PODCAST: Tomáš Novotný on Highland Trail 550 and More
“People kept telling me I only race miles in the Czech Republic. Like, isn’t it time to try something abroad… well, even I have to admit now — maybe it is.” Ultramarathon cyclist Tomáš Novotný finally went international. After finishing second at Italy Divide 2025, he took on one of the toughest bikepacking races in the world — the Highland Trail 550 — and secured third place.
Tomáš arrived at the start line exhausted after a two-day car journey — he doesn't like flying. At least this time he didn’t miss the start like at the Italy Divide. “I was completely wrecked when I got there. When I walked to the start line, all I wanted was to sleep.” Still, he climbed onto his Duke FS and raced through the Scottish wilderness in constant rain — finishing third.
What was it like?
“It was honestly the worst thing I’ve ever experienced in a race. I was telling myself: You’re seriously gonna die here, man, this isn’t funny anymore.” Could it really have been that bad...? “For the first time ever during a race, I drank hard liquor… I came back with terribly swollen legs, and my hands — I still can’t feel half my fingers...” So maybe it was that bad. “When you cross the finish line, it feels like liberation. Usually I have mixed feelings. On one hand, you're happy it’s over. On the other hand, you're a bit sad. But in Scotland — there, I was just glad it ended. I didn’t regret it was over.”
Not all races are the same
The difference compared to races back home wasn’t just the difficulty or weather — it was the entire approach. “Highland Trails is pure punk. No photographers, no cameras. I really loved that about it… totally unsupported. No checkpoints, nothing anywhere. I reached the finish line and there was no one waiting, no archway...”
Besides his vivid stories from one of the world’s hardest bikepacking races, the interview also reveals: how Tomáš trains for extreme performance, what strategy, nutrition and gear he uses, what he listens to during races, what he lost along the way, whether he wears a hat — and how he fell in love with gravel. At a race where everything was different.