THE PRO BIKE

Lachlan Morton’s lightweight bikepacking set-up for GBDURO consisted of a Rapha saddlebag, handlebar bag, frame bag and top-tube bag, plus a Garmin 1030 GPS with a Garmin Charge Power Pack beneath the computer mount, which allowed him to sometimes run the GPS for 24 hours straight without having to charge it.

His Garmin Varia UT800 Smart light was equally important – it pairs with the computer and adjusts brightness according to speed, to save battery life.

Tyre choice is crucial on a crazy race like this. As EF mechanic and alternative racing director Tom Hopper says, “You want something that’s going to roll on the road, but it must also be wide enough so you can run lower pressure and be confident offroad.” Lachlan chose 700x38mm Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres – the same tyres he used when he raced Dirty Kanza in the US.

While the stock Topstone has a very forgiving 46/30T chainring combo and an 11-34T cassette, Lachlan went for a more aggressive 50/34T combo up front, with an 11-32T cassette. Not pictured: a set of Vision clip-on aero bars, so he could tuck in on the longer sections of tar.