Gravel Burn: South Africa’s Bold New Gravel Stage Race Is Here to Change the Game

Photo Credit: Retroyspective

Gravel. It’s where mountain biking and road cycling shake hands, grin and decide to get dusty together. It’s less about hitting gnarly singletrack and more about the rhythm of rolling over quiet farm roads, forgotten passes and the kind of wild terrain that begs to be explored at pace. And now, South Africa is about to experience something new in this growing discipline: a gravel stage race that might just reshape the local cycling scene.

Stage racing has long been a rite of passage for mountain bikers. It’s where grit, endurance and strategy collide over multiple days, and where a race becomes a story rather than just a sprint. The idea of taking gravel into this format feels both inevitable and exciting. It offers the endurance of stage racing with the accessibility and flow of gravel riding. It’s less technical but no less demanding, and it opens doors to a different kind of rider.

For some, gravel is about speed. For others, it’s about exploration. For most of us, it’s about freedom. Freedom from rules, from the pressure of performance, from overly technical trails that often gatekeep who feels welcome in mountain biking. It’s a space where roadies, mountain bikers and newcomers can all meet on equal ground. And that’s exactly where the next chapter begins.

Photo Credit: Raineduponmedia

Introducing Gravel Burn: A New Race Built on a Big Legacy

Enter Gravel Burn. A brand-new gravel stage race from none other than Kevin Vermaak, the visionary who built Cape Epic into the biggest mountain bike race on the planet. If you know Kevin’s work, you know what that means. Impeccable organisation, routes to keep every rider happy, considered rider experience, proper stage race hospitality and a clear understanding of what makes a race iconic.

Gravel Burn promises to bring that same level of quality to a new format. Think wide open gravel roads, long rolling stages, properly thought-out routes and a full, unique race village experience. This isn’t just a race; it’s a gravel pilgrimage.

“The essence of the Gravel Burn will be that it is a pro-am event, with amateurs riding on the same course and conditions as the professionals and rubbing shoulders with the world’s best in the race villages afterwards.”

The organisers have mapped out routes that are designed to challenge but not break. Expect long stretches of silence punctuated by cowbells, the crunch of tyres on dirt, and the shared camaraderie that only comes from pushing through tough kilometres together. There’s something deeply communal about a gravel peloton — it’s less elbows out, more heads down and hearts in.

Photo Credit: Raineduponmedia

What Makes Gravel Burn Different

Gravel Burn isn’t trying to be Epic 2.0. It’s carving its own lane. This race leans into a slightly different energy. Less testosterone-fuelled heroics, more collective endurance. The race format is designed to blend a sense of adventure with high-level organisation. It’s stage racing with soul.

Riders can expect the kind of hospitality you’d associate with a world-class event. A race village that feels like a temporary gravel city, good food, hot showers, clean bike wash stations and logistics that make life easier when the legs are screaming. That matters. It turns a race into a journey. It also means more people — and crucially more women — feel like this is a space they can step into.

The route itself will snake through some of the country’s most striking gravel terrain. Remote farm roads, endless horizons, fast rolling sections and climbs that test your resolve more than your technical skills. This is South Africa’s big gravel stage race moment, and it’s been a long time coming.

Photo Credit: Raineduponmedia

Gravel Riding and the Rise of Women in Cycling

Gravel has quietly become a discipline where women’s participation isn’t an afterthought. It’s baked into the sport’s DNA. Without the intimidating barrier of technical terrain, more women are lining up, and more are staying. It’s about strength, strategy, pacing and community — and that changes everything.

The inaugural Gravel Burn is sending a powerful message: equal prize money for men and women, a solid pro women’s field and an intentional effort to create space for amateur riders too.

This is how you grow a sport with integrity.

The number of female entrants already speaks volumes. It’s trust, plain and simple. Riders know Kevin and his teams track record. They know what they’re signing up for: a race that will be well run, consistent and considerate.

But the elephant on the gravel road remains the entry fee. Multi-day races don’t come cheap. The question of accessibility is a fair one, especially for women who often have to work harder to carve out space, time and resources to race.

“Our goal isn’t just to host a race—it’s to create a platform that celebrates the best gravel cyclists in the world while inspiring the next generation. For professional riders who make a living in the sport, this prize purse underscores our commitment to setting a new benchmark in gravel racing. And for our amateur riders, who make up most of the field, it’s a unique experience to ride alongside cycling luminaries on the exact same course.”

It’s an honest conversation, and one the cycling world needs to keep having. But the fact that so many riders are backing this first edition tells you something about the trust the brand has built over the years.

Riders believe in the delivery.

Photo Credit: Raineduponmedia

A First Edition with Serious Potential

There’s something special about being part of an inaugural event. It’s unpredictable, a little raw and buzzing with a different kind of energy. You’re not just racing; you’re helping shape the culture around it. Gravel Burn could very well become South Africa’s flagship gravel stage race. It has the name behind it, the structure to support it and the rider trust to build momentum quickly.

Will we see top international gravel pros on the start line in years to come, the way the Cape Epic attracts the world’s best mountain bikers? Will it grow into a global gravel destination? Only time will tell. But if the early signals are anything to go by, this is a story worth following closely.

For the amateurs lining up, this is a chance to ride the same roads as the pros, to share campfires and war stories, and to experience something that feels fresh yet familiar. For the pros, it’s an opportunity to race hard on some of the best gravel in the southern hemisphere.

And for many women, it’s a statement. We belong here. We’re not just filling quotas. We’re leading the pack, too.

Photo Credit: Raineduponmedia

Watching Gravel Burn Unfold

There’s a certain electricity around a first-time event. You can feel it brewing in the gravel community. Will this become South Africa’s next great race? Will the world take notice the way they did with the Epic?

We’re ready to watch, to ride and to tell the stories that emerge from those long dusty stages. The riders, the moments, the heartbreak, the triumph. This is gravel. And this is just the beginning.

Gravel Burn Race Details

• Event: Gravel Burn

• Discipline: Gravel stage race

• RACE WEEK: 26 OCTOBER – 1 NOVEMBER 2O25

• Location: South Africa

• Website: www.gravelburn.com