Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
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The 2022 Badlands event in Spain is well underway, with the fastest riders over a third of the way through the route since the grand depart on Sunday. Find a brief update on how things are playing out here, including some gorgeous photos from the first few days from Juanan Barros…
Photos by Juanan Barros (@juananfotografia)
The 2022 Badlands, a 750-kilometer self-supported event in Spain, took off from just outside the Palacio de Congresos in Granada on Sunday at 8 a.m. local time. According to the organizers there were officially 236 riders out tackling the route, the majority riding solo, and a significant number of pairs as well. Before they took off, everyone partipcated in a moment of silence for Sule Kangangi, who tragically passed away last weekend—a loss that struck a nerve within the ultra-cycling and bikepacking community.
Within the first 12 hours of the event, the frontrunners had already smashed well over 200 kilometers, with Sebastian Breuer out front at just over 250 kilometers, followed closely by Nils Correvon, David Coma, and Benjamin Koch.
At 8 p.m. local time on day one, Lael Wilcox was sitting in 27th place overall. She was tackling the Gorafe Desert section (between kilometers 130 and 242) and posted an update on social media saying, “It’s so hot! I stopped to fill up on water and reapply sunscreen, and when I got back on my bike, my saddle was like a frying pan.”
Although temperatures are lower than they were last year, sitting at around 30°C (~86°F), the first 70 kilometers of the route have no resupply options and very little water—not to mention the 1,200 meters of elevation gain in the first 25 kilometers, which is nearly 10% of the climbing in the entire route. Apparently, it got up into the low 40s in the Gorafe Desert, so riders were happy to take refuge and resupply at the bar and restaurant before this section.
Although this year’s route is slightly longer than last year’s, it appears the fastest riders are making great time. Sebastian Breuer is a full hour ahead of Mattia De Marchi’s winning time at this point in the race, which can only mean he’s gunning for a new course record. Mattia finished the 2021 Badlands in just 45 hours and 54 minutes (1d:21h:54m), so we can expect the fastest riders to be finishing as early as Tuesday morning—but a lot can happen over 750 kilometers!
Head over to the 2022 Badlands event page to follow along live. And for those who missed it, we put together a massive gallery of rigs out tackling the route, which you can find linked below in the Related Content section.
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