Philipp Kaider, reigning winner of the Race Across America (RAAM), has confirmed his participation in the 2026 edition of the world's toughest cycling marathon. Following his success in June 2025, the 40-year-old from Wolkersdorf in Lower Austria will once again tackle the 5,000 kilometre route across the USA. On his first attempt, Kaider took 8 days, 22 hours and 32 minutes to cross the North American continent from the west to the east coast. For his second attempt, the two-time 24-hour time trial world champion has other priorities: "I want one thing above all: to reach the finish line again - with as few problems and as much enjoyment as possible from cycling," says Kaider, explaining his motivation. Although many observers would expect a title defence or a faster time, the extreme athlete is concentrating on the experience itself and not on measurable success.
The fascination of the Race Across America
The unique challenge of the Race Across America (RAAM) lies in the combination of extreme conditions. Kaider reports temperatures of up to 47 degrees Celsius, altitudes of over 3000 metres, strong headwinds and heavy rain on seemingly endless straights. It is precisely this mixture of extreme hardship and occasional moments of lightness that makes the race so special for the Lower Austrian. The mental component plays a decisive role - in addition to the physical strain caused by the enormous distance and the metres of altitude to be covered. For Kaider, crossing an entire continent on a bike remains surreal, even though he has already had this experience.
From chain smoker to ultra cyclist
Kaider's sporting career only began in 2012, when he gave up smoking at the age of 27 and discovered cycling as an alternative way of overcoming his addiction. One packet of cigarettes a day turned into a training workload of over 30,000 kilometres a year. This remarkable transformation led to numerous successes in ultra-cycling: in addition to the RAAM victory in 2025, Kaider won the 24-hour time trial world championship twice (2022 and 2024), became Austrian ultra-cycling champion (2024) and runner-up in the world championship (2024). He also set a Guinness World Record for crossing Austria in exactly 19 hours in 2023 and won the Race Around Austria and the Race Around Lower Austria.
Career and sports projects
Despite his sporting success, Kaider continues to work shifts as an intensive care nurse. He also runs a successful podcast and has launched his own energy bar for athletes, "NO CARBS, NO GLORY!". He is currently working on a book project together with nutritionist Axel Dinse. "Yes, it's a lot - but it's fun. I work on things that fulfil and motivate me," explains the athlete about his busy schedule.
Outlook for 2026
In addition to the Race Across America, 2026 holds numerous other projects in store for Philipp Kaider. The film about his RAAM 2025 adventure will premiere in Vienna on 9 January 2026. He is also planning a bike camp in Leogang, participation in the Race Around Lower Austria, the continuation of his book project with podcast partner Axel Dinse and activities as a Radland Niederösterreich ambassador in the field of education. Numerous presentations at companies and clubs have also already been organised. If he has a sufficient budget, the two-time 24-hour time trial world champion is also aiming to take part in this world championship again in November 2026.
Expensive Race Across America
Despite his victory in 2025 and the associated media attention, taking part in the Race Across America remains a financial feat for Kaider. Costs of between 70,000 and 80,000 euros are estimated for the realisation of the project. The ultra-cyclist is grateful for the support of his long-standing partners and sponsors, but is still looking for additional financial help. For his second RAAM attempt, Kaider will rely on a support team of 10 to 12 people who have already accompanied him in previous races but hardly know each other - a similar constellation to his successful first attempt.
Elena Roch also wants to take part in the Race Across America
Austrian ultracyclist Elena Roch is also familiar with the problem of funding. She has announced her participation in the Race Across America 2026. In order to finance the non-stop ride across the USA, she asked for donations on the Gofundme platform. The response was very good - over 11,000 euros were raised in just a few days. Philipp Kaider also supported the collection with a 50 euro donation. However, this is only a basis for the high total costs. Roch estimates that she needs a budget of 60,000 to 70,000 euros for the RAAM. A large part of this will go towards the travelling expenses of the support team. The RAAM covers around 5000 kilometres from the west to the east coast of the USA. Roch is a two-time winner of the Race Around Austria and 24-hour time trial world champion in 2024.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
