Ultra-endurance cycling is a different sport to road racing. Events like Badlands, Tour Divide, Unbound 200, and RAAM strip away team cars, domestiques, and rest days — leaving you alone with your fitness, your fuelling plan, and your ability to keep going when your brain tells you to stop. Training for ultra-distance means building aerobic durability over months, nailing a calorie-intake strategy that works at 18+ hours, and developing the mental frameworks to manage the low points that will come.
We've sat down with athletes who have won and finished these events — Lachlan Morton, Sofiane Sehili, Lael Wilcox, Alex Howes, Rosa Klöser, Colin O'Brady — and extracted what actually works when the race is measured in days, not hours. This guide pulls from those conversations and gives you a working framework whether you're targeting your first 200-mile gravel race or a multi-day bikepacking event.
In this guide:
- Training structure for ultra-distance
- Fuelling for 24+ hour efforts
- Mental strategies that actually work
- Gear and setup: what matters, what doesn't
- Race-specific preparation
- What the experts say
- Frequently asked questions
Training Structure for Ultra-Distance
Here's the thing nobody tells you about ultra-endurance training: it's not about how hard you can go, it's about how long you can sustain moderate effort without falling apart. The engine you need is aerobic — Zone 2 durability, fat oxidation at pace, and muscular endurance that holds up after 12 hours in the saddle.
Weekly structure for a 16-20 hour training week (12-16 weeks out):
| Day | Session | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Rest or easy spin (30-60 min) | Recovery |
| Tuesday | Tempo intervals, 3-4 × 20 min at 75-85% FTP | Muscular endurance |
| Wednesday | Zone 2 endurance, 2-3 hours | Aerobic base |
| Thursday | Sweet spot, 2 × 30 min | Sustained power |
| Friday | Rest or strength work | Structural resilience |
| Saturday | Long ride, 5-8 hours with race-pace blocks | Duration adaptation |
| Sunday | Zone 2 endurance, 3-4 hours | Volume accumulation |
The Saturday ride is the session that builds ultra-specific fitness. Extend it progressively — 5 hours, then 6, then 7 — and use it to rehearse your nutrition, pacing, and equipment. Lachlan Morton has talked about building to back-to-back long days in training to simulate the cumulative fatigue of multi-day events. That accumulated fatigue is what you're training for, not peak power numbers.
Strength training matters more here than in road racing. Your lower back, neck, shoulders, and core take a battering over 20+ hours. Two sessions per week — hip thrusts, single-leg work, core stability — reduce the mechanical breakdown that ends ultras early.
→ Read the full guide: Badlands Training Guide → Read the full guide: Unbound Gravel 200 Training Guide → Read the full guide: Leadville 100 Training Guide
Fuelling for 24+ Hour Efforts
Let me break this down: the single biggest reason amateur riders DNF ultra-endurance events is not fitness. It's fuelling. They either eat too little, eat the wrong things, or wait until they're already in a caloric hole before trying to catch up. By that point, it's too late.
Calorie targets by event duration:
| Event Duration | Calorie Target Per Hour | Carbohydrate Target Per Hour |
|---|---|---|
| 4-8 hours (Unbound 200) | 250-350 kcal/hr | 80-100g |
| 8-16 hours (Badlands stages) | 200-300 kcal/hr | 60-90g |
| 16-24+ hours (non-stop) | 200-300 kcal/hr, mixing sweet and savoury | 60-80g plus fat and protein |
Once you push beyond 8 hours, pure carbohydrate stops being enough. Your gut gets tired of sugar. This is where savoury food — wraps, rice cakes, salted potatoes, sandwiches — becomes essential. Sofiane Sehili has talked about rotating between sweet and savoury every 2-3 hours to avoid flavour fatigue, and it's one of the most practical pieces of advice we've had on the podcast.
Gut training is non-negotiable. Start practising your race nutrition 12 weeks out. Your gut adapts to processing food under stress, but it needs time. Do your long training rides at race-level intake.
→ Read the full guide: Badlands 800km Fuelling Strategy
Mental Strategies That Actually Work
Every ultra-distance finisher will tell you the same thing: there will be a point — maybe several — where you want to quit. The question isn't whether the low point comes, it's what you do when it arrives.
Three frameworks that the athletes we've spoken to actually use:
1. Segment the race, not the distance. Don't think about the 800km ahead. Think about getting to the next checkpoint, the next town, the next hour. Alex Howes has described the Tour Divide as a series of short rides that happen to be strung together over two weeks. That reframing removes the psychological weight of the total distance.
2. Expect the bad patches and plan for them. Lael Wilcox has been direct about this — the lows in ultra-racing are predictable. They hit hardest between 2-5am, after missed sleep, and when nutrition has slipped. Knowing that they pass, and that they always pass, is itself a strategy.
3. Have non-negotiable rules. The best ultra-racers set rules before the event starts: "I don't quit at night." "I don't make race decisions when I haven't eaten in two hours." "I stop and fix the problem before it becomes a crisis." These pre-made decisions remove willpower from the equation when willpower is running low.
