SPAIN · ULTRA

BADLANDS TRAINING PLAN.

Badlands is one of the hardest self-supported ultras in the world — 800km across Andalusia and the Tabernas Desert (Europe's only true desert) with 16,000m of climbing. Mixed gravel/road, 40°C+ daytime heat, freezing desert nights. A bucket-list race for the ultra-endurance community and a recurring topic on the Roadman Podcast.

800 km·16,000 m climbing·60-120 hours·September

THE OVERVIEW

WHAT THE BADLANDS ACTUALLY IS

TERRAIN

800km of mixed road, gravel, and rough farm-track across the south of Spain — including a crossing of the Tabernas Desert (Europe's only true desert) and the Sierra Nevada. Self-supported: resupply at open shops, fuel at petrol stations, sleep where you can. 16,000m of climbing across 5-7 days of riding for most riders.

WEATHER

Early September in Andalusia is 35-42°C in the Tabernas Desert by mid-afternoon, drops to 5-10°C in the desert at 03:00, and can hit -2°C on the high Sierra Nevada passes overnight. The same kit serves daytime and nighttime only if it's chosen for both — and most riders underspec the cold.

FITNESS DEMANDS

WHAT YOU NEED TO ARRIVE WITH.

MINIMUM FTP

2.5 W/kg

to finish, well-fuelled

COMPETITIVE FTP

3.2 W/kg

to ride the day on your terms

ENDURANCE

20+ hours/week of base building 12-16 weeks out, including back-to-back-to-back long days (8h + 6h + 4h) at least three times in training. You should have completed at least one shorter ultra (300-500km) before attempting Badlands. The bike fit, the saddle, and the sleep system all need testing — race day is not the time to discover a hot spot.

WHY THESE NUMBERS MATTER HERE

Badlands is not an FTP event. It's a logistics, sleep, and durability event. 2.5 W/kg with smart pacing finishes in 5-7 days; 3.2+ W/kg with a polished bikepacking setup contests the front group. Above 3.5 W/kg you're racing, not riding — but it's still the rider with the best sleep strategy who wins.

CLIMBING DEMANDS

THE CLIMBS, IN ORDER.

16,000m of climbing across 800km — that's an average of 20m per kilometre, relentless rather than spectacular. There are signature climbs (the Sierra Nevada crossing, the descent to the Tabernas, the climb out of Cabo de Gata) but the day-to-day reality is that nothing is flat for long. The shape of the ride is climbing-descending-climbing, day and night, for a week.

SIERRA DE LOS FILABRES

FIRST MAJOR TEST (~KM 200)

22 km·5.2% avg·1144 m gain

First long climb. Sets your pacing for the rest of the race — if you push above 65% FTP here, you pay for it on day 3.

TABERNAS DESERT CROSSING

DAY 2-3

35 km·1.5% avg·525 m gain

Not a climb, a test. 40°C+ temperatures, no shade, rocky farm tracks. Plan to cross at night or before 09:00; midday crossing is how riders DNF.

SIERRA NEVADA CROSSING

MID-ROUTE

28 km·5.8% avg·1624 m gain

Highest point of the race. 2,400m+. Cold, often windy, can be wet even in September. Eat on the climb, descend in layers.

CABO DE GATA COASTAL CLIMBS

VARIES, LATE RACE

4 km·7% avg·280 m gain

Short steep coastal climbs in the final third. Salt air, exposed cliff sections, and tired legs after 600km. Pace conservatively; descents are technical.

EXPECTED FINISH TIMES

WHERE YOU'LL LAND.

Use these bands to set a realistic goal. Pick the band closest to your current fitness — not the one above it. Pacing a band you haven't earned is the fastest way to a back-half blow-up.

FIRST-TIME ULTRA FINISHER

6-7 days

FTP 2.4-2.7 W/kg, 12-15 hours/week, completed at least one 400km+ ultra, sleep plan rehearsed, bike-fit dialled.

