Classified athlete smashes the course record, wining the 750km gravel race solo in a time of 35 hours and 20 minutes.

With an emphatic solo attack on day one of the race, Classified athlete Rob Britton soloed to victory at the Spanish gravel race, completing the gruelling 750km course in 38 hours and 20 minutes.

Britton broke away from a select group on day one of the race through Spain’s Sierra Nevada Mountain range, beating the existing race record by over 5 hours. Robin Gemperle finished in second place, over an hour behind Britton, and Alex Martínez rounded out the podium in the men’s race. 

Britton said post-race:

“For Badlands I honestly had no idea what I was getting in to! I’ve done lots of proper long hard rides but this was my first ultra race. It has been on my radar for many years now, and I’ve been looking forward to it since getting accepted last November. After having completed it I can honestly say this is one of the hardest but also most beautiful events I’ve ever competed in. It was an interesting experience for sure, as I was by myself for the majority of it. There’s something different when you’re racing for nearly 800 km, you still have that competitive drive, but you’re doing it for multiple days, so you have to really temper that effort. As for the bike, I honestly just ran the same set up as I do for nearly every event: my Factor Ostro gravel GRX 1x with Easton cranks, and obviously my Classified Powershift hub. I changed the front chain ring to 48 versus my usual 50. They gave me a roughly 33t virtual inner ring. Looking back, I probably could’ve gone even smaller on the front, maybe to a 46!"

"The climbs here are some of the steepest I have ever done and I spent lots of time under 50 RPM. But I was stoked to have the 48t on the faster sections, and it was a massive advantage having Powershift Technology with so much consistent elevation change across the whole course!"

Britton’s Badlands win backs up his win at the innagural Belgian Waffle Ride Canada in May. And with professional triathlete Kyle Smith winning Ironman Ireland 70.3 by over 8 minutes in August. and the Classified Factory Team scoring multiple UCI World Gravel Series podiums, it's clealry been a summer of strong results for Classified sponsored athletes.

to Power·shift [Powershifting] {Verb}:
(also: the new benchmark in shifting gears)

1. To shift gears under full load within 150 milliseconds
2. Maintain valuable momentum during climbs and transitions, or before an attack

Classified’s unique 2 speed gear hub allows riders to jump through 46% percent of the gear range, or the equivalent of 2 or 3 rear derailleur shifts, within 150 milliseconds. As such, ‘Powershifting’ is quickly becoming the go to term for maintaining momentum on the trails.

Tests undertaken with pro riders showed a far greater use of the powershift hub gear as opposed to the rear derailleur, leading to an overwhelming increase of momentum through transitions.

Classified athlete Rob Britton explains his race set up for SBT GRVL and Badlands to Ben Delaney.

Classified CEO Mathias Plouvier said of the win:

“Winning Badlands 2023, in such decisive fashion, proves again what an amazing athlete Rob Britton is. But it also proves how much of a competitive advantage Powershift Technology can give to a rider. Especially in one of the toughest gravel cycling events in the world. This win is another validation for our technology and a day to celebrate for the whole Classified team. Well done, Rob!”

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1984, Britton raced professionally on the road between 2010 and 2021. Racing for teams like Bissell, Team Raleigh, Team SmartStop and Rally Cycling, Britton won the overall classification of the Tour of Utah in 2017. Switching to gravel in 2021, Britton has posted some impressive results, including winning the inaugural Belgian Waffle Ride Canada in May 2023.

Follow on Instagram (@rob_britton) as he puts his Classified equipped Factor Ostro through it's paces at the world's best gravel races. Good luck for the rest of the season Rob

Photo credit: Nils Laengner