Unsupported Bikepacking Race: Badlands 2022 winner: "It was a real ordeal in the end"

The Badlands ultra-cycling gravel race in the south of Spain is not only regarded as a "must" because of the fierce competition, but also because of the extreme heat (in 2021 it was up to 50°C). Very hard.

This is how the organisers describe the event on their Website:

Unsupported Ultracycling Gravel on the Edge of Europe - An unsupported ultra-long distance gravel race on the edge of Europe

The Badlands Route 2022

We set off from Granada at 8 a.m. on 4 September 2022. From there, the route initially headed north-east. A loop of around 110 kilometres had to be completed in the Gorafe desert.

This was soon followed by a 120-kilometre dry spell - 120 kilometres without a chance to refuel with food or water. Good planning in advance is particularly important here. Shortly afterwards, the Tabernas desert awaited the participants.

Sand, sand, sand, followed by a rollercoaster

A dry riverbed with coarse sand had already instilled great respect in many participants before the start: 9 kilometres of sand, did that mean 9 kilometres of pushing? The short answer is "for some yes, for others no". Towards the sea, the elevation profile flattened out, but that didn't mean you made faster progress. On the contrary. The route was like a rollercoaster ride between countless greenhouses. There was plastic film everywhere. The next time we buy tomatoes, we'll think three times about whether we really need to buy them or whether regional and seasonal produce isn't the better choice.

Coast - flat but no less strenuous

As far as Almeria, we travelled along the coast, mainly on Eurovelo 8, which sometimes crossed the beach. Once you reached Almeria, you realised that the flat coastal section was now over. And once the city limits were behind you, you were already on a steep and rocky climb, perhaps the most demanding, but certainly the most technical climb of the entire race.

Countless ramps await on the "home straight".

The last few kilometres were more asphalt-heavy, but that didn't mean it was rolling. Steep ramps demanded the last of your energy. But with every metre, the finish came closer. After a short stretcher section, the participants were finally able to enjoy the last descent and celebrate at the finish line.

Sebastian Breuer was the first to reach the finish line in Capileira after 43 hours and 36 minutes. His plan worked. After a brief celebration, he surrendered to fatigue.

TOUR talks to Badlands 2022 winner Sebastian Breuer about training, liquid chocolate bars and motivation

Who is Sebastian Breuer? You can read details about his work, coffee, mountain biking and bikepacking after the interview.

Hi Sebastian, it's been a few days since your victory at Badlands. Are you feeling better now?

Yes, I am. Physically, everything is fine again. Mentally, there's still a certain emptiness. At the same time, a lot of people want something from me. This recognition is great, I enjoy it. At the same time, it takes time and energy.

How do you come to take part in such unsupported bikepacking races? More precisely, how do you get involved?

We've already touched on it. I was attracted by the desire to discover new things. I go on a longer bike trip at least once a year, around 1500 to 2000 kilometres. Due to my new job at Schwalbe, many other construction sites and my goals of riding the Transcontinental Race and shortly afterwards Badlands, I unfortunately didn't have the time this year. You see so much more when you're travelling by bike, you get to relax and get away from it all. I need one to a maximum of three days to get into the flow and deep relaxation. My stages are usually quite long at 200 to 250 kilometres.

Why bikepacking races? Because I'm also looking for this kind of challenge. I've done both racing and travelling alone so far. I would love to try both together. To do this, I need someone who is at a similar performance level to me so that it's good for both of us.

You were already at Badlands last year. You cancelled it then. What was the reason for that?

I started, but without any preparation. The German Championships in October was the goal. Badlands was four weeks before and my coach didn't really like that 100 per cent. But I was still determined to give it a go. There were a lot of big names at the start: Mattia De Marchi, Ulrich Bartholmös, Paul Voss, to name but a few. As a result, the first four to five hours were such a tough bike race. From Gorafe onwards, there were two of us at the front. Shortly before Gor, I was stung by an insect. I'm allergic to wasps, which can be life-threatening. I therefore always have an EpiPen with me (editor's note: for emergency treatment in the event of severe allergic reactions). My body also reacts to bees, but not quite as extremely. After the sting, my circulation gave me a hard time. Combined with the race we had been running for the first few hours, it was too much and I stopped. At that moment, I resolved to win the race next year. That was extremely motivating for my preparation.

I stayed with you at the temporary Schwalbe outpost in Granada and was able to get an insight into the immediate race preparation of you, Cynthia Frazier and Chris Hall. Even two days before the race, you seemed very focussed and barely responsive. What was going through your head?

On the one hand, I've learnt this focused way of riding and I completely isolate myself to minimise distractions. I also always go to races without my wife or my dog so as not to be distracted. At Badlands, my outward flight was cancelled. That meant I was super stressed beforehand. So I tried to channel my thoughts back towards the race. Have I got everything? Have I thought everything through? Are all the bolts tight? Is the air pressure right? Do I need the windbreaker or is a waistcoat enough? Do I have my cash with me? I also internalised my race strategy again.