EXPERIENCED ULTRA RIDER

5-6 days

FTP 2.7-3.2 W/kg, 15-18 hours/week, multiple ultras finished, gravel-specific kit, 4-5 hours/day sleep schedule.

STRONG CONTENDER

4-5 days

FTP 3.2-3.7 W/kg, 18-22 hours/week, ultra racing background, 2-3 hours/day sleep tested in racing, polished bikepacking setup.

RACE FOR THE PODIUM

3-4 days

FTP 3.7+ W/kg, 20+ hours/week, ultra racing palmarès, can ride 18+ hours/day with strategic 90-minute naps, dialled nutrition and pacing.

Ask Roadman about your Badlands target →

THE TRAINING PLAN

HOW LONG TILL YOUR BADLANDS?

Six weeks-out windows, each built around the demands of this course. Pick the one that matches your window today. The framework is free; coaching makes it personal.

16 WEEKS OUT

BASE PHASE

Aerobic foundation. High volume, low intensity. Don't skip this.

12 WEEKS OUT

LATE BASE

Bridge phase. Volume still rules, but structure begins.

8 WEEKS OUT

BUILD PHASE

Structured intensity enters. Threshold + VO2 max work.

4 WEEKS OUT

PEAK PHASE

Event-specific sharpening. Volume drops, quality rises.

2 WEEKS OUT

TAPER

Sharpness is banked. Now shed fatigue.

1 WEEK OUT

RACE WEEK

Don't do anything clever. Eat, sleep, show up.

FUELLING STRATEGY

EAT LIKE THE DAY DEMANDS.

Badlands is a calorie-deficit problem disguised as a race. You'll burn 8,000-12,000 kcal/day and you cannot eat that on the bike — the goal is to minimise the gap and refuel aggressively at every shop, café, and petrol station. On the bike, target 70-90g carbs/hour from gels, bars, and bottled mix; off the bike at every resupply, eat real food (sandwiches, tortilla, tuna, pastries, anything calorie-dense and palatable). Salt + electrolytes are non-negotiable in the desert sections — sodium intake of 1,000-2,000mg/hour is normal in 38°C heat. Hot food at café stops late at night isn't a luxury, it's a sleep enabler — you cannot lie down on cold gels alone. Hydration is constant: 750ml-1L/hour in heat, 500ml/hour at night. Map the shops on your GPX before the start; running out of water in the Tabernas is a 90-minute problem, not a 10-minute one.

PACING STRATEGY

RIDE IT IN THE RIGHT ORDER.

Don't race the start. The Badlands leaderboard means almost nothing if you DNF at km 400, and most people who DNF do so because they rode the first 24 hours like a 24-hour race. Sustainable pace is roughly 60% of your 8-hour FTP as an all-day ceiling — even less if your sleep plan is aggressive. The race is won and lost on sleep strategy: 4-6 hours/day for first-time finishers, 2-4 hours for experienced ultras, 90-minute naps for the front group. Write your sleep plan before the start: where, how long, triggered by which kilometre or what time. Cross the desert sections (Tabernas, Cabo de Gata exposure) at night or before 09:00. Plan resupply windows around shop hours — Spanish villages close 14:00-17:00 and that's a problem if you didn't anticipate it. The riders who finish are the ones who treated each day as a separate stage; the riders who DNF rode the first day like a one-day race.

COMMON MISTAKES

DON'T DO THIS.

Patterns we see at the Badlands every year. Each one has a fix that costs nothing — except the discipline to actually use it on the day.

MISTAKE

Underestimating the night cold in the desert

FIX

Treat 'Spain in September' like 'high-elevation desert in any month' — long-sleeve baselayer, gilet, full-finger gloves, leg warmers, and a thermal layer for sleep stops. Riders who pack for 30°C and discover 4°C at 03:00 get hypothermic on the descents. The desert is hot in the day and cold at night, full stop.

