How would you describe The Rift now you’ve had time to process it?

I do not think I will ever quite get over how tough, unique and completely insane the race is.

Everything from the sheer scale of the landscape to the river crossings, hike-a-bike sections and glaciers makes it unlike anything else. You can see photographs and videos online, but they do not come close to showing how brutal and unforgiving the terrain feels when you are actually racing through it.

It is incredibly demanding, both mentally and physically, but also one of the most memorable experiences I have had on a bike.

What makes racing in Iceland so different from anywhere else?

It has to be the terrain. There is nothing else quite like it.

The variety of landscapes and surfaces you race across is incredible. You have wide-open gravel roads, deep sand, rough washboard sections, glaciers, river crossings and steep hike-a-bike climbs. There are also some seriously technical descents.

The surface is constantly changing, so you never really get an opportunity to switch off. You are always reading the terrain, choosing a line and preparing for whatever comes next. That makes the race as mentally demanding as it is physical.

What was the hardest moment of the race?

With races like The Rift, you never fully know what is coming. You can study the map and look at the elevation profile, but neither prepares you for how difficult the terrain will feel in reality.

At around 120 kilometres, we reached what I thought was going to be another climb. It turned into the hardest hour of the entire race.The approach was covered in deep, soft sand, which made progress incredibly slow. When we reached the climb itself, the gradient was well over 30 per cent, so riding was not an option. It became a brutal 10 to 15-minute hike-a-bike section.I eventually reached the top, completed a short descent and immediately found another climb exactly like it. I had not expected a second one, which made it even harder mentally.

How did you keep moving when things became difficult?

You have to remember to look up.

When you are racing somewhere like Iceland, no matter how difficult it becomes, you need to take in what is around you. Gravel racing often takes you to incredibly remote and unique places, and it is important to appreciate that while you are there.

When things became difficult, I tried to focus less on the distance remaining and more on the landscape, the experience and the fact that I was getting to race my bike somewhere completely extraordinary.

How did you prepare for 200 kilometres of unpredictable terrain?

My background in cycling is in cyclocross, so I would consider myself a fairly technical rider. The more technical a race becomes, the more I tend to enjoy it.

I like pushing my capabilities, which makes a race like The Rift particularly exciting. The terrain is constantly changing and you have to keep adapting. You are adjusting your position, changing your line and reacting to whatever appears in front of you.

There is only so much you can prepare for. At some point, you have to trust your ability, commit to your line and go for it.

How did you set up your bike for the rocks, sand and river crossings?

I made a couple of significant changes from my usual race setup.

The most noticeable was switching from a rigid fork to a suspension fork with 30mm of travel. That helped take the edge off the rough washboard sections and reduced some of the fatigue from the repeated impacts.

I also moved from the 45mm tyres I normally race to 50mm tyres. The additional volume helped the bike float across the softer sand, while also absorbing more vibration through the roughest parts of the course.

Those were the main changes. Looking back, I do not think there is anything I would set up differently if I raced it again.

How did the wheels perform across the roughest sections?

Your wheels play one of the most important roles in the setup of a gravel bike, particularly in a race with such a wide range of speeds and surfaces.

For the opening two hours, we averaged close to 300 watts and were travelling at around 40 kilometres per hour in places. Elsewhere, we were tackling gradients of more than 30 per cent. You need a wheelset that feels fast on the open sections, remains light enough for the climbs and can handle the repeated impacts of the rough terrain.

Over an eight-hour race, efficiency matters. Any energy you can conserve during the faster sections makes a difference later in the day.

The HUNT wheels delivered exactly what I needed. They felt fast, light and efficient, but also gave me confidence through the rougher sections.

Wind is another major factor in Iceland, particularly when moving through the valleys. It can suddenly hit from almost any direction, so having a wheel that remains predictable in crosswinds is essential. You do not want the bike moving underneath you while descending the side of a volcano at more than 60 kilometres per hour.

The wheels passed the test with flying colours.