With just under two weeks to go before the race gets underway in South Africa’s Karoo Desert, the Gravel Burn race organisers have published the final start list. Double Olympic champion Tom Pidcock will not be taking part, and Nino Schurter – who suffered a serious crash on a mountain scooter in early September – will, contrary to expectations, not be on the start line either. Instead, his compatriots Filippo Colombo and Andri Frischknecht, as well as road cycling professional Simon Pellaud, will be going for victory this year. However, on the dusty desert tracks, they’ll be up against the Brazilian XC World Cup racer and marathon world champion Henrique Avancini.
A total prize fund of 150,000 dollars
In fact, the camp could once again prove to be one of the biggest challenges for the professional elite, as the ‘self-catering’ principle applies to them here too: technical support, tents, bag transport and meals are provided by the organisers. However, participants have to take care of washing their own clothes – which became an increasingly daunting task given the rain, hail and mud of the first edition.
The new regulations for 2026
Whilst only individual riders took part last year, there will now also be a team classification this year. Up to four riders may register together.
In addition, an ‘Adaptive Bike’ category is being introduced for the first time. This is a separate class for wheelchair users and hand cyclists. Such a start was also Tarek Rasouli was recently reflecting on his Transalp ride with Danny MacAskill returned. However, it will be too late for him to register as well. For safety reasons, the start list has been limited to a maximum of 500 participants. But the workload for the organisers would simply be too great if the field were any larger. After all, even with this year’s route, the entire camp has to be dismantled every two days and set up again at the next stage location.
Anyone who still wants to try for a starting place can put their name on the waiting list. Or they might prefer to watch the pros on their trek through the South African Karoo Desert on screen once again. The now verified list of stars from the road cycling, mountain biking, cyclo-cross and gravel biking scenes is already a long one:
Gravel Burn 2026 – the men’s professional start list
- Henrique Avancini – The two-time mountain bike marathon world champion from Brazil is making his debut at Gravel Burn.
- Filippo Colombo - The 28-year-old Swiss rider was still competing on a mountain bike at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, but has recently been switching to road cycling from time to time.
- Simon Pellaud The Swiss professional road cyclist finished second last year and, following a strong season, is now looking to take his revenge in South Africa.
- Andreas Seewald – The German mountain biker has been a regular winner of the marathon world championship title for the past few years and will be teaming up with Lukas Baum hold their own at the front of the pack at the Gravel Burn too.
- Lukas Baum & Georg Egger - The German Cape Epic ‘dream team’ is now set to give it a go on gravel bikes in South Africa. But as individual entrants.
- Karl Platt – Will the stage race specialist and multiple Cape Epic winner be competing this year with wider tyres and a suspension fork?
- Matt Beers The local hero won the race last year and will be determined to defend his title with everything he’s got. His knowledge of the local area is, of course, a major advantage.
64 women on the starting line
64 women from the world of professional cycling have registered for the Gravel Burn. That is significantly fewer than in the first edition, when 92 women lined up at the start. It’s a shame, as the female participants in the Gravel Burn receive the same prize money as the men. Nevertheless, this year’s line-up still features some top-class international female riders.
- Alison Jackson (CAN) – The charismatic winner of Paris-Roubaix Femmes brings immense strength in sprints and the classics to the race.
- Clara Koppenburg (GER) – Another German road cyclist with exceptional climbing ability who has joined the Tudor Gravel Team this year.
The organiser’s official start list is now available View here.
The Gravel Burn Route 2026
The camps in the desert will be used twice this year on four separate occasions. This also saves the participants the trouble of packing up every morning.
- Stage 1, 25 October: Graaff Reinet – Blaauwater. 90 kilometres, 1,450 metres of elevation gain. Right at the start, the route climbs up to Conical Peak, before a rough descent leads to the first camp.
- Stage 2, 26 October: Blaauwater – Blaauwater. 111 kilometres, 1,450 metres of elevation gain. The circular route takes in, amongst other places, the Sneeuberg Nature Reserve and Nieu-Bethesda.
- Stage 3, 27 October: Blaauwater – Merino. 137 kilometres, 1,550 metres of elevation gain. The longest stage takes in the Wapadsberg Pass and ends after the climb to the Swaershoek Pass.
- Stage 4, 28 October: Merino – Merino. 61 kilometres, 550 metres of elevation gain. The short circuit should provide an opportunity for a faster, tactical race.
- Stage 5, 29 October: Merino – Gwanishi. 128 kilometres, 1,050 metres of elevation gain. The route continues through the remote Karoo along gravel roads and farm tracks.
- Stage 6, 30 October: Gwanishi – Shamwari. 76 kilometres of racing, 700 metres of elevation gain. This is followed by a 33-kilometre, non-scored connecting stage into the game reserve.
- Stage 7, 31 October: Shamwari – Shamwari. 82 kilometres, 1,250 metres of elevation gain. The final stage is a circuit through the reserve, which is also home to elephants, rhinos and lions.
Information: gravel-burn.com
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor