hand, until the CP3. He was the rider who opened all the gravel options and was first to take a gravel climb to CP2. Unfortunately for Wojtek, his sleeping strategy failed him and he had to take longer rest at CP3, causing him a drop in his position to fifth. Despite this, he rode strong for the last 500 kilometres and managed to finish the race inside the top five. As for the first race for him, the final result looks amazing. There is a big future in front of this young and really interesting rider, and we are keen to watch him in the future.

![ADR01829](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/7nFnOwQg4NJauNq3ZlOURR/7cb3dbb0c227613ecd5e190c3ac628cb/ADR01829.jpg)
*Wojciech at CP3 deciding to stay for longer sleep - Photo: Adrian Crapciu*

A big race favourite and huge ultra-distance veteran, Bjorn Lenhard finished the race as the sixth rider home, but there was probably no other rider from the top six, who was enjoying his ride as much as Bjorn did. After arriving at the CP1 together with the leader Adam Bialek, Bjorn wasn't happy from riding all the CP1 parcour through the night and not being able to see its beauty. He stated that he is not planning to ride through the second night and that he prefers to have a comfortable and picturesque ride during daylight. Even with that, and having a proper whole night sleep, he managed to hold to the pointy edge of the race and finish only a bit outside the of the top five. Bjorn is a rider that always shows us a great performance and a true dedication to the ride, that at the end of the day is always as personal as it can be.

![ADR01254](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/2T8MQXJdZmHFIAVdxDGegN/bb9dd9e01193e94bef6ea2296796d479/ADR01254.jpg)
*Bjorn at CP2 enjoying a morning sunlight - photo: Adrian Crapciu*

From the pair riders, once who arrived at the finish line as the first ones were Radoslaw Rogoz and Agata Matejczuk. This male-female pair were having a lot of crazy stories. They were going super strong during the first part of the race, holding inside of the top ten solo riders. Once they reached the mountains, the adventure began. They ended up doing much more gravel than expected and originally planned road race anded up to be a proper adventure ride. For Radoslaw, an experienced ultra-distance rider, who finished races like The Transcontinental Race and earlier this year Transiberica, this race wasn't anything new, but doing it as a pair was something super challenging. For Agata who's well experienced in ultra running rather than cycling this race was also a new challenge. Finishing it was a great achievement for both of them.

![PAIR 106](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/341tcuIVm8eq1BVeLQq9Cs/52ae7a53704fdaae46638fb946798b89/ADR01469-01__1_.jpeg)
*Agata and Radek at non obligatory gravel road - photo: Adrian Crapciu *

Unfortunately, there were not so many woman riders during this year edition of the race, and there was no solo woman to finish the race also. Sylwia Kuropawa scratched on the first night, due to the achilles injury, and Anna Małecka decided to divert their route just before the CP4 to join the finishers party that was happening last Friday evening.

![anna climb](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/3uGXdGciRnDNJeLrJ8GzQe/0101ab87ec9a978b1307be0d7f80ce42/DSC09685.JPG)
*Ania climbing the CP1 parcour - photo: Tadek Ciechanowski*

For Anna this race was something new, and it was truly amazing to watch her journey and dedication to the ride. She was late for a CP1 stamp, but even with that, she decided to continue and managed to reach CP2 and CP3 of the race. Even if she didn't finish the race, seeing her having fun with all the other riders during the race party was pretty comforting, and she deserves huge congratulations 

There is a whole lot of amazing stories from this race, and a lot more riders from all around Europe took part in this edition of Race Through Poland. We are not able to recall all of them, but __all fifty-three riders who started the race are the true heroes and we wanted to congratulate all of them on taking up this race.__
All the finishers are photographed and mentioned through the Race Through Poland Instagram posts, so don't forget to have a look if you would like to know them a bit better.

Well done to all of you!

![DSC09497](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/5FsdWeYTHKxr00tYjdbjNh/7d3b25c564647e5409fd3d3f960cbd67/DSC09497.JPG)
![DSC04250](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/7mZsL48JLyouAcu3HUEugX/dd9abc7d59a45d468df32a94f0754ebb/DSC04250.JPG)
![DSC04465](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/AAev6u1wSRHPQf8VTsyXb/99a647c9bd3f78a13a56d5d57da62358/DSC05060.JPG)
![DSC09413](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/rMk9kcq6U2Mgb09Xcc2tu/34ea7a38a6b56100727ae45fc663d659/DSC09413.JPG)
*photos - Tadek Ciechanowski*

The #RTPL3 is now over and we can't wait for Race Through Poland 4 to be announced.

The night drew really cold in the Klodzko Valley and the temperature dropped down to zero degrees Celsius at some places of the final parcour. Nearly all the dots that remained on the race map stopped, looking for a warm shelter.

In the morning, together with the first sunlight, riders started to move again, and we started the countdown to the finishers party that was going to happen later that day.

The first rider who arrived at the finish line that day was Marek Muszynski (60). He was telling the stories about crazy shelters that he had to build out of the tree branches up the Jugowska Pass because it was too cold for him to descend to the valley.

The two oldest riders of the race, Ian MacNab (53) aged 65 and Gerold Lehmann (30) aged 62 also arrived at the finish line today, telling the stories of the cold night. We love to see how the older generation inspires all of us to ride without any limits.

![ADR03961](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/4yf7iyGiCa5qxE7ZtyDdwC/e554d5adfa1cc57248a3475bab95ee9d/ADR03961.jpg)
*Ian MacNab getting his brevet card stamped - photo: Adrian Crapciu*

Gerold was the final rider who made it to all the control points and the finish line before the closing times. Nonetheless, there were still plenty of riders on the map when the finishers party was about to start. Unfortunately few of them, including our only woman, Anna Malecka (54) decided to scratch and instead of riding south to the fourth control point, they diverted their routes to join the finishers party. Finish or no finish, was good to see them having fun with other riders.

![ADR04047](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/2UHa8x9hj4fIsA4JDduf1t/622dfd2258c60e5ab459c959d44c55a8/ADR04047.jpg)
*Anna Małecka is welcomed at the finish line by Piko -photo: Adrian Crapciu*

The party was big, with music, food and a bonfire. Pair riders Tomasz Sieczkowski and Kacper Kaczmarek (103) arrived in the middle of it and they couldn't wish for a better welcome!

![ADR04071-01](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/5okID5JZVAgHTfIRK3Le8x/5e0972ab0792bdc8e0d321bc6c8125e4/ADR04071-01.jpeg)
*An official finisher party speech with awards and gifts - photo: Adrian Crapciu*

We have been partying a lot with all the stories from the past week. Some lucky riders received unexpected prizes, others were dancing to the music played by our amazing volunteers. It was a great and well deserved relaxing time for all.

![ADR04145](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/2Ufgjqhp37gucTd29QDY4/02a8426b74875310fa3d3678a81ed594/ADR04145.jpg)
*Tomasz and Kacper collecting their stamped brevet cards - photo: Adrian Crapciu*

No one else from the race map couldn't make it to the finish before the official finish line cut off time: 10:00 AM, 2.10.2021, but the race is never over until the last riders will finish their ride and there are still three dots out there:

Our only female pair riders Magdalena and Ewa (104) who slowly but surely moving forward onto the CP4, and Filip Bieleszuk, who after an unsuccessful start in 2019, is trying to deal with this unfinished business once and for all. He is now getting closer to the final parcour.

We are wishing them luck!
*Cover photo: Tadek Ciechanowski*

Here is the day 6 report, and there were exactly 6 riders who arrived at OŻARY for the finish.

Whole day at the finish line was way more calm, due to the distances which are separating the riders at the second part of the peloton. Everyone arriving today feels the amazing hospitality of "Przystanek Raj", our finish line host. Riders who have finished RTPL3 faster, become the fans waiting for those who finish after them.

![ADR03865](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/38XOmhDHKQ2tFAdbvtttAu/696c78a89c2a8d968948fa3f449b13b5/ADR03865.jpg)
*riders are greeting eachother in Przystanek Raj - photo: Adrian Crapciu*

Łukasz Tarnawski no. 76 was our first arrival of Day 6. He rolled in quietly between all the riders chatting with each other, and we barely realised he was here!

The big moment for the day was the finish of our second pair of the race no.101 - Tomasz Bondarewicz and Krzysztof Wesoly. Krzysztof said that Tomasz was a great help, due to the high level of positive vibes maintained by Tomasz. Pairs are always a great example of how many riders who would struggle to finish the race solo, can overcome any crisis on the road, when supported by a good colleague.

Sandro Poppe no.66 - a Belgian rider - arrived after the pair and he brought all the smiles to us all. All the volunteers, from every control point said that Sandro was one of the most positive riders of RTPL3 - he always arrived with a great smile on his face.

![ADR03884](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/1QA1U9vRteH70Et9zvqRDi/a1feac4117d32eedfc63127d365f8179/ADR03884.jpg)
*Sandro collecting his brevet card - photo Adrian Crapciu*

There was a big gap after Sandro, and everyone who got here was celebrating the time, eating pizza and pierogi together. Few of the riders decide to have a ride around Ożary.

The busiest place on the map was the fifth parcour of the race and CP4, Wataszka, because it officially closed at 10:00 PM so getting there on time was the main priority for many.

![DSC04927](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/6jr2BOWIUxBEWuh6UiZm0n/da7d6b1c1abf0c207bcd7472ad47801a/DSC04927.JPG)
*One of the views at CP4 parcour - photo: Tadek Ciechanowski*

Ewa and Magda - our woman pair - reached yesterday the CP3 parcour and they are now on their way to Kotlina Kłodzka.

