About us

Mountain Bike Racing Series for the General Public

It was many years ago, in the last millennium. At that time, within the cycling club TJ Česká Kamenice, we organized an annual road criterium every May (a circuit race through the town for road bikes). The race, starting and finishing on 5. května Street, passed through the streets of Husova, Žižkova, Nerudova, Nám. Míru, and Dvořákova, and had been taking place for over 30 years already. At the end of the last millennium, the reconstruction of Náměstí Míru began, and after its completion, it became clear that it was impossible to hold the races in the existing format, as the reconstruction had increased the ramp into the square, resulting in a significant risk of falls. The other circuit options were either unrealistic due to heavy traffic or very dangerous sections. Thus, the era of road criteriums came to an end. It was at a time when interest in mountain biking was on the rise.

We, the orthodox road cyclists "roadies" (as Láďa Kadlec would say), looked at "mountain bikers" with suspicion. The mountain bikers' bikes just looked ugly, the welds on the steel frames appeared to withstand even a nuclear explosion, and three chainrings at the front (only wimps could ride that). Moreover, the chunky tires looked like those on a motorcycle, yet there was no engine. And those dreadful, heavy shoes! Just NO, NO, and NO! The road is simply the road!

But then, that all changed. Some of the guys from the club got mountain bikes and even tried a race. They returned from outings in the countryside and their first races dirty, covered in mud, and with bloody scratches, recounting both the fun and the suffering and the freedom they experienced. It was probably that freedom to decide which way to go, whether on the road or off-road, that later influenced our steps.

Full of impressions from our first major mountain bike race (the Author Král Šumavy Marathon in 1999), we decided to try some others. Something different than a marathon. So we participated in several first cross-country races. The course was very similar. Lots of enthusiastic amateurs trying to overcome obstacles and challenges on the track. There were many falls, broken chains, and tangled derailleurs. But just like in the marathon, there were plenty of new experiences, inspirations, and acquaintances. So when we were discussing our experiences at a meeting in the Na Ráně restaurant, the idea to organize mountain bike races came up. Since we were not ones to do things in halves, we said we would have two races right away. One in the terrain (Okruhy pod Jehlou) and the other, which would somewhat remind us of the cycling criteriums from previous years, through the town (O pohár starosty). As we said, so we did. It was 1999, and in August and September, we organized the first mountain bike races. It was great fun for us, the racers, and also for the supporters. And so we decided, where else but Na Ráně, to try again the following year. This time, however, we would aim for something bigger, something like a stage race, something like... yes! A series!

A racing series. That’s the way to go! We had already tried two races, but what to add and who would organize it? Our inspiration was Jakub Svoboda, who came up with the idea of a mountain time trial to Jedlová, a time trial up a hellish hill, nicely one after another, each alone. But that seemed a bit insufficient; we needed a marathon. However, we were not yet brave enough for a long one like the Král Šumavy, so we agreed to see what the guys from Prysk would say, who at that time had already organized a fun ride on all types of bikes several times, the minimarathon FOFR Cup (by the way, in 2025, the FOFR Cup will celebrate its 30th anniversary!).

A few visits to Prysk, a few meetings at the kiosk, and it was settled. Four races—now that’s a series! But what about the name? It should be something concise that both mountain bikers and roadies would accept. So, at one production meeting, while debating about our friend and rival Luboš Lom, we decided that our races would be hellishly technical, hellishly uphill, hellishly fast, and hellishly in the north.

And what did Luboš Lom have to do with this? As a professional road cyclist in 1994 during the famous classic Paris-Roubaix, aptly named Hell of the North, he completed one of the longest solo breaks in professional cycling history, covering 134 km, in the rain, at 2 °C, under hellishly difficult conditions. Luboš became well-known in our country for his performance in this road race, and so we borrowed the unofficial name of this classic for our mountain biking antics.

Thus, our PEKLO SEVERU was born. The year was 2000.

What happened next can be viewed in period photographs in the archive section of this website.

Vojtěch „Dyktátor“ Marek and Roman Horký