Gravel burn 2025

[jcza]

For those interested I rode a Canyon Grail CF SL with AXS, 10-50 cassette and 42T chainring. More than enough gears for all the climbs. Pirelli Cinturato tyres with Vittoria inserts, 40mm rear and 45mm front. No punctures or mechanicals. Didn't change brake pads even with the rain. AXS battery needed charging, but I suspect it was the extreme cold temps in Avontuur. 

[lukelockie]

On 10/31/2025 at 11:13 AM, Shebeen said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DP3I2M_jIvu/?hl=en

 

in unrelated news, I was not aware that Ollie is doing it on this Avalanche Dust. probably a whole bunch of Titans that also cost less than the weeks' entry fee.

He rode the ROAM. It's just under R34k for the entire bike; the only change he made was riding a set of relatively old CSixx wheels that he had at home. 

[Shebeen]

11 hours ago, jcza said:

Home safe and will be back in office tomorrow. What an adventure! 

Awesome. 

 

11 hours ago, jcza said:

 I recall someone mentioned entries fees of R4m but I think this cost at least 3 times that. The scale is hard to explain. I don't have an issue with the entry fee, I am satisfied that I received value for my money. 

The napkin math is 500*R50k = R25m. Obviously not everyone pays, but that is way off R4m (so there must be some funny talk in the village). I'm not sure how much of a market there is for this. It's not too hard to see a budget version with minimal accom/food and provincial roads - and some one will fill that gap if they believe there is a bigger market for this. The pricing for Garden Route Giro seems too high as mentioned higher in this thread.

11 hours ago, jcza said:

Overall, it was fantastic and I have no regrets. Will I do it again? If the route is the same, then it's a no from me. Route change then very likely. Kudos to Kevin Vermaak and team, I know there are many critics, but pulling this off was some achievement.  

While they obviously got big support from landowners who hosted evenings, I would like to think the route would move each year. Shamwari could be used as final stage again without duplicating much.

[Shebeen]

1 hour ago, lukelockie said:

He rode the ROAM. It's just under R34k for the entire bike; the only change he made was riding a set of relatively old CSixx wheels that he had at home. 

my bad. That's the carbon one, the DUST is the alu GB from Avalanche.

 

 

[BuffsVintageBikes]

Yeah, those CSixx wheels doubled the value of the bike but the bike itself is still good value for money.

I think it's safe to say that the inaugural event was a huge success and that this race is just going to go from strength to strength, as I'm sure most of us expected from the day it was announced. Almost every Pro that I follow on IG has had nothing but praise for the entire experience.

Sure there were teething problems but that was to be expected on an event of this scale and magnitude, especially in those remote locations. The weather is something no one can predict, it's how you handle the chaos that matters most.

Personally I really enjoyed following the feed on their website daily and I thought the evenings hi-lights package was exceptional but that to be expected from Bigshot media after so many years of shooting the Epic. I'm just sad they missed all the drama with Ashleigh's puncture because that was huge in the context of the race. Live feed would be great but I'm not sure that's going to be possible in those remote locations.

Chatting to the media crew and bikers, there were things that they need to improve there as well but I'm sure that will be part of the learning curve and improved in 2026.

Next year is going to be a humdinger for sure.

[jcza]

22 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

Awesome. 

 

The napkin math is 500*R50k = R25m. Obviously not everyone pays, but that is way off R4m (so there must be some funny talk in the village). I'm not sure how much of a market there is for this. It's not too hard to see a budget version with minimal accom/food and provincial roads - and some one will fill that gap if they believe there is a bigger market for this. The pricing for Garden Route Giro seems too high as mentioned higher in this thread.

While they obviously got big support from landowners who hosted evenings, I would like to think the route would move each year. Shamwari could be used as final stage again without duplicating much.

Sorry! Not from the village, from the hub, I misread betaboys post where he was referring to entry fees for a specific age bracket and not the entire field. 

[Bub Marley]

16 hours ago, jcza said:

Home safe and will be back in office tomorrow. What an adventure! 

Organization was great but there were some small problems. Showers and toilets must be improved. Meals were outstanding and special thanks to the serving staff. The Vida team rocked and I was amazed at the number of coffees served so rapidly every day. Amacx nutrition and the padstals (water points) were superb. The new Amacx frozen gel when its 40c is a lifesaver. I recall someone mentioned entries fees of R4m but I think this cost at least 3 times that. The scale is hard to explain. I don't have an issue with the entry fee, I am satisfied that I received value for my money. Experience with mates that we will talk about for years to come. In my opinion the route wasn't the best. Day 1 was great, conditions made it challenging but nothing the organizer can do about the weather. Day 2 wasn't bad. 2 hour bus ride was a pain. Day 3 was great and challenging. Day 4 we battled the wind but again cannot fault the organizer. Day 5 had too much tar and day 6 was overly technical. I know it was neutralized but we still rode 144km and experienced wind, rain, hail, heat etc. Weather beyond their control but too much technical and I cannot see how it can be safely raced on gravel bikes. Consider that a professional rider on a MTB ended up in hospital. Day 7 was great and felt like proper gravel, although tar again with last minute route change. I'm not sure why. In the buildup I heard many references to champagne gravel but did not see much champagne gravel, unless tar also counts as champagne gravel. 

Overall, it was fantastic and I have no regrets. Will I do it again? If the route is the same, then it's a no from me. Route change then very likely. Kudos to Kevin Vermaak and team, I know there are many critics, but pulling this off was some achievement.  

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Was it only the one day that was overly technical? How were the other days in terms of technical, ruggedness etc. And how tough was the race? Racing 7 days gravel is pretty new still. In comparison to a mtb stage race etc.

[jcza]

51 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Was it only the one day that was overly technical? How were the other days in terms of technical, ruggedness etc. And how tough was the race? Racing 7 days gravel is pretty new still. In comparison to a mtb stage race etc.

There were plenty corrugations but one cannot complain about corrugations when riding gravel in the karoo. I think it was day 2 where there was a technical section called The Shallot but it was short and necessary to get over a little hill. The neutralized stage 6 (think it was supposed to be the queen stage) had the long rocky/technical section. We all rode it but nobody raced it and a MTB would be better suited. 

[MongooseMan]

Obviously I wasn't there, but find it interesting how polarised the stage 6 feelings are.

A lot of negative in this thread (and again, I can't comment on that), but then, on Strava, from an amateur:

And then Payson on instagram:

 

Some would argue that a good gravel event has to walk that line. My feeling is that, barring the wind, there'd be a lot less concern about stage 6.

Edited November 3, 2025 by MongooseMan

[Bub Marley]

8 minutes ago, MongooseMan said:

Obviously I wasn't there, but find it interesting how polarised the stage 6 feelings are.

A lot of negative in this thread (and again, I can't comment on that), but then, on Strava, from an amateur:

And then Payson on instagram:

 

Some would argue that a good gravel event has to walk that line. My feeling is that, barring the wind, there'd be a lot less concern about stage 6.

Suppose it depends on the persons skill level. 

 

In the US, loads of gravel races include singletrack sections etc. I’ve seen some videos of them absolutely gunning it through a single track forest on drop bars. I probably wouldnt even keep up with flat bars.

 

So yeah, it really depends on how skilled everyone is. I think equipment also plays a huge role. If you running wider tyres you can run lower pressure which helps not only with traction but also puncture protection. A narrow tyre will be way more susceptible to flats, the rougher the terrain.

[Eugene Oppelt]

Working in preparation with endurance athletes in both high performance and in pure participation categories, I had a Golden Rule in place for every one of my clients who went to Burn some Gravel:

Expect the unexpected and focus on responding, resilience and recalibrating. However, only on a foundation of solid training on the dusty klipperige sandy stuff.

The Karoo is a magical place. Some say mystical. Geographically, an adventure around every corner. I've spent a bit of time there doing timeless rides in SkaapLand over the years and, geez, simply cannot imagine racing it for 7 consecutive days at the scale of the stages during GB 2025. 

My beautiful country. 🇿🇦

[Danger Dassie]

As far as something like stage 6 goes. I think it depends on what your riding background is coming into gravel. Generally.
In my experience, those with an MTB base enjoy it. Those coming from a road base, not so much. 

[jcza]

1 hour ago, MongooseMan said:

Obviously I wasn't there, but find it interesting how polarised the stage 6 feelings are.

A lot of negative in this thread (and again, I can't comment on that), but then, on Strava, from an amateur:

And then Payson on instagram:

 

Some would argue that a good gravel event has to walk that line. My feeling is that, barring the wind, there'd be a lot less concern about stage 6.

At the start we were told it was neutral to Padstal (WP) 1 but at 33km into the stage at the top of the first climb the race came to a standstill when Adri Frischknecht crashed. We were then told the entire stage is neutral. Nobody really seemed to mind. Not sure if it was neutralized because of the wind (everyone carried on riding in the wind) or because of the terrain not suitable to racing.  

[Eugene Oppelt]

Tour de France, 1925

[betaboy]

Do you know how many DNF’s? Can’t see them listed on the site? 🤔

[hboli4]

I spoke to one of the mechanics at the event. IIRC he said they were caught by surprise after the wet day one - had to replace something like 800 sets of brakepads...had someone drive in with stock from Cape Town. They had 250 pre-booked packages but had most of the field walk-in after day one.

Loads of tyre replacements - some guys from Europe rocking up with 38cc tyres and tubes.

Think they replaced about 40 wheelsets he said - both alu and carbon.

And sold his shoes to someone who left his beside the fire to dry to find them melted to balls of plastic.