Anna Małecka (the only solo woman) had a busy day yesterday, passing the last long transit part of the race. As she left CP3 yesterday and she is getting very close to Klodzko Valley, the final mountains of the race.

The night near the finish line was really cold. Artur Kamczycki no.38 who arrived that night, said that he experienced temperatures around 0 degrees.

So far 21 riders and 2 pairs have received their finishers t-shirt. The finish line will close at 10am (CET) on Saturday 2nd October when the race day number seven will end!

We wish all the riders to reach the finish line in Ożary!

*Cover photo - Tadek Ciechanowski*

Day Six - Easy rolling to the finish.

Day five was quite the same when it came to the number of riders arriving at the finish, exactly like on day 4 there were 10 riders in! 

Since the first few riders the celebrating has started, as the next riders are coming, and after a short nap, joining the others. The finish point in OZARY is known in Polish as „Przystanek RAJ” which translates to „Heaven - stop”(like the bus stop :).

It is a party in classic finisher style. Group of cyclists already at OZARY were eating breakfasts, dinners, suppers together and waiting for the arriving riders.

The atmosphere of people who managed to ride the same race is amazing, and always because they shared the same route, they share their stories and experiences - and after the same race you become a member of the one big race family.

![ADR03850](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/4w6Iq5sXNubuprYncjY1hc/4de07a0d313c070ce58f70eb491ba911/ADR03850.jpg)
*Riders spending time together at the finish line - photo: Adrian Crapciu*

One of the arrivals today was Krzysztof Wolanski - he has already finished RTPL in 2019 and he decided this year as well to race. He was very glad to not only finish RTPL once again but also to beat his previous record. The 2019 race was certainly very different when it comes to the matter of the weather (quick recall: in 2019 there was snow, rain, humidity, riders were buying workshop gloves / sometimes using 2 pairs at the same time / to fight the water which in super low temperatures was really exhausting.

Grzegorz Kolanko, even though he had so many problems with his bike, especially with brakes. He even decided to go an extra 30km to the only bike shop around where he could buy repair parts for his brakes.

The most important moment of day 5 was the arrival of the first pair of Radek and Agata - they managed to arrive at OZARY.  Arrival of the pairs is such a great thing due to the challenge of sharing the same number. It's not easy to ride 1400km next to each other. Sometimes the crisis is happening only to one of the riders in the pair, and the second one needs to be strong enough to not only cycle their part but also to support the other. But the smiles they had on their faces once they arrived was a proof that all of the challenges on the road they won, and they became only stronger after RTPL3

Aleš Vaníček no.77 arrived after midnight. This Czech rider came back to Poland for the second time this year. On the race in August - Race Around Poland - which he didn’t manage to finish, he was really happy to finish the Race Through Poland. He was the 17th rider that finished RTPL3.
He was one of the few riders that were unlucky to be chased by rain, and he also arrived totally wet, but after a warm shower his face was covered only with a big smile - he was so glad to finish at least one race in Poland this year.

Many riders are still there on the road. The only solo girl Anna Malecka - she is arriving soon to the CP3 Magurka, she stopped for a night already on Parkour no.3

On the tail of the RTPL3 peloton we have our only women pair: Ewa and Magda pair no. 104 - even though they are the last on the race, they keep great morals and they are daily sharing a lot of great feed on their instagram stories which we encourage you to follow - it’s not only positive but they are sharing a lot of race experience they are gaining every day.

CP4 is still open till tomorrow 10:00 PM. We hope that everyone will manage to get a stamp.

The waves of warm air are coming out of the fireplace in OZARY Finish - let us keep our fingers crossed for the riders still out here cycling, so they could have a chance to experience this great moment of the race party.

*Cover photo: Adrian Crapciu*

(cover photo: Adrian Crapciu)

Just to sum up - after Adam Bialek arrived at 3:35, within 24h there were 9 more arrivals. 

Krystian Jakubek (02) repeated his second place finish from the last edition of RTPL… but he has in fact finished this race twice. You are probably wondering how it was possible?

On the very last km of the race Krystian suddenly hit his front wheel into a huge brick which was lying on the side of the road. He totally broke his wheel, and because he was thinking that some other rider was coming very close behind him, he left his bike on the side of the road and ran to the finish.

Once he reached the finish line, the race director explained to him that he cannot accept his arrival unless he brings the bike, due to the rule which prohibits riders from leaving any part of their equipment or baggage to reach any check point earlier.

Krystian understood, and obviously he went back 1.5km and brought his bike in parts. He was super happy to finish second, with time: 03D 00H 46M.

