Nele Laing turned Stage 3 of Nedbank Gravel Burn 2026 into another statement ride on 27 October, winning the women’s race on the Swaershoek Pass finish and stretching her grip on both the Orange Jersey and the Toyota Power Climber Jersey.
Laing makes the climb count
The Canyon DT Swiss ATR rider finished the 137km stage from Blaauwater Farm to Merino in 4:38:47, 19 seconds ahead of Hayley Preen of ChemChamp Honeycomb, with Alexis Skarda of SCOTT-SRAM third at 36 seconds. It was Laing’s second stage win of the week, and it came on the race’s oddball day: part road-race chess match, part Karoo wind tunnel, part gravel punch-up, and finally a steep little sting in the legs.
Stage 3 packed 1,550m of climbing into its 137km, with a large tarred portion that pushed bunch skills and positioning right to the front of the exam paper. Wapadsberg Pass, topping out at 1,730m, gave the first proper read on who could stay in the GC fight, but the bigger damage came from the crosswinds raking across the open Karoo. Riders had to fight for shelter, wheels and position before the race even hit the rougher farm roads.
When the tar ended, close to 40km of gravel farm roads gave dropped riders a chance to regroup before the final selection. Swaershoek Pass, the day’s Toyota Power Climb, delivered the decisive blow: 5km of climbing with ramps up to 15%, finishing at the windmill at the summit. Not exactly a spa treatment for tired quads.
In the women’s race, the group stayed together over Wapadsberg before the crosswind sections turned the stage into a full-contact lesson in road craft. Skarda said she had expected something calmer, before the field ended up in what she described as “20km of sprinting for the wheel across the road” under pressure from Alison Jackson.
Jackson, riding for St Michel – Preference Home – Auber93, brought her Classics bite to the Karoo after winning Paris-Roubaix in 2023. Preen pointed to the muddy, bumpy farm section as Jackson territory, saying she had thought Jackson would love it because it was “just like the cobbles of Roubaix”.
A group of 10 came back together before Swaershoek, but with 16km to race, the stage became a proper attrition test in sun and wind. Preen, Skarda, Laing and Jackson rode clear, and Jackson was the first to attack on the lower slopes. The others shut that move down on the steeper ramps before Laing went clear alone. Jackson finished eighth.
Skarda chased but could not close the final gap to Laing, later saying she had burned “a lot of matches on the tar sections” before Preen came past her. Laing, meanwhile, bounced back from a crash the previous day, saying she felt better than expected in the morning and found her groove quickly once racing began.
The time gaps now give Laing a useful but not unbreakable lead. After three stages, she tops the women’s general classification in 11:29:25, with Preen second at 58 seconds and Clara Marie Koppenburg of Tudor Pro Cycling third at 4:12. The women’s field covered the Stage 3 route 22:45 faster than the same route at Nedbank Gravel Burn 2025.
Men’s race and GC
In the men’s race, Eddy Le Huitouze of The Grip won Stage 3 at the summit in 3:45:00, outclimbing Simon Pellaud of Cervélo Assos Maxxis, who finished 46 seconds down, and teammate Jordy Bouts, who was third at 1:47. Matt Beers of Toyota Specialized had to chase with his nearest rivals, including Tristan Nortje of Toyota Specialized Imbuko, but closed the gap to the lead group on the climb and kept the Orange Leader Jersey.
Beers leads the men’s GC in 9:23:19, 31 seconds ahead of Filippo Colombo of SCOTT-SRAM, with Nortje third at 50 seconds. Nortje’s ride on the pass also moved him into the Toyota Power Climber Jersey.
Stage 4: short, sharp and probably not chilled
Stage 4 is the shortest day of Nedbank Gravel Burn 2026, a 61km loop expected by the organisers to be fast and rolling rather than gentle. Shepherd’s Cog comes early, followed by Grootdam, before Klein-Visrivier hosts the Toyota Power Climb.
The day also includes the Red Bull KM, a 1,000m gravel speed test with a place in the Night Burn on the line. With fewer selective climbs on the route, the organisers expect a group of top professionals could arrive together for a sprint finish.
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, crosses the Great Karoo, uses shared Burn Camps for riders, and finishes in Big 5 territory at Shamwari Private Game Reserve.