The sixth edition of the All Czech Republic race was held August 22-25, 2002. Due to devastating flooding the week before, the original course had to be changed slightly in the area north of Prague where the rivers Moldau and Elbe come together. The total distance of 1,111 km (690 miles) and the elevation gain of 9,600 meters (31,500 ft) remained roughly the same compared to the original course.

On August 22nd at 3 p.m. nine male solo riders and one female solo rider from five different nations lined up on Jirasek square in the city center of Ostrava to take on this challenge.

The weather conditions were more or less perfect - quite similar to last year. We had no rain and the day temperatures did not exceed 30°C. The first night was fresh with temperatures down to 12°C and the second night in the Bohemian forest was chilly with temperatures down to 9°C.

The race was neutralized on the first 75 km until the city of Bruntal. Drafting was allowed in this stretch so all 10 riders stayed together on the first few kilometers. The pace was quite high with 35 km/h, so more and more riders decided to drop and to go their own pace. After 60 km I decided to drop as well from the remaining pack of six riders to pick up fresh water bottles from my crew. I reached the first time station in Hradec Kralove (242 km) in third position by passing Donncha Cuttriss (IRL), Thomas Stindl (A), Martin Kerekes (SK) and Josef Trchalik (CZ) in the mountains of the Sudetenland. At nearly the same spot (294 km) as last year I also passed Patrik Bartik (CZ). The only rider out of reach seemed to be Pavel Beran (CZ) in first position. He had announced at the rider's presentation that he wanted to set a new course record and even try to complete the race in less than 40 hours. He seemed to be true to his word.

In the following hours Bartik and I chased each other through the night in an epic battle for the temporary second position. I instructed my crew to crank up the volume of my sound system with heavy metal music for my motivation. As soon as I passed Bartik his crew screamed on him through their sound system “Hopp, hopp, hopp!" and motivated him to make out of the saddle sprints to regain the second position. After crossing the river Elbe in Melnik (370 km) I decided to stay directly behind Bartik and to stop our funny cat and mouse game for a while. Shortly we had to navigate through a complicated detour on awfully paved minor roads to avoid flooded or destroyed main roads close to the river. At one crossing Bartik went straight while my crew was sure that we had to turn right so we separated from each other.

Due to a navigation error and a short break at the second time station in Dubi (449 km) I lost around 30 minutes against Bartik. By the third time station in Karlovy-Vary (553 km) this difference extended to nearly an hour. We also learned from the race officials that Pavel Beran had already established a two hour lead against Bartik and three hours against me. Trchalik and Kerekes were within two hours behind me in fourth and fifth position. Kerekes had problems with his eyes in the morning mist. Shortly before Dubi he crashed into a road construction sign and injured his shoulder seriously. He also damaged his primary bike completely. Nevertheless he decided to continue on his secondary bike and to struggle against the pain, but he was forced to take extended breaks.

Alexander Gepp (A) reached the time station in Dubi in sixth position. He had big problems with his pace vehicle. It turned out to be unrepairable within acceptable time. By coincidence he rode very close to Thomas Jaklitsch (A) in seventh position. In a superb example of sportsmanship Jaklitsch offered to give him support from his pace vehicle and even to take one of Gepp's crew members on board. This would “bond" them together for the rest of the event but at least would give Gepp the chance to finish. Soon Jaklitsch started to develop saddle sores and knee and achilles tendon problems. Hence he became quite slow. In Pilsen (636 km) Gepp decided to abandon the race since he couldn't go his own pace anymore.

I had an awfully low point after Pilsen as well - both physically and mentally. I was afraid of the grueling hills of the Bohemian Forest that would begin in a few hours. With the help of my crew I overcame this low point right in time. In Tabor (740 km) the second night began and I attacked the rollercoaster like hills of the Bohemian Forest in good spirits. At midnight we passed Bartik and his crew in Jihlava (823 km) as he slept on the side of the road. When his crew saw me coming they woke him up immediately. With the advantage of a sleep break Bartik had no problem to pass me again to reestablish the former time difference. Shortly after Zdar nad Saz (859 km) I felt completely blown. I made the mistake of allowing my crew to push me further in this situation. We thought that we could not afford any sleep break to meet the RAAM qualifying limit. The cost that I paid was a sometimes incredibly slow pace and a mind that started to play games with me. Clear phases alternated with phases of complete confusion. I couldn't tell the difference between reality and dream anymore. Physical low and high points also alternated in fast sequence.

In the middle of this crisis road construction signs appeared in front of us shortly after Bystrice (885 km). The original route to Boskovice was closed. The same situation occured last year at nearly the same spot. Last year I rode through the closed road with my bike and my crew took the detour. This time we decided to try the closed road together and turn around if necessary. After a long descent we passed the bottom of a valley in Stepanov. On the climb to Hodonin the reason for the closure became evident. The small creek Hodoninka had become a raging flood in the week before. Half of the road was completely destroyed either on the left or the right side - a real disaster. But there was always just enough road surface left to pass with the car. Since we found tire tracks in the mud on the road surface we decided to proceed. With luck we managed this situation successfully, but the price we paid was high - a heavy argument within the crew.

In Boskovice (923 km) the Stindl crew phoned my crew and wanted to know whether they could proceed through the closed road. We confirmed and learned from them that Stindl and Trchalik were very close together just one hour behind. Stindl had gained a lot of positions during the previous night. I couldn't imagine how I should defend my one hour advantage. I couldn't even imagine completing the remaining 190 km.

In Prostejov (956 km) the Bohemian Forest was finally over and the route became flat. But still I felt like a zombie. In Prerov (986 km) we learned from the race officials that Pavel Beran had just finished in 41 hours 8 minutes with a fantastic new course record setting the RAAM qualifying limit to 47 hours 18 minutes. This information somehow penetrated my distorted mind and I started to squeeze out the last bit of energy in my legs. Unfortunately, my crew didn't realize that I had was also seriously dehydrated. In Pribor (1079 km) just 30 km before the finish line there were still 90 minutes left for me to meet the RAAM qualifying standard. But this knowledge didn't help since I was physically completely blown and mentally totally confused. Every cell in my brain and my body simply wanted to rest. I didn't react anymore to any attempts of my crew to bring me back on the bike. I still noticed to a certain extent what was going on around me but I didn't feel as a part of this reality. Without a medical doctor my crew took the only reasonable decision - to bring me to a hospital.

winners of the All Czech Republic

Twenty minutes after I took my last pedal stroke in this race Thomas Stindl and Josef Trchalik passed me and took over the third position. They finished together in 46 hours 58 minutes both qualifying for RAAM. Patrik Bartik had finished two hours earlier in second position with 44 hours 59 minutes. Martin Kerekes could defend the fifth place in 49 hours 2 minutes despite of his injuries. Hana Ebertova (CZ) finished overall sixth in 53 hours 56 minutes and set a new women's course record. Thomas Jaklitsch (57 hours 7 minutes) and Donncha Cuttriss (61 hours 23 minutes) completed the field of finishers.