![ADR02461](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/61Qq1IgxocsrmeqAM9ApJJ/497d919f4404dab583a269a2ed6e3500/ADR02461.jpg)

*Bikepacking acrobatics from Krystian. Photo: Adrian Crapciu*

The most exciting sport competition took place between two riders Mariusz no.27 and Roman no.33. It all started when Mariusz arrived to CP3 Magurka and knew that if he pushed enough the 3rd place was possible. He was chasing Roman until the last parcour before the finish line. They were cycling side by side for the last 100 kilometers, constantly exchanging the position of 3rd and 4th  rider. Once they reached Ożary,the finish line village, they passed through it together, and that way they both arrived in the same time, and that is why they share 3rd position of RTPL3 with time of 03D 03H 49M

The youngest rider Wojciech Bystrzycki arrived as the 5th rider home. Once he arrived he said that he is very glad to finish RTPL. For him it was the longest race ever, and frankly said: "I don't understand how people want to put their body in such an extreme position.... but I would love to do it again" 

Wojciech Bystrzycki has beaten all his records: daily longest ride, longest ride ever, and many many more. His finisher time is: 03D 05H 50M.

The next rider was Bjorn Lenhard. He came with a super optimistic humour. 
He was amazed with all of the Polish views he had seen during RTPL3, but especially on the last km when he was passing the Owl Mountains. His time was: 03D 06H 40M and he is already getting ready for a next edition

Four hours after Bjorn, the second foreigner Paul Niehoff arrived as 7th rider. He was one of the few riders that had a chance to experience rain during RTPL3. Once he entered Klodzo Valley, the rain was following him until the finish line. He arrived totally wet but still smiled at everybody. His time was 03D 10H 10M.

8th rider home, Jair Hoogland from the Netherlands brought some positive vibes to every check point he arrived at. It was his first experience visiting Poland and had many great adventures during RTPL3. We know from him that the race raport is on its way so you may like to follow his [Instagram account](https://www.instagram.com/jairhoogland/).

![DSC04321](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/CBxSsh41mOUmWocSsdvax/48372598dae64cc3d5f6202ef5f0d1a5/DSC04321.JPG)
*Jair Hoogland at the finish. Photo: Tadek Cienchanowski*

Police stopped Jair close to Salmopolska Pass (CP3 parcour). Due to filming promotion movie by local politicians, who were promoting bicycle paths. Jair needed to stop for a while. He said that he is also a cyclists. But they refused. Then Jair explained that he is a rider in RTPL3 race. He shown them a race cap, a GPS device. That convinced them and they let him go.

The last rider of the day was Peter Batt. Also amazed with Poland. The first words he said after reaching finish - "RTPL3 was an amazing adventure!"

There are many riders still cycling.

The leader pair Radek and Agata no 106 made a significant move on the map of RTPL3. They managed to cycle a very long distance between CP3 and CP4. They are going to reach the finish line before the end of the fourth day.

Anna Malecka no.54, the only female solo rider was passing CP2 and the parkour. Then she stopped in Zakopane to spend the night. 

The only woman pair no. 104 Ewa and Magda arrived at CP2 after the time limit, but they took a picture to prove it. The women are enjoying the route and cycling with positive determination to the next CP. You should definitely check their Instagram stories! Here's [Ewa](https://www.instagram.com/odeszliodstolu/) and [Magda](https://www.instagram.com/_madziastic_/).

Today CP3 closed at 10am, and we are expecting more riders on the finish line today.

Wishing all of them a great race!

Day Four

We have the first rider home!!!

In 2 days, 17 hours, 35 minutes, Adam Bialek (no. 17) completed his 1,418 kilometres route as the first rider at the finish line in Ożary, a little village in the middle of Kotlina Kłodzka.

It was an incredible performance for sure and a huge dedication to the curiosity of your own body. Adam didn't sleep at all during the whole ride and as he stated, he wasn't sure until the very end how this sleepless ride would end up.

![ADR02332](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/3s1Mbh0y6iDXrtjFJkdOCH/f90e932cd1e2f4ed65745622e7c55b6f/ADR02332.jpg)

*The relief of a win. Photo: Adrian Crapciu*

Huge congratulations to Adam, but let's recall the whole story!!

The day started way before the sunrise. Adam Bialek no.17 arrived as the first rider to CP3 Magurka Wilkowicka. The first surprise was the fact that he arrived so quickly. Secondly, and even more surprising, was Adam’s response to the question: „Are you going to rest sometime now on CP3 because it is the middle of the night?” to which Adam said: „Not really….:)”.

Adam stopped just for a short while to wash his face, and the volunteers didn’t have time to speak with him much. He just asked as the first rider on CP3 for a stamp and went on his way. He was moving non-stop the whole night and day to reach the fourth parcour in the afternoon.

If you are wondering, and we bet you are - who is Adam Bialek? 

