Alison Jackson turned Nedbank Gravel Burn’s shortest, flattest day into a proper sprinter’s party on 28 October 2026, winning Stage 4 of the seven-day Eastern Cape gravel race ahead of Larissa Hartog and Nathalie Eklund. The 61km loop, with 550m of climbing, was always likely to be quick. It still had to be raced, though, and Stage 4 delivered the highest average speeds of the race so far.
Jackson, the 2023 Paris-Roubaix winner racing for St Michel – Preference Home – Auber93, used her road positioning and finishing speed to take the Pro Women’s stage in 1:55:13. Hartog of Canyon DT Swiss ATR and Eklund of 58&fam finished on the same time, with Hartog second and Eklund third.
The bigger picture stayed beautifully tense. Nele Laing of Canyon DT Swiss ATR lost 2 seconds to Hayley Preen of ChemChamp Honeycomb on the women’s general classification, but still holds the Orange Jersey by 56 seconds going into Stage 5. Laing leads the Pro Women’s GC on 13:24:40, Preen is second on 13:25:36, and Clara Marie Koppenburg of Tudor Pro Cycling is third on 13:28:54, 4:14 back.
Fast roads, tight seconds
Stage 4 looked gentle on paper: short, rolling, and with no major selective climbs. Gravel, being the lovable menace that it is, does not read paper. Fast rolling roads, relatively flat terrain and perfect weather in the remote Great Karoo made it the quickest day of the race so far.
Two battles came into view on Stage 4: the fight for general classification, where every second counts, and the chance for riders out of GC contention to chase a stage win. The release described the stage as raced from the gun, while amateur riders had a shorter midway day that left more afternoon time in Burn Camp.
For the women’s race, the attacks came but none stayed away. The group worked together towards the Klein-Visrivier climb, which also served as the day’s Toyota Power Climb, before the tactics sharpened for the run-in.
Laing and Preen both had eyes on the Toyota Power Climb competition. Laing leads that classification, with Preen second on points and wearing the jersey as caretaker. Laing said she and Preen had the same plan: drop back, then surge back to the group. They reached the top together, with the timing mats separating them by fractions of a second. Preen was marginally faster, reducing Laing’s overall lead in that competition.
With 10km to go, Hartog tried to light the fuse. The bunch shut it down, the pace dropped, and the sprint chess began. Laing said Canyon DT Swiss ATR’s plan had been to back Hartog, who she described as their best sprinter.
Jackson, though, had the last word. She crossed the line first for her first Nedbank Gravel Burn stage victory, with Hartog and Eklund credited on the same finishing time. Jackson said winning was “a special type of fun” and noted that her first few days had not gone to plan because of crashes and mechanicals, but that she knew she could sprint at the end.
Stedman goes long in the men’s sprint
In the Pro Men’s race, Travis Stedman of Toyota Specialized Imbuko attacked from a select group with 1km to go and held off Ryan Gibbons of RoadCover SunGod and Cole Davis of Speed Studio. Stedman won in 1:28:08 at an average speed of 41.3km/h, with Gibbons second at 1:28:10 and Davis third on the same time.
Stedman’s move came after a breakaway formed after 40km. Gibbons said an initial group of six got away before it grew to about 15 riders. Stedman had already attacked on the Klein-Visrivier Toyota Power Climb and again with 15km remaining, but both moves were closed down. His final kick worked, giving him a second Nedbank Gravel Burn stage win after Stage 7 in 2025.
Matthew Beers of Toyota Specialized extended his Pro Men’s GC lead by 1 second over Filippo Colombo of SCOTT-SRAM. Beers leads on 10:54:08, Colombo is second at 10:54:40, 32 seconds back, and Tristan Nortje of Toyota Specialized Imbuko is third on 10:54:59, 51 seconds down.
Nickolas Zukowsky of Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling took the lead in the Toyota Power Climber Jersey competition after targeting the Klein-Visrivier section with help from teammate Marcel Camprubi. Toyota Specialized Imbuko remain leaders of the Pro Men’s Teams Classification on 70 points, while Canyon DT Swiss ATR lead the Pro Women’s Teams Classification on 80 points.
Red Bull KM and what comes next
Stage 4 also included the Red Bull KM, a 1km flat-out effort where the top 30 riders qualify for the Night Burn on Stage 6. Riders still had to complete the full 61km course after emptying the tank, which is delightfully cruel. Fabiano Cellini and Lena Ronge of Trail Angels topped the Red Bull KM rankings, with Ronge fastest woman on the section for the second time.
Next up is Stage 5, a 128km route that looks straightforward on the profile and less friendly once you remember it comes on day five of a 750km stage race. The course follows the Great Fish River basin, crosses host farmer Cole’s dairy lands to a remote finish at the orange windmill, and includes a sharp climb at the 107km mark. From the finish, riders have a 7km liaison into Gwanishi, where the Karoo scrub gives way to greener subtropical thicket.
The Stage 5 preview also points to a tactical squeeze: riders out of contention are likely to have leeway to attack on rolling valley roads that suit long-range breakaways, while category leaders have to decide whether to chase or save energy for the weekend.
Nedbank Gravel Burn is a seven-day, 750km gravel stage race in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. It starts in Robert Sobukwe Town / Graaff-Reinet, runs through the Great Karoo with riders staying in purpose-built Burn Camps, and finishes in Big 5 territory at Shamwari Private Game Reserve.