Olympic champions Tom Pidcock and Alistair Brownlee will be among the starters this weekend as the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn race sets off across the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
The seven-stage event, which boasts a prize purse of $150,000, has not only attracted an impressive field of leading competitors from the worlds of road, gravel, and mountain biking, but it also features a few familiar names more commonly associated with the world of triathlon.
Such is the incredible strength and depth of the Elite field on show that race founder Kevin Vermaak decided to stop announcing the big-name signings through the media, as he felt it might be intimidating for the hundreds of amateur riders who are also taking part.
Gravel cycling is growing exponentially
Places for the sold-out event have been limited to 500, with Vermaak – who also founded the Absa Cape Epic mountain bike race in 2004 before selling it to IRONMAN in 2017 – stating that numbers may increase if there remains such buoyant interest next year.
He believes that gravel cycling is on the cusp of something special and wants to create an event which can feed off that energy, much in the same way that he did more than 20 years ago when he invested in mountain biking.
Writing on his Gravel Burn website blog, he explains: “Why gravel? The answer is that I believe gravel biking is now at about the place where mountain biking was 20 years ago – growing exponentially in Europe and the United States, both professionally and among everyday riders – and we think that the gravel market is ripe for a pro-am stage race. And where better to stage it than South Africa?
“Gravel biking is a completely new category of cycling – with a following and participants that are quite different from mountain biking (in Europe, for example, the bulk of participants are from the road riding community) – and one with huge growth potential.
“So all of the above ticks a lot of boxes for me. I hope you will be as excited as I am about this venture, and we will get to see some of you out on the gravel roads of the Western and Eastern Cape on the Gravel Burn. I believe it is going to be a fantastic event and would love you to come along for the ride!“
Covering a total of 800km over seven days of challenging mountain passes in the Great Karoo plateau, the riders will make their way inland from the resort of Knysna to Blaauwater, before heading back out toward the sea and finishing in the Shamwari Private Game Reserve.
Breathtaking South African scenery
Along the way, competitors will be treated to some of the most breathtaking scenery that South Africa has to offer, with coastal forests, arid semi-desert plains, and African bushveld – and at the end of each day’s stage, they will all rest, eat, and sleep under canvas as the Burn Camps provide for their every need.
It is little wonder, then, that the event has been fully subscribed for some time, with Vermaak adding: “We’ve received numerous requests for entries. But, because the Gravel Burn is a full-service stage race that includes accommodation, catering, race services, medical support and more, it’s not easy to scale up entry numbers once planning is underway.
“Plus, our aim is to deliver on our promise of exceptional service and the highest standard of rider experience. Limiting the field to 500 riders ensures that’s achievable. We may increase the capacity for a larger field in 2026. But for now, we’re fully focused on October 2025.
“We’ve been both surprised and thrilled to see some of the sport’s biggest names signing up. In fact, a few months ago, we quietly decided to stop announcing pro entries – we noticed that some amateur riders were hesitant to enter, unsure if they’d be in over their heads riding alongside such elite competitors.
“The truth is, the Nedbank Gravel Burn route has been designed to be rewarding and manageable for both amateurs and pros. I genuinely believe it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone – especially those who’ll one day be able to say they were there at the very first one.”
The list of Elite riders taking part reads like a Who’s Who of cycling.
Joining Pidcock and Brownlee are Simon Pellaud (SWI), who took second at Unbound in June, Hugo Drechou (FRA), who was on the podium at the European Gravel Championships in Avezzano, Andreas Seewald (GER), winner at Gravel Suisse earlier this year, and Lachlan Morton (AUS), a proven MTB and gravel rider who won Unbound in 2024.
Stars of cycling ready to do battle
Home interest comes in the form of Matt Beers, a former South African Gravel Champion and three-time Cape Epic winner, while other names with vast cycling experience include Koen Bouwman (NED), Lukas Postlberger (AUT), and Ivar Slik (NED).
There is even interest from America, as ‘The Godfather’ of professional gravel racing, Peter Stetina is joined by multiple winners Brennan Wertz and Bradyn Lange, while IRONMAN specialist Cameron Wurf (AUS) is sure to add a little power to proceedings.
Leading women taking part include Alison Jackson (CAN), winner of Paris-Roubaix Femmes, South Africans Ashleigh Moolman Pasio and Hayley Preen, Lauren Stephens (USA), and the hugely talented young German rider, Rosa Kloser.
Pidcock is now one of the most versatile cyclists in the professional ranks, with an already impressive list of big race wins to his name, including Olympic cross-country mountain bike golds at the Tokyo and Paris Games, World Championship titles in both cross-country and cyclo-cross and two further European Championships in cross-country.
Last year, he focused on road racing with his Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team and created history when he became the first male Olympic mountain bike champion to podium at a Grand Tour event – finishing third in the Vuelta a España.
Brownlee, of course, is one of the most decorated triathletes in the history of the sport, with Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth medals included in his vast collection.
Both have had recent experience of the gravel discipline, with Brownlee finishing 15th at the National Championships in Dalby Forest last month and Pidcock finishing sixth at the UCI Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands just two weeks ago.
Indeed, Pidcock’s efforts on the 180km Limburg course were made all the more impressive by the fact that he had competed in the Italian classic Il Lombardia – a 241km trek from Como to Bergamo – just the day before, later admitting that it may not have been the best way for him to prepare for a World Championship event.
They are joined by fellow British riders, triathlete and IRONMAN competitor Ruth Astle, and road racing specialists Lawrence Carpenter and Madeleine Nutt in what promises to be a truly historic event.
For more information on the Gravel Burn event, go to their website HERE.
