Plenty of stories out there https://www.youtube.com/@petercurley
My husband did it for the first time in 2023; I think his longest ride before the PBP qualifying rides was a 300. He wanted to figure out if he could do a 600 without sleeping (answer was no) so that dictated his strategy for stopping.
Mostly it’s about mindset as everyone on the start line will have the relevant experience and fitness through qualifying.
Thank you both for the replies. I will have a look at this youtube channel.
You’re also both confirming that the qualifying process is the necessary/mandatory preparation for the event.
Well the date for the 200km has been released, clashes with the gravel sportive I wanted but it’s a fraction of the price so that’s my goal for 2026 sorted!
Time to look at the UK’s cycle to work scheme for some road wheels (200km on knobbly tyres sounds like hard work) and time to get on trainer.
Which 200 did you sign up for?
It’s done at the same day as the 100 I did last year with some of the same route but further away before it heads back. Lots of climbing round here!
I ride a lot of Audax, mostly in the North of England and I’ve found that for me, my favourite tyres are GravelKing Slicks 35mm, I have them set up tubeless on Mavic Allroad wheels, they roll fairly well and cope great with our battered roads and even do alright on terrain such as fireroads. I think they do a 32mm version which I may try next time I need new tyres.
My current setup uses 45mm Gravelking SK and can see the difference in rolling between a buddy on 30mm conti hence new wheel Idea.
Mind you I’m sure I’d be above the AVG speed needed to make cut-off even without new wheels so might not happen!
I run 30/32mm typically, no slower than 28mm that I’ve noted, plusher feel on our roads, and Im more than quick enough on them.
I reckon between 28mm to 32mm I’d not notive but 45mm prob would be noticable but I’ve got 8 months to decide it I want to run two sets of wheels.
I’d prob go for 32mm or 34mm either way since I kinda like comfort and I bet going that far comfort wins over speed - only ever having done 160km max I couldn’t confirm mind you!
Hi Guys,
Having done my first 400km last year in 25hours in the middle of a heat wave, I entered a 600km Audax (with 6’800 meters of elevation) for June 2026. The start will be at 20:00, so right into the night.
Any advice to go over 600km? How do you pace a ride like this? Aerobars or not?
Having only even topped out around 160km I couldn’t comment on 600km but even for shorter rides I do like the bars for somewhere else to perch, and I’ll run mine for the 200km.
Aero bars, or additional hand positions. Beyond that, pace it based on rpe and the course. The 600km I did last year had all the major climbing over in the first 300km. But pedaling on the flats to keep speed consistent feels like it takes more when it’s hours 20. Descending time is good for eating, applying sunscreen, relaxing and stretching.”
Depending on the time limit, sleep. The route did a 400k loop and a 200k loop and there was a hotel next door to the control. Or in my case, my house was 5k off route at 450km so I just pedaled home and made myself dinner.
I’ve done 10 600+ rides in my life now. DNFd some.
I would not do a 600 without aerobars personally. Some people do, but the decrease in neck and arm pain is sizeable for me.
Pacing: 600 is long enough youre gonna start decaying down to forever pace which is like 0.4 to 0.45 IF in most people. Power stops being useful, as does HR because you stop being able to even hit your LTHR, so you just need to pace by feel in the back half or so. For the first 300k, I find ~0.6 to be a good target.
If you stop to sleep, eat before hand to take advantage of improved digestion while not actively exercising. Especially any protein you plan to top up with as its effects on delaying gastric emptying are not an issue if you’re sleeping after, compared to actively riding.
Calorie deficiency will kick your ass in the back-300 if you’re not smart in the front 300.
The biggest difference for me between a 400 and 600 km brevet is sleep. I’d never sleep on a 400, but on a 600 I usually have a sleep stop unless I’m trying to hit an aggressive (for me) time goal. Starting at night makes it trickier though, I’d probably try to ride it straight through or catch a nap wherever I found a park bench in the late afternoon / early evening after riding through the previous night.
One good piece of advice I got when making the progression from 400 to 600 is to do a big-ish ride one day (something like 300 - 400km), then get up after a few hours of sleep and ride another ~50km to get a feel for how your body reacts to getting back on the bike so quickly after a big day. This gives you a chance to practice your pre and post sleep fueling like @cnidos mentioned, and teaches you that as bad as the first few km may feel, you’ll soon acclimate and be relatively fine for the rest of the day.
This a very basic question, how do you keep it low? I always end up driffing to the top of 0.7 into 0.8s, which is fine for a metric century but double that will kill me.
The route hasn’t been published for now. So my early thoughts have been to do a first nap after 4-6hours of ride or late in the afternoon/early evening of the first day. I guess I will see what is the most convenient based on weather forecast and sleeping possibilities.
The double ride tip is a good one. It will also act like a “repeat” of the 600km Audax to check the equipment.
I guess I will need now to fit the aerobars on the bike and get used to the position. Even if June 26 is in 7 months, it’s not long to get used to ride with those.
They mention that the route will also have 20% of gravel, so that’s 120ish km. Any tire recommandation? I don’t expect this to be nasty singletracks, more chill canal-side roads.
I use this data field Audax Time Buffer , when I have a decent amount of time in the bank, I’ll ease up, just cruise along looking at the views. It’s harder to keep the intensity down on hillier routes though, because by their nature they force you to work harder on the climbs, to counter this, I use a mixture of GRX and 105 gearing, think the front is a 46/30 and it’s been a great switch from the 105 50/34 for audaxing, it’s much easier to keep the intensity down with lower gears.
If you have a Garmin, there’s a few handy datafields available to help you with controls and times etc, helps reign in the enthusiasim to push hard when you see you’ve loads of time to spare.
Better get searching! tvm!
You don’t pace it much differently to a 400. If you were running on empty at the end of your 400, then you either need to pace it slower, or eat better. Given the start time, you are going to go into a second night. I would aim to cover 350-380km before having a sleep. Leaving 250-220km after sleep depending how much over 600km it is. If a sleep stop isn’t provided, then look at potential accommodation for sleep stops for the second night. A couple of hours in a bed, after a hot shower, is worth far more than in a bivvy or bus shelter etc.
You will also be tired the second night, and won’t be generating as much body heat at same temps. Thus consider an extra insulation layer to add over what you took for your 400.