MISTAKE

Treating it like a long sportive

FIX

Badlands punishes riders without ultra experience. Complete a 300-500km ultra in training, ride back-to-back long days, test your saddle, your sleep system, and your gut at full distance before race day. A road sportive background without ultra pacing is a 50% DNF probability.

MISTAKE

Riding the first 24 hours as if it were a 24-hour race

FIX

Pace at 60% of your 8-hour FTP from minute one. The leaderboard is meaningless until day 4. Riders who push above sustainable pace in the first 200km are the ones bonking in the desert two days later — and the desert does not negotiate.

ASK ROADMAN

GOT A QUESTION ABOUT THE BADLANDS?

The Badlands doesn't have a predictor course yet. Ask Roadman directly — Anthony reads every question and replies with event-specific advice.

Ask Roadman

FAQ

BADLANDS TRAINING, ANSWERED.

What FTP do I need for the Badlands?

Badlands is not an FTP event. It's a logistics, sleep, and durability event. 2.5 W/kg with smart pacing finishes in 5-7 days; 3.2+ W/kg with a polished bikepacking setup contests the front group. Above 3.5 W/kg you're racing, not riding — but it's still the rider with the best sleep strategy who wins. A practical floor is 2.5 W/kg to finish; 3.2 W/kg to ride competitively.

How long should I train for the Badlands?

Most riders benefit from 12-16 weeks of structured preparation. 20+ hours/week of base building 12-16 weeks out, including back-to-back-to-back long days (8h + 6h + 4h) at least three times in training. You should have completed at least one shorter ultra (300-500km) before attempting Badlands. The bike fit, the saddle, and the sleep system all need testing — race day is not the time to discover a hot spot. If you have less time, the 8-week and 4-week plans still produce a meaningful result on the right starting fitness.

What's the typical finish time for the Badlands?

Amateur finishers cover the full range. First-time ultra finisher: 6-7 days; Experienced ultra rider: 5-6 days; Strong contender: 4-5 days; Race for the podium: 3-4 days. The difference between bands is climbing fitness and fuelling discipline more than flat speed.

What's the biggest mistake riders make at the Badlands?

Underestimating the night cold in the desert. Fix: Treat 'Spain in September' like 'high-elevation desert in any month' — long-sleeve baselayer, gilet, full-finger gloves, leg warmers, and a thermal layer for sleep stops. Riders who pack for 30°C and discover 4°C at 03:00 get hypothermic on the descents. The desert is hot in the day and cold at night, full stop.

How should I pace the Badlands?

Don't race the start. The Badlands leaderboard means almost nothing if you DNF at km 400, and most people who DNF do so because they rode the first 24 hours like a 24-hour race. Sustainable pace is roughly 60% of your 8-hour FTP as an all-day ceiling — even less if your sleep plan is aggressive. The race is won and lost on sleep strategy: 4-6 hours/day for first-time finishers, 2-4 hours for experienced ultras, 90-minute naps for the front group. Write your sleep plan before the start: where, how long, triggered by which kilometre or what time. Cross the desert sections (Tabernas, Cabo de Gata exposure) at night or before 09:00. Plan resupply windows around shop hours — Spanish villages close 14:00-17:00 and that's a problem if you didn't anticipate it. The riders who finish are the ones who treated each day as a separate stage; the riders who DNF rode the first day like a one-day race.

When does the Badlands take place?

The Badlands typically runs in September. Count back from your event date and pick the weeks-out plan that matches your window.

WANT THIS BUILT AROUND YOUR FTP?

PLAN MADE FOR YOU, NOT FOR THE AVERAGE.

The framework here gets you in the right territory. Roadman coaching builds it around your FTP, your week, your weeks remaining, and your delivery via TrainingPeaks.

Apply for Coaching

How Coaching Works

← TRAINING PLAN HUB FOR THE BADLANDS