The bike has caliper brakes. If you're very lucky, it will handle 28mm tyres. Don't forget that the width of tyre you will need is going to be greater than a lighter rider will need. A typical bike reviewer weighs 140lb-160lb, you probably weigh a lot more, so it doesn't mean much that BikeRadar showed one of their reviewers riding on (gosh!) gravel. As stock, the bike comes with 23mm tyres.

Also: those wheels are NOT a good design for a heavy rider - too few spokes, wrong spoke pattern. I can't see any sign at all this bike is designed for the type of riding you mentioned; it's just a pretty road bike that can take mudguards.