Badlands has gained quite a reputation in the world of off-road ultras. It’s a gravel-oriented race of about 800km in southern Spain that passes through the only deserts in Europe, the Gorafe and Tabernas and ends in the Sierra Nevada. Café du Cycliste athlete Benjamin Schmetz went to race… here he reports back on the beauty and challenges of racing in such majestic and unforgiving terrain.

How did you prepare for Badlands?

I’d accumulatated a lot of kilometres since the beginning of the year – at the end of June I finished a 2,500km adventure and needed to take a breather and recover physically. In August my fitness came back very quickly. I did a few “workshops” to reassure myself, notably the Via del Sale, among the high peaks of the Mercantour, straddling Italy and France. It’s a difficult but breathtaking route – like a Michelin-starred restaurant, it’s worth travelling for! I’ve tried training in so many different ways in the past, but my best form comes from a really large volume of low-intensity work. I just have to go out and reproduce it…

In an ultra like this, what do you have in your saddlebag – what things are indispensable for you?

It’s interesting, because at Badlands I decided to change my set-up. I went heavier than usual and took with me everything I needed to be self sufficient for the whole 800 kilometres. I had three bags:
• Bar bag with my repair kit (inner tubes, tubeless kit, derailleur hanger, multitool)
• Frame bag with all my electronics and food
• Saddle bag, with a bivvy, survival blanket, super-light mattress, rainwear and a warm layer for the nights; plus freeze-dried food, a little toilet bag with chammy cream and bandages, just in case, and a second, emergency, battery.

Tell us about the race itself.

Badlands is unique because the areas you pass through give you all kinds of different scenery. Over 800km you experience forest tracks, deserts and coastal views. The finish is at Capileira, a village close to the Pico de Veleta, the highest paved road in Europe. I really loved this mix, and the few road sections that bring it all together. A gravel bike is the best tool for the course, but something to note is the climbing: the 16,500m of ascent are challenging – make sure you bring the right gearing. The 2024 edition was marked by the heat, with temperatures above 40 ºC every afternoon. 

I was completely awestruck by the Gorafe desert. Even though I’d done my research beforehand, I hadn’t realised such desert landscapes existed in Europe. But it wasn’t fun to cross in the overwhelming heat. By contrast, I took the most pleasure in the last part, with 4,500m of uphill in the last 140 kilometres. I’d managed my sleep well: three hours the first night and two hours the second. I felt that I had a lot of energy the third day – maybe even too much! – and that meant I finished Badlands with a smile and good vibes, in 27th place, after 64 hours’ riding.

What were you riding?

My bike is a Cervelo Aspero. I’m really happy with it – it’s stiff and has a comfortable geometry. I rolled on 40mm tubeless tyres, which were just right. It has a mechanical groupset with a 48/31 double chainring and 11-38 cassette. It’s a real standard go-everywhere set-up, and very reliable.

How did your kit help you optimise your ride?

My Eva cargo bib shorts were the first thing I packed. Firstly, because I can ride in them for hours without discomfort, and because the pockets are really useful when bike-packing. With them I can easily access food, minimising stopping time, and have things easily at hand. At Badlands I kept my sun cream in the right-hand pocket, so I could slather myself without stopping. Comfort is a fundamental success factor in ultra cycling. A long ride on the road is 5-6 hours in the saddle, but when you’re bikepacking, riding 20 hours out of 24 creates some really uncomfortable situations. You have to optimise everything so that these are as minimal as possible. That means a good position on the bike, but also fabrics that work across all weather conditions and temperatures from the hottest point of the day to the coldest time in the middle of the night. I like the Audax range, which is designed for what we do – around comfort and practical storage. 

Was there a moment that you particularly remember?

At the end of the second day I got to the coastal portion of the race. The route took us between small singletrack and beach sections in the sand, where sometimes you had to dismount, across the Cabo de Gata-Níjar national park, the only bit of pristine Spanish coast. Magnificent!

I got there at the end of a day having suffered in the extreme heat, so I had this kind of amazing sensation where the sight of the blue Mediterranean completely refreshed me from head to toe – a real burst of freshness. It may sound ridiculous, but it shows how on these long challenges the smallest things (like food!) can be a big comfort.

What’s the biggest lesson you took from the experience, and do you have any advice to Badlands first-timers?

I think I’d slightly over-thought the race and was a bit on the defensive… but in the end, competing is what I love. I’d had a nagging doubt about my ability to finish but I found a few boosts to my confidence, so I can try to go faster and take more risks in future events! My best piece of advice is to study the route, the refueling stops and the hours shops open. There aren’t many and you don’t want to miss them. You’ve also got to be ready to take it slowly. There are sections where you’re constantly stopping, getting off, pushing the bike and getting back on again – particularly in the sandy bits of the Tabernas.

What about mental resilience? Where do you find the motivation when things get tough?

It's important to know how to take things lightly. To think, this is my passion. I'm not making any sacrifices; these challenges are like magical interludes for me. The time limits are generous, and there’s always a solution somewhere. We all might face a medical issue that forces us to quit, but the saying “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger" is a bit ridiculous. Many people give up because they realise they won’t make it within the timing they planned for. The most important thing is to know why you're there, why you're doing this, and above all, to do it for yourself. You can’t lie to yourself: otherwise, at the first difficulty, you’ll want to turn right back around. Be yourself.

✌

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