By Kevin Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
Photo Credit: Nedbank Gravel Burn.
Defending champions Matt Beers and Axelle Dubau Prévot lead an international line up for seven days of racing across 750km of Eastern Cape gravel.
The Great Karoo will provide the backdrop for a gathering of international cycling talent when the Nedbank Gravel Burn begins on 25 October, bringing a field of world champions, road racing stars and gravel specialists to South Africa for seven days of racing.
The second edition of the event covers 750km from Graaff Reinet, also known as Robert Sobukwe Town, to Shamwari Private Game Reserve, with approximately 8,500m of climbing across the route. Riders will tackle remote gravel roads and semi desert terrain, spending their nights at four Burn Camps before reaching the finish in Big Five country on 31 October.
Defending champions Matt Beers and Axelle Dubau Prévot return to protect their titles, but they will face a field packed with international experience.
Beers arrives after another strong season, which included his fourth Cape Epic victory in March alongside fellow South African Tristan Nortje. Nortje is also entered, as is national marathon champion Marc Pritzen, giving local supporters three prominent South African riders to follow. Pritzen, who has also won a stage at the Cape Epic and the 2022 Cape Town Cycle Tour, comes into the event in strong form.
The men’s field includes Brazil’s Henrique Avancini, a two time mountain bike marathon world champion and multiple Cape Epic podium finisher, and Germany’s Andreas Seewald, who claimed his second marathon world title in September. Switzerland’s Simon Pellaud, runner up to Beers in 2025, will be looking to go one better, while former Cape Epic winner Lukas Baum returns after finishing fifth last year.
Other contenders include Switzerland’s Filippo Colombo, who recently reached the podium at a UCI Mountain Bike World Cup round, and Felix Stehli, Pritzen’s Cape Epic team mate. The international line up also features Hugo Drechou, Andri Frischknecht, Hans Becking and American rider Griffin Easter.
The women’s race is equally competitive. Dubau Prévot returns after a dramatic victory in 2025, when she overturned a deficit of almost nine minutes on the final stage to win at Shamwari.
Canada’s Alison Jackson brings the credentials of a Paris Roubaix victory in 2023, while Germany’s Carolin Schiff, winner of the 2023 Unbound Gravel 200, adds proven gravel racing experience.
Sweden’s Nathalie Eklund, Swiss time trial champion Elena Hartmann and South Africa’s Hayley Preen will also be among the riders to watch. Preen finished third last year by just seconds and has spent the season competing in South Africa and the United States.
The field also includes Dutch rider Larissa Hartog , alongside fellow championship competitors Nele Laing and Irina Lützelschwab.
Beyond the professional contest, the event follows a pro -amateur format, with 20 age group categories spanning riders aged 18 to 75, as well as handcycle and adaptive categories.
The total prize purse is US$155,000, split equally between the professional men and women. A further US$2,500 is available to the winner of the Toyota Power Climber competition.
Race founder Kevin Vermaak said the line up underlined the event’s ambitions in only its second year. “It’s great to welcome back both defending champions alongside world champions, a Paris Roubaix winner and a Gravel World Championships medallist in only our second year,” he said.
“Stage racing in the Karoo is a different kind of test. It demands patience, resilience and smart racing as much as firepower.”
The Burn Camps are central to the event’s identity, giving riders and crews a place to recover, eat and share the experience between stages. Organisers describe the race as an opportunity to experience the vast Karoo landscape before finishing at Shamwari.
For those unable to ride, the event’s official digital channels are the best place to look for race updates, stage results, rider stories and coverage during the week. Specific broadcast arrangements and viewing links should be checked through the official Nedbank Gravel Burn website and social media channels.
With returning champions, international stars and a strong South African contingent, the race promises a demanding test of endurance across one of the country’s most distinctive landscapes.