Chris Melman races at the brutal end of the sport — a Badlands 800km podium — where the limiter stops being fitness and becomes fuelling, pacing and the head. His account of how a pro's fuelling plan almost won Badlands is a masterclass in the ultra truth amateurs underestimate: the rider who finishes strongest is rarely the fittest, but the one who paced the first half like Zone 2 discipline and never let the fuelling slide. For anyone eyeing a first long gravel race, he's the cautionary, practical voice.
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