NINE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS – CROSSING THE U.S. BY BIKE 

Night has fallen over the endless plains of Kansas. A narrow beam of light cuts through the darkness. A lone cyclist pedals on, his face marked by exhaustion, his legs spinning like clockwork. Lukas Kaufmann has been riding for nearly a week – barely any sleep, minimal breaks. His world has shrunk to a sliver of asphalt stretching out before him. Every pedal stroke brings him closer to the finish line – and deeper into the fight against his own limits.

3,000 miles. Over 160,000 feet of elevation. A journey across the entire United States, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The Race Across America (RAAM) is considered one of the most brutal endurance races in the world. Not just because it's nearly twice the length of the famed Tour de France – but because it has no stages. If you want to win here, you barely sleep. And if you manage to finish, you've completed a marathon of sheer willpower.

Lukas Kaufmann, a 31-year-old extreme athlete from Upper Austria, is one of the few who dare to take on this challenge. But for him, RAAM is more than just a race – it’s the realization of a dream sparked during his teenage years, when he saw a photograph in a doctor’s office: a cyclist riding through the dark. “That image burned itself into my memory,” Lukas says. “I didn’t know what race it was, but I knew that one day, I had to do that.”

Years later, he’s the one in the photo – riding into the night, a light strapped to his forehead. Racing against the clock, but more than anything, against himself.

THE ART OF ENDURANCE

To survive RAAM, physical strength is only part of the equation – mental toughness is what makes the difference. Lukas spent months preparing. Tens of thousands of training miles, sleep deprivation simulations, workouts that pushed his body to the edge. He knew what to expect: endless roads, searing desert heat, humid climbs through the Appalachians. But nothing could truly prepare him for the moments when quitting felt like the only option.

By the fourth night, his mind begins to rebel. Hallucinations creep in. Shadows on the roadside, voices in the wind. “There were moments when I honestly wasn’t sure if what I was seeing was real,” he says later.

But quitting? Never an option. “I’ve learned the body can handle so much more than we think. Exhaustion isn’t the problem – it’s how you deal with it,” Lukas explains.

He’s developed strategies. Mental tricks. He doesn’t think about the 1,200 miles still ahead – just the next town. He repeats mantras in his head. “Just to the next checkpoint,” he tells himself. And then again. And again.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

Eight days, 23 hours, 55 minutes. That’s how long it takes Lukas to cross the finish line. He finishes second – just a few hours behind the winner. But that doesn’t matter.

“It was never about winning. It was about finishing,” Lukas says. His legs tremble as he steps off the bike. His body screams for sleep, food, rest. But a smile spreads across his face. He did it. His dream became reality.  

In 2025, Lukas plans to return to RAAM. This time, with a new goal: not just to finish – but to win. And when the darkness surrounds him again, he’ll remember: the light he needs is already within him.