→ Read the full guide: Sofiane Sehili: Ultra-Endurance Mindset and Bikepacking → Read the full guide: Alex Howes: Tour Divide Ultra-Endurance Pro Perspective
Gear and Setup: What Matters, What Doesn't
The bikepacking industry will sell you a lot of gear you don't need. Here's what actually matters for ultra-endurance events:
Critical:
- Saddle that works beyond 8 hours — test this in training, not on race day
- Lighting system with 10+ hours of battery life (front and rear)
- Nutrition storage that you can access without stopping
- Layering system for temperature swings (desert nights, mountain passes)
- Navigation device with reliable battery and pre-loaded routes
Important but over-complicated by most riders:
- Bag setup — a framebag, seatpack, and handlebar roll cover 90% of events
- Sleep system — for multi-day events, a bivvy bag and lightweight mat are enough
- Tyre choice — wider than you think, tubeless, with sealant topped up
Where most riders waste money and weight:
- Aero equipment on events with 30,000m of climbing
- Backup electronics for backups
- Comfort items that get ditched at the first checkpoint
Rosa Klöser has been honest about the fact that her Badlands setup was relatively simple — the focus was on reliability, not optimisation. That's the right priority.
→ Read the full guide: Lael Wilcox: Ultra-Distance Cycling Lessons
Race-Specific Preparation
Every ultra-distance event has its own character. The fitness base is transferable; the specific preparation is not.
| Event | Key Demands | Training Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Badlands (800km) | Heat, off-road navigation, 15,000m+ climbing | Heat acclimatisation, gravel-specific endurance |
| Tour Divide (4,400km) | Multi-week self-supported, altitude, isolation | Back-to-back long days, altitude exposure, mechanical self-sufficiency |
| Unbound 200 (200 miles) | Single-day race pace, mud/gravel, competitive field | High-end Zone 2, tempo durability, aggressive fuelling |
| RAAM (4,800km) | Non-stop supported racing, sleep deprivation | Crew logistics, sleep strategy, extreme heat/cold management |
| Leadville 100 (100 miles) | Altitude (3,000m+), singletrack, punchy climbs | Altitude acclimatisation, mountain bike handling |
Colin O'Brady's RAAM preparation was built around training the support crew as much as training himself — because in a supported ultra, the crew's decisions about when you sleep, eat, and push through directly determine the outcome.
→ Read the full guide: Colin O'Brady: Race Across America Training
What the Experts Say
The insights behind this guide come from direct conversations on the Roadman Cycling Podcast:
- Lachlan Morton — EF Education pro and ultra-distance rider — on why the best ultra training looks boring on paper and devastating in practice.
- Alex Howes — Tour Divide finisher and WorldTour pro — on managing the mental demands of two-week self-supported racing.
- Sofiane Sehili — Badlands winner and ultra-bikepacking specialist — on mindset, fuelling rotation, and why simplicity wins.
- Lael Wilcox — Trans Am and Tour Divide record holder — on the predictable patterns of ultra-racing lows and how to ride through them.
- Rosa Klöser — Badlands finisher — on practical gear setup and the value of reliability over optimisation.
- Colin O'Brady — RAAM finisher and endurance athlete — on crew management and the logistics of non-stop supported racing.
→ Hear the conversations: All Podcast Guests
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I train for an ultra-distance race? Build a base of 14-20 hours per week over 12-16 weeks, with the emphasis on long Zone 2 rides and muscular endurance work. The key session is a weekly long ride that extends progressively to 6-8 hours, where you rehearse nutrition, pacing, and equipment. Strength training twice per week protects against the mechanical breakdown that ends most ultras. Taper by reducing volume 40-50% in the final two weeks while maintaining intensity.
How do you fuel a 24+ hour event? Target 200-350 kcal per hour, mixing carbohydrate sources (gels, drink mix, bars) with real food (wraps, rice cakes, salted potatoes). Beyond 8 hours, rotate between sweet and savoury to avoid flavour fatigue. Start eating from the first hour — don't wait until you're hungry. Train your gut at race-level intake for at least 12 weeks before the event. The calorie deficit you accumulate is the deficit you can never recover from mid-race.
What mental strategies work in ultra racing? Three that consistently come up in conversations with finishers: segment the race into short blocks rather than fixating on total distance, accept that low points are predictable and temporary (especially between 2-5am), and set non-negotiable rules before the race starts — such as never making a quit decision at night or when you haven't eaten recently. Pre-made decisions save willpower when willpower is depleted.
Do I need bikepacking-specific gear? For multi-day self-supported events, yes — you need bags, a sleep system, and lighting that works beyond 8 hours. But the gear list is simpler than the industry suggests. A framebag, seatpack, and handlebar roll handle most events. Prioritise reliability and tested equipment over weight savings and novelty. For single-day ultras like Unbound, your standard road or gravel setup with extra nutrition storage is enough.
How much sleep do you need in a multi-day ultra? It depends on the event and your competitive goals. Front-runners in events like Badlands might sleep 2-4 hours per night for 3-4 days. Most finishers do better with 4-6 hours. The research and athlete experience both point to the same thing: a 20-minute nap when you're falling asleep on the bike is worth more than an hour of riding in a dangerous, half-conscious state. Plan your sleep; don't let it happen to you.
Can I do an ultra-distance event on a standard road bike? For road-based ultras like RAAM or Transcontinental, absolutely. For gravel and off-road events like Badlands or Tour Divide, you need appropriate tyres, clearance, and usually a gravel or mountain bike platform. The bike matters less than the fit — a position you can hold for 15+ hours is worth more than any frame material or component upgrade.