On 30 October 2026, Nedbank Gravel Burn Stage 6 finished outside Shamwari Private Game Reserve with a fresh Pro Women’s stage winner and the overall race still wonderfully unresolved. Nathalie Eklund was awarded the stage victory after a commissaires’ ruling in the sprint, while Nele Laing kept the Orange Jersey with Hayley Preen 56 seconds back.
The penultimate stage covered 76km from Merino towards the orange windmill finish, with 700m of climbing, mixed road surfaces and several river crossings. After the racing, the field had a 33km liaison through Shamwari Private Game Reserve — a rare gravel stage-race transfer with proper Big Five country flavour.
GC tension and the climb jersey
Laing began the day 56 seconds ahead of Preen, and that gap remained the central thread of the Pro Women’s race. Larissa Hartog made an early move on the approach to the Kommadagga climb, but Alexis Skarda closed it down, and the GC contenders did not commit to turning it into a decisive break.
The Toyota Power Climb to Frontier gave Preen something tangible to take from the day. She won the section, drew level with Laing on points, and moved into the Toyota Power Climber Jersey because she had three climb wins to Laing’s two.
A sprint result changed by ruling
The finish was settled after the line rather than on it. A group including Preen, Eklund, Hartog, Clara Koppenburg, Alison Jackson and Laing came to the sprint together, but a protest and review of race footage led commissaires to relegate Preen, Koppenburg and Carolin Schiff for failing to heed a safety warning from a race official in the run-in.
That decision lifted Eklund to first on the stage, with Hartog second and Jackson third. The official Pro Women’s Stage 6 podium was Eklund in 2:23:11, Hartog on the same time, and Jackson one second back.
The ruling did not alter the general classification. Laing remained first overall in 19:42:23, Preen stayed second at 56 seconds, and Clara Marie Koppenburg sat third at 4:17 before the final stage.
Why Stage 6 mattered
For women who love the sharp end of gravel racing, Stage 6 had the whole toolbox on show: positioning, climb points, river crossings, sprint craft and the small matter of listening when an official gives an instruction. Watts matter, absolutely — but this was a reminder that stage racing also rewards calm heads and tidy decision-making when the day turns messy.