I Won My Category on Stage 1 of Gravel Burn | Gravel Burn 2026 Stage 01
Stage 1 of the Nedbank Gravel Burn 2026: 90 km and 1,450 m of climbing from Graaff-Reinet to Blaauwater, and the day the rivalry finally went from banter to race. Charl and I lined up together, Cammy joined us for day one, and the banter finally became a race. Four months of all-in training, 14 kg lost, 3.6 → 4.2 W/kg… and on day one it paid off: 1st in Men 35–39 in 3:08:07, 66th overall and 4:09 clear of second. Charl crossed the line 3:53 later; Simon 23:03 back (but still smiling). Fun fact: 3:08:07 is exactly the winning time of the women’s pro race. Up front it was a road-vs-gravel showdown: Mattia De Marchi (The Grip) won the men’s race in 2:36:49, just 13 seconds ahead of Marco Joubert and Travis Stedman (Toyota Specialized Imbuko). Nele Laing (Canyon DT Swiss) won the women’s race by 3 seconds from Alexis Skarda (SCOTT-SRAM), with Hayley Preen (ChemChamp) third.