Adam Białek won the Three Peaks Bike Race this year and also the Austrian Extreme Bike Race. For those who don’t know those races, we will just say that they are long: 2,000 km+ and also there is a lot of climbing! ( a lot!!!) 

Adam decided to race in RTPL3 as part of his preparations for Transcontinental Race no.8. His main goal was to try racing self-supported without being prepared by org CP with support.

He reached the CP4 in the evening and before midnight he had done 20% of the finish parkour.

Four hours after Adam’s short appearance at CP3, Krystian Jakubek no.2 arrived at Magurka Wilkowicka. Krystian’s disposition was a little bit different. He said that he must recover a little bit. Unfortunately, the reception at Magurka Wilkowicka was closed at the moment of his arrival (before 6 am.) so he laid down on the bench, looking for sleep but after 2h rest, he mentioned that only for 1h he managed to fall asleep. It was enough to sustain him for a whole day transit to Klodzko Valley. Before midnight he arrived at CP4 Hultaj Wataszka.

The third rider on CP3 was Wojciech Bystrzycki no.20 - the last km on the 3rd parcour he was cycling quite slow, and also he was exhausted. The lack of sleep was killing him. He said that this is the wisest moment to finally rest, and not to push any more without proper recovery.  While he was sleeping, Roman no.33 and Mariusz no.27 arrived.

Krystian no.2  and Wojciech no.20 were some of the few riders that decided to pass through Klekociny instead of Przyslop Pass in Zawoja. 

Wojciech no.20 had a lot of problems with his GPS, and he got lost which cost him some time and on the descent from Klekociny Pass he struggled with the cold.

For Kristian it was a great move as it allowed him to close in on Bjorn no.26. Bjorn decided to rest before parcour no.3, but it was quite challenging for him. The owners of the hotel he found did not speak English at all. And at the check-in, they forbid him to take his bike to the room. After some time, he managed to get in with the bike. He slept for over 8h and fully recovered, he continued during the daytime. 

4th visitor of CP3 Patch Magurka was Roman Jagodzinski no.33. Like a tornado, he just arrived with a big smile on his face and within 3 min he left the CP3 after receiving the stamp. 

5th place, Mariusz no.33 not only came 30min after Roman but also with the same optimistic wellbeing left CP3 quickly, hoping to fight for a 3rd position.

In 6th, Bjorn managed to reach CP3 before Wojciech no.20 woke up and after a short conversation, Bjorn left CP3 right away! Also before Wojciech no.20 woke up, 2nd non-polish rider Paul Niehoff no.61 managed to pass through CP3.

Anna Małecka was struggling to reach CP1 Triglav Studzionki before the CP1 closed at noon. She arrived there only 20 minutes later, but the spirits were there, and she bravely decided to continue the race.

What is happening when the volunteers eventually need to leave the CP?

Still, they can continue the race, however, instead of a stamp, they need to prove that they reach CP with a time-stamped photograph or a receipt, or by just asking for a stamp at CP location.

After the strong ride, Anna reached the CP2 on time and she is now going strong through the second parcour.

Our pair of girls Marta and Ewa (no.104) reached the bottom of the CP2 and they are ready to climb that early in the morning.

Most of the riders are done with the CP2 today, which closes tomorrow at 8 AM, and the big pack of riders is now on their way to the CP3 in Madurka Wilkowicka.

Good luck to all of them.

Second-day update!

The pointy end of the race with the current positions, for the end of day 2:

1st - Adam Bialek no.17
2nd - Krystian Jakubek no.2
3rd - Bjorn Lenhard no.26
4th - Wojciech Bystrzycki no.20 
5th - Roman Jagodziński no. 33
6th - Mariusz Cukierski no.27

These six riders since the start of RTPL3 have remained within the top 6 positions, of course with some rearrangements. So let us recall what happened since the start! 

After the first parcour at Tampadla Pass, Roman no.33 was keeping the position of the leader until the final CP1 climb, when before reaching Studzionki he stopped, as we know already, for a 2,5h nap on the bench with a small roof. Then it was Adam Bialek no.17 who took the lead and arrived first to CP1, and since that time he has been the leader of the race. Only a few hours later he arrived at the CP2 Obidza Pass.

Bjorn no.26 has also taken advantage of Roman’s regeneration nap and overtook him, being second since then. Bjorn is the only foreigner (non-polish rider) in our Great Six.

For him travelling to Poland is a great experience of getting to know the country. Once he reached CP1 Studzionki he said that he is disappointed to cycle during the night through such an amazing parcour. Fortunately, the most scenic part with blue skies over the Tatra Mountains of the second parcour was the compensation of a night pass through the Islab Beskid.
![DSC08890](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/3keuaX5QL3ku1OqSGSucbU/4e472b39d53d2c480fef3c3587177eb8/DSC08890.JPG)
*Adam and Bjorn at the CP1 STUDZIONKI. Image: Tadek Ciechanowski*

So Adam no.17 and Bjorn no.26 reached the CP1 still during the night around 5am.

