THE SHORT ANSWER
Alex Wild, competitive mountain biker and gravel racer, preparing for leadville 100 and breck epic, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast 2 times. Here's where Wild lands on ultra-endurance riding. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
WHO IS ALEX WILD?
Alex Wild is a long-tenured US off-road pro — Specialized Factory Racing, multiple Leadville podiums, and one of the more analytically minded gravel/MTB riders in the Lifetime Grand Prix series. His willingness to open his training files publicly (power numbers, pacing decisions, drivetrain choices) makes him an unusually useful reference for amateur racers trying to understand what 'good' looks like. His read on field-strength escalation across the Grand Prix is one of the more accurate in the discipline.
WILD ON ULTRA-ENDURANCE
Wild’s key positions on ultra-endurance riding.
- Race taper depends on the course — a Cape Epic taper is not a Sea Otter taper; race-to-race prep isn't one template.
- Race-week activation: 7×8 minutes at ~390W normalised the week before, with 3-minute recoveries — repeatability across the set is the green light.
- Drivetrain choice for varied gravel: SRAM Transmission, 50T chainring, 10–52 cassette — big enough for the flats, small enough for the climb finish.
- Watts/CDA on flats and watts/kg on climbs are the next live on-bar metrics — aero is becoming the second axis of the power conversation, not a one-off wind-tunnel test.
- Field-strength signal across the Grand Prix: power numbers are rising while placings aren't — Dylan Johnson hit a 317W normalised PR for a 38th-place finish.
IN WILD’S OWN WORDS
Verbatim from Alex Wild’s appearances on the podcast.
“I talked to Cam the winner and he was at 194 for his 837 which is insane. You think the carb high carb is making that much difference? It just makes it possible. I mean you think about it just from energy in energy out his raw average was 295 watts. So he is going through roughly 1,50 calories per hour, which is just an uphill battle.”
“I think in hindsight I would have tried to get in that break because you maybe lose 30 seconds to a minute on Little Egypt, but then everyone sits up and you gain that 30 seconds to a minute back without having to actually do a threshold effort.”
“I don't think Keegan's going to be the only one that goes sub six this year if I had to guess. I think sub six is no longer going to guarantee you second place. I think I think five riders will go sub six.”
HEAR IT ON THE PODCAST
Episodes where Alex Wild covers ultra-endurance riding and related ground.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
What does Alex Wild say about ultra-endurance riding?
Alex Wild, competitive mountain biker and gravel racer, preparing for leadville 100 and breck epic, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast 2 times. Here's where Wild lands on ultra-endurance riding. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
What is Wild's main point on ultra-endurance?
Race taper depends on the course — a Cape Epic taper is not a Sea Otter taper; race-to-race prep isn't one template.
Which Roadman Cycling Podcast episodes cover Alex Wild on ultra-endurance?
Wild discusses ultra-endurance riding in this episode: "Unbound 2025 Race Breakdown | Roadman Cycling Podcast".