Behind the Burn: How 400 Crew Run a Race in the Middle of the Karoo | Gravel Burn Stage 4
Stage 4 of the Nedbank Gravel Burn 2026: the Merino loop. 61 km, 550 m of climbing, 100% gravel, the shortest stage of the week, and full gas from the gun. We flew the whole route in 3D for you: down past Shepherd’s Dog and Grootdam into the Klein-Visrivier valley, up the Toyota Power Climb, through the tech zone and the Red Bull KM, and back to Merino Burn Camp. Race morning at Merino: 5 am coffee at the Vida truck, Manon Lloyd’s morning report, Team Toyota’s custom jerseys (illustrated by Heather Jenkins, made by Ciovita), and Hayley Preen calling a bunch sprint. Then the plan. Charl and Simon had one, and it worked: Charl went up the road, and when the bunch caught him 5 km from the finish he looked around and… David wasn’t there. At the line: GC banter with David’s category rival Stephen, Manon Lloyd on her mechanical (“I’m not very good at fixing my own punctures”), David’s right of reply (“the entire peloton, pitying this man, letting him go up the road”), and a five-man crash David only just missed. [RESULT: official margin] Behind the Burn: Richard, Operations Director of the Nedbank Gravel Burn, took us on the camp tour for the Burn Pod: the remote finishes, the F1-style paddock, the Specialized service team (Josh: 80 bikes a night, and the rear rotor Charl burnt out on a downhill), the year Merino had to be evacuated (with the bagpipes leading the way), massage, a borehole pumping 20,000 litres an hour, laundry day (#339 packed five sets of kit), and accessible ablutions so riders like Bryce can race the Burn on a handcycle. “The race must add to the terrain, not take from it. Stories matter.” Burn Camp after dark: the first (and probably only) donkey longtong fire-starting competition: Charl, the 78 kg speed dealer, Simon, his most loyal client, and David, the Soutie. “The banter between us is absolute, but the love is deep. Iron sharpens iron.”