Third rider, already after the sunrise at the CP1 was one of the youngest,  Wojciech Bystrzycki no.20 and just after him Krystian Jakubek no.2 (2nd place in RTPL 2019). Krystian took a short nap in the morning sun with the astonishing view of Tatra Mountains.

![DSC09065](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/1LUuyacAsYlNQDEYkC2LSK/0e8e1429c231d07209ab58f1cf7c23b5/DSC09065.jpg)
*Krystian having a nap at the CP1 STUDZIONKI. Image: Tadek Ciechanowski*

Wojtek was the first who decided to descend from CP1 by the shorter gravel path, instead of the tarmac descent, and he was followed by Krystian just a little bit later.

Mariusz no.27 reached CP1 as a 5th rider. He had a serious problem since midnight with his principal front light. He used his weaker emergency light, but this solution slowed him down significantly. He wasn't happy about it but the daylight brought some good spirit to him.

And the former leader of the first 400km, Roman no.33, reached the CP1 as the 6th rider.

![ADR01413](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/230zSQPsfahExm6cusXOny/cc96d9c4ad37ffe88dab4686edc1a246/ADR01413.jpg)
*Wojciech riding through the CP2 gravel pass in Sądecki Beskid. Image: Adrian Crapciu*

CP2 OBIDZA PASS is located very close to the CP1, but there are two major options to get there. One is a safe tarmac road, following Dunajec and Poprad river valleys, the other, 20 km shorter, through the Beskid Sądecki mountain range, but the pass is all gravel.

CP2 was reached by Adam no.17 as a first rider, and only 30 minutes later Bjorn no.26 arrived, happy after the early morning, sunny ride. He said that he has only one dilemma… with such amazing views surroundin the RTPL3 route, he would prefer to travel, rather than race, because there is no time to admire the views.

![ADR01220](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/3fdmqamwe7Wqirv0Bxp3DD/b027f2c1a2efd5a2ca9a949ddbebc50d/ADR01220.jpg)
*Adam reaching the CP2 OBIDZA PASS. Image: Adrian Crapciu*

Both Adam and Björn took the safe tarmac route and they were pretty happy about it.

It was Wojciech no.20 and also Krystian no.2 who decided to reach CP2 by the gravel pass, hoping for some time savings, but even if was 20km shorter there was no significant advantage in time, and also they had to push their bikes for about 1,5km.

![ADR01390](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/7qEO89a4QIk69phJiro1l1/85e3b54635a6c3dfb19cc7196b4f207c/ADR01390.jpg)
*Different routing options around the CP2 let us see such a view over there. Here Krystian and Mariusz passing each other. Image: Adrian Crapciu*

Mariusz no.27 and Roman no.33 reached the CP2 as following riders. Roman arrived very refreshed and maybe this can become a deciding moment for him, as so far from the top six riders he has slept the most!

The leaders are keeping their top positions, what about the rest?
In the late afternoon, the strongest pair no.106 Radek and Agata arrived safely. Since day 1 they are the pair leaders.

They also decided to take a gravel path and their bikes were covered with mud! Radek is doing well, however, Agata on the first parkour fell asleep while riding and she fell off her bike- but still they decided to ride, and still they are keeping the position of lead pair.

![ADR01469-01](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/dEnolWa6uWbjzoLHWr8FD/fa935f03a6a1b0e2138362b429853cfe/ADR01469-01.jpeg)
*Leading pair Radek and Agata riding to CP2 through the gravel option. Image: Adrian Crapciu*

A female rider Anna Małecka, no.54, who was riding nearly non-stop from the start, reached the CP1 parcour during the late-night hours. After a short few hours sleep she is now bravely conquering the brutal +20% climbs of the Island Beskid.

The only female pair, Ewa and Magdalena no 104, stayed not far from the beginning of the CP1 parcour, and it looks like they will have a good night's sleep before taking on this route.

# Scratch Report

Paweł Sojecki no.72, after riding really strong within the top ten, mixed up the directions, and instead of going east to CP2, he started the second parcour from the other way around. This mistake must have been pretty devastating mentally for him, as he switched off his tracker after some time, and wrote us a message, saying "where should I send the tracker back?"

Our fixie rider Kacper Podolowski no.11 was feeling sick and having problems with fever, and it was the main reason why he decided to scratch.
No.49 Kuba Lisowski decided to scratch due to a knee ache.
Sylwia Kuropatwa no.48 also because of the injury that she didn’t manage to heal after the East1400 race taken recently.

![DSC09418](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/1wjb2DWTygXWSxPIrKJx2T/e9d3bd72ea88792e948fc2b20ec0f90a/DSC09418.JPG)
(CP1 parcour is stuffed with 20+% climbs)

At 11:00 pm. Adam no.17 started the 3rd parcour, and Krystian no.2 overtook Bjorn, and Wojtek who decided to recover in a hotel bed before starting parkour no.3 leading to the CP3 Magurka Wilkowicka.

