01/09/2026
Thirty-six hours and fifteen minutes.
That’s how long it took Piotr Havik to conquer Badlands—one of the hardest and most brutal ultra gravel races in the world. More than 800km. 13,000 meters of climbing. One relentless push from Granada and back.
It was Piotr’s first ultra. Yet from the very beginning, he raced it like he knew exactly what he was there to do.
A proven gravel racer—runner-up in the Gravel Earth Series—Piotr had never faced a distance like this before. But there was no hesitation. From Granada, he stayed with the leading group through the opening kilometers, until Gor, 235km into the race, when he made his move and went solo.
There were still hundreds of kilometers to go.
Climb after climb. Long stretches without a village in sight. Dust, heat and the desert. Then, somewhere beyond the endless roads, the sea appeared.
At 550km, Almería came and went.
Still, Piotr kept pushing. No cracks. No hesitation. Just forward.
Until Granada appeared again.
He arrived in the evening, covered in dust, exhausted and wearing a huge smile.
An ultra turned into a long, fast one-day race—and a new course record.
What a ride, Piotr.
📸 Nils Laengner x Badlands
