In this "ultra-coded" episode, Thomas is joined by American ultra-distance gravel racer and writer Chris Mehlman to break down his 3rd place finish at the Badlands race in Southern Spain and to talk about his “The Dark Side of Ultra Racing” piece.

Chris shares his approach to preparing for one of the most brutal 780-kilometer ultra-races on the calendar, detailing the mental battle of pushing through extreme heat and two sleepless nights in the unforgiving Gorafe Desert. It’s a deep dive into the meticulously planned logistics and fierce competitive spirit required to stand on the podium alongside the toughest racers in the world.

• The Meticulous Prep: How Chris mapped out every single potential food and water refill point—down to fountains and convenience stores—kilometre by kilometre to survive the long, unsupported stretches in the desert.
• No Sleep, No Tracker: Chris shares why he never looked at the race tracker during the race to manage stress, and why missing sleep for 40 hours was a necessity to stay competitive in the 780 km event.
• Littering and Drugs: Chris wrote about littering issues and a pack of Tramadol found on the Badlands course. We talk about “the Dark Side of Ultra”
• Tour of Detours: After Badlands, Chris went straight to the UK for a multi-day, 1,500 km bikepacking trip covering England and Wales.

• Chris Mehlman: Ultra-Endurance Cyclist and writer. Read his work on his Substack and follow his journey on Instagram.
• Thomas Euler: Host of the Gracing Podcast and author of the The Gravel Stack Newsletter. Follow Thomas on Instagram

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In dieser Episode sprechen Paul Voß und Thomas Euler über die heißesten Gerüchte im professionellen Gravel-Sport. Im Fokus stehen die rasante Professionalisierung des Sports, die Entstehung von "Superteams" und die Geldfrage im Gravel.

Außerdem sprechen die beiden über die Gravel Europameisterschaft – inklusive des Dramas um Rosa Klöser – US Gravel Nationals und blicken kurz voraus auf Ranxo, das Finale der Gravel Earth Serie.

• Der Professionalisierungsgrad im Gravel: Wie viele Teams sind wirklich professionell organisiert und wo verläuft die Grenze zwischen Amateur und Profi, da es keine Lizenzpflicht gibt.
• Das Specialized Superteam-Gerücht: Die Hosts diskutieren die kolportierte Entstehung eines Gravel-Superteams mit Stars wie Keegan Swenson, Mads Würtz Schmidt, Matt Beers und Sofia Gomez Villafane.
• Die Gehaltsfrage: Wie sehen die Jahresgehälter der Top-Fahrer im Gravel aus? Was sind Roll-over-Prämien und wie hoch sind die versteckten Kosten wie Reise und Mechaniker, die Team-Verträge attraktiv machen?
• Team-Struktur vs. Persönlichkeit: Wird die Social-Media-Präsenz der Fahrer weiterhin wichtiger ist als die Teammarke sein?
• Platten-Drama: Thomas berichtet detailliert über das Pech von Rosa Klöser, die sieben Kilometer vor dem Ziel mit einem Platten ihre sichere Goldmedaille verlor..
• UCI und Livestreams: Kritik an der fehlenden Übertragungsqualität und den Gefahren durch Age-Grouper in den Profi-Rennen.

Bradyn Lange bekam nicht den Rick, sondern Continental Terra Speed 45 von Dylan Johnson und hat die US Nationals auf ihnen gewonnen.

• Paul Voß: Host des Autsaid Podcasts. Folgt Paul auf Instagram und abonniert den Autsaid YouTube-Kanal
• Thomas Euler: Host des Gracing Podcasts und Autor des The Gravel Stack Newsletters. Folgt Thomas auf Instagram.

Abonniere uns, um keine Neuigkeiten aus der Gravel-Szene zu verpassen!

Thomas is joined by Andrew Vontz from Choose the Hard Way and Beyond the Peloton. The two share their observations from the 2025 gravel season and tell us what excites them for the remainder of the season.

• The Rise of "Grass Racing": Is "grass" is becoming the next defining surface in gravel. Will we have surface specialists like in Tennis, even?
• Is Mud a Problem? The role of mud pits and Minimum Maintenance Roads (MMRs) in races like Unbound and Gravel Worlds can be outsized. Should organizers reroute to prevent mechanicals and damage to expensive equipment?
• Safety and Logistics: Do shared feed zones for pros and amateurs need to be separated?
• Self-Supported vs. Pro Support: A discussion on the ethos of "self-supported" racing and how it clashes with the professionalization of the sport, and whether a diversity of race styles is beneficial for gravel.
• Breaks Win Races: An observation on the trend of early breaks winning many of the season's marquee races and the lack of a "domestique" culture in gravel racing.

• Andrew Vontz: Andrew is the author and host of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast and Substack. He’s also co-host of Beyond the Peloton.
• Thomas Euler: Your host and author of The Gravel Stack, Connect with Thomas on Instagram and Bluesky.

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