All the best to all of them!
*Cover photo by Tadek Ciechanowski*

Day Two

The weather this year so far we can say is the best friend of RTPL riders. 
tailwind, which was pushing and helping from the end of Tapadla Pass (384m)  located around 50km from the start which took place at the Wroclaw’s Joseph Grundmann Velodrom.

This Velodrome is one of the most iconic cycling spots in Poland, and has always been the starting point of RTPL. 

![ADR00087](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/2ZMwDv8Rogr8Io3XFcc2q1/690d7841e4fc1e653a58bf57edd7900b/ADR00087.jpg)
*Piko briefs the riders pre-departure. Image: Adrian Crapciu*

After warming up at the Velodrome, one of the most famous open tracks for cycling in this part of Europe, it was the last moment for all riders to meet up and to take some pics before the race.

![ADR00357](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/6jF6EwJytrMktBSJQSDyLj/c7627950b2f4a53f0abb7955a09dd3f2/ADR00357.jpg)
*The riders take on a lap of the Wroclaw Velodrome. Image: Adrian Crapciu*

![ADR00401](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/7avgLEQ5aGBFwTdDIjozKU/b9d4469da733d2482cabda87b4c7c23a/ADR00401.jpg)
*Thomas Chateau leaves the velodrome. Image: Adrian Crapciu*

Exactly at 10 am. After an official lap of the Velodrome, with escort of Polish Police, the riders made a honorable ride through the City of Wroclaw. 

![ADR00488](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/4XJGOr1tBGhigd2oOjNrt4/5d866c462f25839e0915d3d1dadf7a03/ADR00488.jpg)

![ADR00948](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/4Be2irFwjozc0x0I9yl662/b5a54b4ae28531119bbcf2fa569cccb1/ADR00948.JPG)
*One rider tapes the first 100km of the route elevation profile to their handlebars. Image: Adrian Crapciu*

After they passed the city police escort finished,  the riders started the race officially and the peloton reshuffled itself. 

Just before Tapalda Pass rider Szczypior Piotrow decided to resign, due to weak mental disposition regarding such a long and extreme ride.

However this scratch was not the most important for the first day, after 10 hours of riding and almost 250km cycled, 2 times winner of RTPL Pawel Pieczka, has decided to scratch the race. One of the reasons was that his average speed was not satisfying himself, and he would not be able to chase the front of the race which was moving 5-7km/h faster than him. Frankly, the fact that he even decided to start after riding the 3,200km Maraton Roweroy Dookala Polski cycling marathon which he completed 3 weeks ago was extraordinary.

Let’s see if one of the current edition riders breaks the 3 day mark which was Pawel’s most important target of RTPL3. 

Back to the race! So after the first parcour, the riders had to decide which way they would pass the first 300km. Just to recall the rules of RTPL - the riders can ride their own route between the CP and parcours however they can not use the national roads - which in many occasions are the shortest solutions to pass such long distances. On the other hand, this way the race becomes more interesting and sometimes good planning can make it possible for some to take advantage of better road surface. 

With this principal rule of not using the main roads RTPL is a perfect way to explore Poland and to really Race Through Poland!

![ADR00684](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/6J2KSIJ1OjhrxiUB9Ykumw/ea299d5b111e623bb24e56c5f7147e12/ADR00684.jpg)
*You wouldn't find this traffic jam on a main road. Image: Adrian Crapciu*

Till 23:00 (13h after the start) the leader position still belongs to Roman Jagodziński no.33 - he should manage to get to the first CP Studzionki (891m) located in Ochotnica Gorna in the heart of Gorce Mountains. 

Roman no.33 could not escape the chasers during this first 300km, which means within the short distance of 30km we have 6 more riders at the very front of the race. Separated in 3 pairs divided just 10km apart from each other.

![ADR00593](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/2vvLhrv6ppVe4OeAzVFyg3/8dd8bc289616e720b2c3828fd662c6c7/ADR00593.jpg)
*Björn Lenhard tackles some of the rougher stuff early in the race. Image: Adrian Crapciu.*

Barely 5km after the leader, Roman no.33, second place is Bjorn Lenhard no.26 followed by Mariusz Cukierski no.27.

10km back on the 4th place is Adam Białek no.17 and 5th Wojciech Bystrzycki no.20 who is one of the youngest riders, and this is his ultra self-supported race debut, so his high ranking position is a surprise. 

In 6th position is Krystian Jakubek no.2 who took second in the last edition of RTPL.

The female leader currently is Anna Małecka no.54 - so far she has cycled almost 250km.

