WHAT DOES CHRIS MELMAN SAY ABOUT ULTRA-ENDURANCE RIDING?

THE SHORT ANSWER

Chris Melman, ultra-endurance racer, 3rd place finisher at badlands 800km, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Melman lands on ultra-endurance riding. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.

WHO IS CHRIS MELMAN?

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.

MELMAN ON ULTRA-ENDURANCE

Melman’s key positions on ultra-endurance riding.

• →In ultra-distance racing, fuelling and pacing beat raw fitness — the strongest finisher is rarely the strongest engine.
• →The riders who blow up in ultras race the first half — pacing it like disciplined Zone 2 is what keeps the legs at the end.
• →Bikepacking and ultra events are a fuelling project first — a missed feed hours earlier is what ends most rides.
• →Sleep, kit and logistics decide multi-day results as much as training does.

IN MELMAN’S OWN WORDS

Verbatim from Chris Melman’s appearances on the podcast.

HEAR IT ON THE PODCAST

Episodes where Chris Melman covers ultra-endurance riding and related ground.

FREQUENTLY ASKED