What was your strategy for Badlands?

Running my race and not being distracted, no matter how fast the others were going. I knew how many watts I could ride in the long run and I knew how much I had to eat.

Have you looked at the live tracking in between?

Every now and then yes, especially towards the end of the race. I wanted to know if anyone else could be dangerous to me.

Badlands was the highlight of your year. How did your training differ from training for "normal" one-day races?

My Coach Lukas Löer attaches a lot of importance to the thresholds. There were lots of 30:30, 40:20 intervals on my schedule - 30 or 40 seconds of exertion alternating with 30 or 20 seconds easy. We also did long sessions in between - up to 9 hours. It was basically an interplay between short and crisp and very long basic endurance units. The difference compared to preparing for a one-day race was particularly in the length of the endurance sessions.

Cycling in the heat

Have you prepared for the heat of the race?

Yes, I tried to go to the sauna as often as I could. In the hot summer, I tried to cycle in the midday heat rather than in the cooler morning or evening hours. I also got into a hot bath from time to time.

You didn't have much with you. What was in your pockets?

Bars and Snickers, powdered drinks, salted nuts, one or two sandwiches, a multitool, tubeless patches, Schwalbe SOS pump, CO2 cartridge, 2 inner tubes and a few cable ties.

How do you eat Snickers at 35°C?

You have to suck it out of the packet. I normally avoid palm oil. For me, it was already close to the limit with all the chocolate bars and cola. I actually find cola really disgusting. Unfortunately there was no Vanilla Coke, which I prefer.

More about Sebastian's equipment:

Fun and motivation

On the subject of fun: what percentage of the time would you say you had fun?

In fact, quite a lot: 80 per cent fun, 20 per cent not so much. In the end it was a real torture, the steep climb to Almeria wasn't good either. But after that I recovered. But the last 60 kilometres were a real ordeal.

How do you motivate yourself in the 20 per cent where it was more torture than anything else?

When things get really tough, I always remind myself of my goal. My goal was to win Badlands. I trained for a long time for that. So that helped me in the really tough moments - not just in the race, but also beforehand in the really tough training moments. In other words, when I had to train in the rain or the training was super hard.

780 kilometres without sleep

You didn't sleep during the race. How did the sleep deprivation affect you?

I hallucinated a bit. Sometimes I just saw funny things. You see something that you know isn't there. For example, I saw cats where there were actually only leaves.

Did you say to yourself beforehand: "When I feel like this, I'm going to take a power nap"?

As soon as I feel like I'm drifting towards microsleep, I stop. I promised my wife that too. It's all sport, but it shouldn't be a danger to my life. It's definitely not worth it.

3 tips for your first bikepacking race

If someone is planning to take part in an unsupported bikepacking race for the first time, what three tips would you give them?

1. Depending on the race, you should study the route very carefully. At Badlands, there are long passages without resupply options.
2. Sensible tyre choice - you can increase comfort and safety with the right tyres
3. Eat and drink plenty, and pay attention to the pacing - don't start too quickly!

Sebastian Breuer's next goals

What comes next?

Next up is the Gravel World Championships on 8/9 October. In mid-November, I hope to head to Chile for the Across Andes. My highlight in 2023 will be the Atlas Mountain Race.

About Sebastian Breuer, Badlands winner 2022

As Liaison Manager at Schwalbe, Sebastian Breuer is responsible for relationships with athletes. He also runs the small coffee label Lenas Coffee Brand together with his wife, because good coffee and good food enrich his life every day. "I never really eat or drink Snickers and Coke, but it was different with Badlands," he explains, "I still get sick when I think about sucking a liquid Snickers out of the packet.

Sebastian Breuer's cycling career

His cycling career began in 2005 in the U17 category. "Initially, I had no chance at all and was left behind after the first lap," says the 32-year-old, describing his first racing experiences. However, that didn't take the fun out of it and he stuck with cycling. As a team member of the MLP cycling team, he competed in many international races in the U23 category until he finally switched to mountain biking in 2012. The reason was that there was more action and adventure waiting for him and the team structures were less tight. He also started small on the MTB with regional competitions. In 2016, he finally competed for the first time for the German national team at the MTB Marathon World Championships in France. He has competed for the national team a total of four times. He always had one big goal in mind: to become German champion. But there were always riders who were faster. But in 2021, thanks to structured training, it worked out and he became German MTB Marathon Champion (Masters 1). In the same year, a little earlier, he also secured the title of European champion in the MTB ultramarathon.

Bikepacking and cycle tours

"Two or three years ago, I started to think more about travelling by bike and bikepacking," he says. Of course, he didn't just stop thinking about it. He didn't have an MTB coach for years, but travelling by bike is not the ideal preparation for German championships. Finally, Sebastian Breuer set himself the goal: "If I become German champion, then I'm done with mountain biking, then there will be more bikepacking, more gravel and more adventure." No sooner said than done. He has been training in a structured way since mid-2021, has secured the long-awaited title and now has other events on his calendar.