![ADR00736-01](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/7bZSFlvzgqaxkRE9QJLUPs/ecb26e6e16abce81b978d97d1a694374/ADR00736-01.jpeg) *Anna Malecka crosses the railway lines. Image: Adrian Crapciu*

The fastest pair is Radek Rogoz and Agata Matejczuk no.106 who have already cycled 300km.

Female pair no.104 Ewa Modrakowska and Magdalena Sobczak are rolling nicely and seem to be enjoying themselves, which is the most important thing, after all! They're both posting to Instagram with some great shots through the lens of a rider. Here's [Ewa](https://www.instagram.com/odeszliodstolu/) and [Magdalena](https://www.instagram.com/_madziastic_/).

![DSC08566](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/4EZuA6BJWfYRTIJDbOWwvC/104bf79f7fd078a8e9b0a45d412551ad/DSC08566.JPG)
*Ewa and Magdalena leaving the city of Wroclaw. Image: Tadek Ciechanowkski*

The first day for many cyclists was a transit day due to passing through the very urbanized region of Silesia (around Katowice). From tomorrow many riders will be surrounded by one of the most beautiful mountain sites in Gorce, Beskid Wyspowy and Tatra Mountains. 

The night in Poland is very warm even though it’s the end of September. Most of the riders, even those less experienced in self-support races decided to ride during the first night, which is a wise decision due to warm and dry conditions.

*Header image: Tadek Ciechanowski*

As you all know the RTPL starts today but the most significant moment for the riders is day 0 - when the registration takes place. 

Most of the time it is the only moment when all the participants meet. 

Most of the cyclists are not from Wrocław. So they are coming either by plane, train or car.

Few riders had some logistic adventures just before the race.

Grzegorz Kalenko no.37 coming from Szczecin (north of Poland) had some issues with his car. Fortunately, the tow trailer towed his car to Wrocław and once he will be cycling at RTPL3 the car will be repaired by the car service.

More "bikey" story happened to Julian Klose no.42. Yesterday he lost the cap of the rear wheel. He realised this during the registration which took place at „Stu Mostów” Brewery. Hopefully, our friends from Hultaj bikes have repaired the whole rear wheel.

![WhatsApp Image 2021-09-25 at 07.24.58](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/4RXyvtr49lhPMqDxj6cBTW/6c2755841805ba9f13e9228a67588bf7/WhatsApp_Image_2021-09-25_at_07.24.58.jpeg)
*Julian Klose has his rear hub fixed*

We can say that 53 riders have registered themselves, and the same number will start tomorrow from Wroclaw.

Among those 53, Pawel Pieczka who won two previous editions will attempt once again to break the 3 days of the RTPL route. It hasn't been done so far.

![WhatsApp Image 2021-09-25 at 07.25.44](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/3MFYBUEKOtsNIJHI57MyKk/ab406048ed33e85d53f8631e222220f9/WhatsApp_Image_2021-09-25_at_07.25.44.jpeg)
*Pawel Pieczka at registration*

Among the riders, we have many famous names known in Polish ultra-cycling. 

Already mentioned 2 times winner Pieczka had just short regeneration after the longest Polish ultramarathon around Poland, he cycled 3200km in around 8 days just 3 weeks before RTPL3

The second strongman, Mariusz Cukierski who has just won the Polish classic (MPP) from North to South of Poland (1000km) in 39h -  2 weeks ago

During registration, Mariusz mentioned that he is looking forward to riding with many international riders.

Race Through Poland is indeed one of the few events which gather so many foreigners here in Poland. 

![DSC08146](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/2eNNb6ElPylGC6HPedsHl3/62141482fd9d5e27eda7f6ab3dcea564/DSC08146.JPG)
*Organiser Piko Pulawski and Björn Lenhard. Image: Tadek Ciechanowski*

One of them who You know for sure is Björn Lenhard no.26   wanted to participate in RTPL but he said that he doesn't have much time so he wants to finish the race as soon as possible - so get ready for a great race! 

At the 3rd edition of RTPL besides the latest winners from other races and great international representation, we have also most probably the first woman pair: no. 104A Ewa Modrakowska 	& no.104 B Magdalena Sobczak. Magdalena was a volunteer 2 years ago, and after the last edition, she wanted to participate as a rider.

During RTPL3 there will be many new volunteers participating, 

![DSC08210](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/6iAdrR13tPqxuwVnHO8WPr/71f4ffe1bae3408e4ba19f77a72c449f/DSC08163.JPG)
*Image: Tadek Ciechanowski*

Forecasts don't show any rain for the next days. So whoever will be fast enough can run from the rain, but you never know :)  however lately in this part of Europe, the wind has been blowing strong, so let's keep our fingers crossed for all the riders.

*Header image: Tadek Ciechanowski*

Race Through Poland is a single stage 1,500km bicycle race through the Carpathian Mountains.

Race Through Poland 2021

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