Imagine this – a 400 km track with an elevation of 8800 meters leading through mountains and forests. The altitude the cyclists encounter across the race adds up to 8,800m which is equivalent to the height of Mount Everest.

Vladan Moravec, who works at the Hot Strip Mill at LIBERTY Ostrava where he secures logistics and planning, achieved the tremendous feat of coming in joint 3rd/4th place at the extreme 400 Ultra race.  

Our colleague Vladan completed the race in an incredible 24 hours and 13 minutes!

The SPOKE team caught up with Vladan and spoke to him about his tremendous achievement.

How did you prepare for such an extreme race?

I started training properly since this New Year. I didn’t focus on mileage, but on climbing as many vertical metres as possible in each training session, gaining leg strength and fitness, so I had ridden up the hills over and over again. I rode up one hill maybe 20 times and added some running too. I trained regularly before work, getting up at maybe 3:30am in the morning and getting in an hour to three-hour workout, and then going straight to work no matter what the weather was.

All in the dark, freezing cold…it had its own atmosphere!

After work on the way home I added some hills. On the weekends I added some longer ones.

What motivates you?

I decided to take part in the race because after two unlucky starts at the 1000-mile Adventure race in 2017 and 2018, I took a longer break from bike racing. During that time, my friend and I ran the 101km Beskydy Seven Peaks race, where I came 6th in my category, and the 63km Brno Massacre, in which I came in third in my category. Apart from that I did not participate in any other races.

Last year, after buying a new quality bike, I felt a renewed enthusiasm and a desire to do some more cycling, set a goal, start training and push my performance to a higher level. I planned two races.  The first race went from Javorník through Moravia to Břeclav. I rode heavy carrying a sleeping bag and a mattress, more stuff even for the rain, etc. It was clear to me that I would spend two nights on the track. I had biked it in 62 hours and only slept for two hours from start to finish, and only on the second night. The second race was just the 400 ultra bike marathon on 5/19/2023. These were my two goals that I started training for.

How long have you been practicing extreme racing?

Back in 2015 I attempted the 1000 miles Adventure race for the first time and came in 5^th. Two years later, I returned to the same race again but didn’t finished due to a fall and an injury. In 2018, my unlucky streak continued, and had to withdraw from that race (from the third place) due to back pains after having biked some 600 km.

What do you think helped you achieve such a great result?

I didn’t expect such a result or time, so I’m really excited about it!

I was definitely able to achieve such a result with well-chosen training. I was a bit worried that I would still be tired from the Moravia Divide and that I would run out of strength after 200 -300 km, but on the contrary, it turned out that it helped me as a training.

The track was really beautiful, we saw beautiful places and covered a big part of the country.

The winner was Daniel Polman – three times winner of this race and our best ultracyclist with successes from abroad. Second place went to Pavel ŠÍP – winner of 1000 Miles Adventure.

I shared the third – fourth place with Tomas Novotny, the double winner of 1000 miles Adventure. So, I guess I’m in a good company!