At the 44th edition of the Race Across America, Philipp Kaider was the first to cross the finish line in Atlantic City. The Lower Austrian set off on Tuesday with his 11-strong team from Oceanside on the Californian Pacific coast. The route takes riders through extreme conditions: temperatures exceeding 43°C in the desert, thin air at altitudes of over 3,300 metres, poor road conditions and heavy traffic. Kaider covered the distance on just 80 minutes’ sleep per day. He took his first sleep break after 35 hours; towards the end of the race, he resorted to power naps. Problems in the seat area, as well as increasing neck and shoulder pain, hampered him during the ride. Swiss rider Michel Bucheli finished a long way behind in second place, with Austrian Thomas Mauerhofer coming third. In the women’s category, Pernille Kinnunen from Denmark was the sole participant.
Improvements to the Race Across America
He manages to improve his time by 3 hours and 34 minutes despite mental challenges. Kaider struggles with constantly comparing himself to his first victory. He wonders why he isn’t enjoying himself as much as he did last year, even though the race is going well. The realisation that he needs to accept the situation and not have high expectations marks a turning point. His 14-year career as an ultracyclist has been marked by setbacks. As a former chain smoker, he has completely turned his life around. He uses the mistakes he made at the start of his sporting career as learning opportunities. He shares his experiences in the lecture series “Failure as a Factor for Success”.
Tactical decisions in the Race Across America
The final 500 kilometres turn into a test of willpower. A new goal, born out of defiance, sets a powerful momentum in motion. The team makes many tactical decisions, which lead to a high pace in the final stages. Kaider emphasises the importance of his crew to their success. He describes ultracycling as a team sport, even though he is riding alone. The 11-strong team organises catering, navigation and recovery throughout the entire route. At the finish line in front of the Surf Stadium in Atlantic City, Kaider and his crew are overcome with emotion. They first need to process the experiences of the past nine days.
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Commitment to social projects
Kaider is cycling the kilometres for the ‘Sonne Radl’ Challenge. The campaign runs until the end of June. Sponsors convert every kilometre cycled into donations. The money enables children in Malawi to access education and physical education. The Gerin printing works in Wolkersdorf is handling the conversion of Kaider’s kilometres into donations. He is calling on all cyclists to take part. With very little effort, you can change a child’s life. The two-time RAAM winner joins the ranks of successful Austrian ultracycling athletes. With his 13th victory for Austria in the Race Across America, he is continuing the tradition in this race.
Austrian RAAM winners
1988 Franz Spilauer
1997 Wolfgang Fasching
2000 Wolfgang Fasching
2002 Wolfgang Fasching
2011 Christoph Strasser
2013 Christoph Strasser
2014 Christoph Strasser
2015 Christoph Strasser
2017 Christoph Strasser
2018 Christoph Strasser
2019 Christoph Strasser
2025 Philipp Kaider
2026 Philipp Kaider
Pawel Nowak successful in the Race Across America
The Polish “ultracycling priest”, Pawel Nowak, has successfully completed his first RAAM. After 11 days, 13 hours and 46 minutes, at an average speed of 17.7 km/h, he has crossed the USA. An experienced athlete played a part in this success: Aneta Lamik, the Polish women’s solo winner in 2025, led his support team.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
