Chris Mehlman rode to third place at Badlands 2025 on an average of around 180 watts. That number is not impressive on paper, and that is exactly the point. Across 800km of Spanish desert, his podium came from execution rather than firepower: a strict power ceiling, kit chosen for redundancy over weight, and a fuelling plan that broke most of the rules you have been told about ultra racing. He walked me through the whole thing on Badlands 800km Fueling & Pacing Strategy on the Roadman Cycling Podcast.
Key Takeaways
• Mehlman finished in roughly 2.5 days behind a deliberate power ceiling near 300 watts for the opening day, refusing to chase the early pace • His average power was around 180 watts with a normalised power near 200 — restraint, not strength, won him the podium • He carried three separate inflation systems, including an electric pump running off his battery pack, after a mechanical cost him at Unbound • Lighting recharged from power banks during daylight, so he ran through 22-hour days without battery anxiety • He fuelled at 110g of carbohydrate per hour, taking it all from solid food and keeping his bottles to water and electrolyte only • Conservative gearing — a 40T chainring with a 52T cassette — protected his knees across multi-day climbing • Severe salt depletion forced a full-size salt shaker purchase mid-race; he then rationed salt like fuel • Route mapping was obsessive: every water source, store and night section colour-coded before the start
The Kit Strategy That Kept a Podium Contender Moving
Mehlman's setup sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from the typical ultra-racing minimalist. While the eventual winner looked like he was out on a café ride, Mehlman chose what he calls preparedness over weight savings — and it kept him in the race when others stopped.
The standout decision was carrying three different ways to inflate a tyre. "I've learned my lesson with that one at Unbound this year," he told me. "Electric pump is probably the best thing you can have." His Silca electric pump runs off the same battery pack he uses for everything else, so tyre inflation is effectively unlimited rather than rationed across a handful of CO2 cartridges.
Lighting followed the same logic. He ran a full front light and a helmet light, both of which recharge directly from power banks. He topped them up during daylight sections and ran them through 22-hour riding days without ever worrying about going dark in the desert. "Light is one of the most valuable things you can have," he said, "and it's well worth having the full-on setup."
The clothing was minimal but complete: a light jacket, arm and knee warmers, a buff, heavier gloves and an emergency blanket. "That second night, I needed all those layers." None of it was dead weight. In a desert that swings from baking days to genuinely cold nights, it was the insurance that kept a hard situation from becoming a dangerous one. The riders chasing the Instagram aesthetic carried less and risked more — and several of them did not finish.
The Fuelling Plan That Broke the Fat-Adaptation Rulebook
At 180 watts average, deep in the aerobic zone, conventional wisdom says you should be leaning on fat and keeping carbohydrate modest. Mehlman did the opposite. He ate 110g of carbohydrate per hour for the entire race.
"I just have to go on what do I feel like I need," he explained. "At some point in these races, you just feel like you need so much. Your body gets so turned around that it almost doesn't absorb everything properly." His answer was to flood the system rather than starve it.
The structure is the part worth copying. He kept hydration and nutrition completely separate. Bottles held only water or electrolyte — never sugar. Every gram of carbohydrate came from solid food: gels and bars early, then Haribo, biscuits and pastries once resupply opened up. "For me, I just think it's easier to keep track of. Also, one of the biggest challenges in long races is flavour fatigue." Counting solids is simpler than managing drink-mix concentration across changing heat and resupply stops, and plain bottles mean you never burn out on sweetness.
His dietitian, Chris Low, frames the high-fat resupply food not as metabolic adaptation but as caloric density. At nine calories per gram against four for carbohydrate, fat is the most efficient way to claw back the deficit you are inevitably riding in. The full-fat convenience-store haul on the second day — pastries, a soft drink, sweets, eaten on the spot — was as much psychological rescue as physical fuel after rationing had pushed him toward panic.
Salt was the one thing he underestimated. Severe depletion left visible salt stains on his kit, so he bought a full-size salt shaker in Gore and ate from it directly for the rest of the race. "Everyone's going to think that's disgusting, but at some point, you just need salt." It is a reminder that electrolyte planning matters as much as carbohydrate over multiple desert days.
Power Management That Prevents the Death Spiral
While the riders around him redlined the opening climbs, Mehlman held a ceiling close to 300 watts through the first 24 hours and refused to break it. "Every match you burn over threshold is something you'll pay for, but it is infinitely magnified in a long race."
His discipline was visible from the first climb out of Granada, where the early pace simply rode away from him. "I'll see you guys later. I was very calm with that. I know I'm going to see these people later because physiologically, you can't be riding over your threshold at the beginning of an 800km race." That patience is the whole strategy in one sentence.
Gear choice reinforced the same priority. He ran a 40T chainring with a 52T cassette — easy gearing that put knee preservation ahead of looking fast. "There's a big thing where especially among guys, it's like 'I want to run a big chainring, it looks better.' But what happens when you're 48 hours in with 20kg of extra luggage?" Over multi-day climbing, the riders pushing big gears pay for it in their joints long before the finish.
A normalised power near 200 watts won him a podium. In a single-day race that restraint would look timid. Across two and a half days it is the difference between finishing strong and cracking, because everyone slows — the winner is simply the one who slows least. "My whole mentality was keep moving forward. No matter how slowly you're moving forward, you're still moving forward."
What This Means for Your Training
Mehlman's race gives you a usable template for any long event, whether you are chasing a result or just trying to finish.
Start with pacing. Set a power ceiling 20 to 30 watts below threshold and hold it through the opening hours, using your power meter rather than feel — adrenaline and the urge to stay on a wheel will make your perceived effort lie to you. The riders who blow up at hour 30 almost always overcooked hour two.
Build redundancy into the systems that can end your race. Multiple ways to inflate a tyre, lighting you can recharge on the move, and enough warm kit for the worst night are worth their weight. The electric pump specifically solves the CO2 problem: finite cartridges versus effectively unlimited battery-powered inflation.
Test your fuelling in training, not on race day. Mehlman's 110g per hour suits his trained gut; the transferable principles are separating water from food, leaning on solids to beat flavour fatigue, and treating salt as a planned ration rather than an afterthought. If you want a structured way to build that tolerance, our in-ride nutrition guide and gut-training walkthrough lay out how to raise your hourly intake without wrecking your stomach.
Plan the route obsessively. Mehlman mapped every water source, store and café and colour-coded the night sections before the start. That preparation removed the panicked decision-making that fatigue brings on, and good decisions late in a race are worth more than watts.
If you have done the long rides and still come apart in the back half of your events, the limiter is usually pacing, fuelling or recovery interacting in a way you cannot see from inside the effort. The Plateau Diagnostic looks at your training, recovery and progression together and shows you where the real constraint sits. Three minutes. Free.