The Author Challenge, a six-stage mounatin-bike stage race in the Polish and Czech mountains, is back on the schedule after a successful 2005 event. Organized by Grzegorz Golonko (organizer of the biggest Polish marathon series – Intel Powerade Bike Maraton) and well-known Czech marathon rider Vena Hornych (Rock Machine Cyclomax), the race is scheduled for July 24th through the 29th and will both start and finish in Duszniki Zdrój, a health resort famous for the International Chopin piano Festival.
Some of the highlights of the 350km (with 7,500 meters of climbing) route are “Podziemne Miasto Osówka”, a complex of the post-German tunnels built during WW II (riders will ride several kilometers under ground!), a famous uphill to Okraj pass and some of the most technical trails riding the Czech Republic has to offer. Riders will also pass through three national parks: Park Narodowy Gór Sowich, Karkonoski Park Narodowy and Park Narodowy Borumovskie Steny, one of the most beautiful places in Poland and Czech Republic with hundreds of marked mountain bike trails.
