Garden Route Giro - 2026

[DJuice]

52 minutes ago, Patchelicious said:

9am

How was today? 

[Patchelicious]

10 hours ago, DJuice said:

How was today? 

Yeah, that Stage 5 was a pretty long day out. It was basically the Karoo to Coast route plus some. 126km with 2000m climbing.

The first 25km of gravel was nice and fast, with some good racing and a few steep little pinches.

 

Then there was a long 30km tar road section where I got stuck between two groups. I didn’t want the embarrassment of being caught by the group behind, but I also wasn’t quite able to catch the group in front, so that was pretty fun.

 

Prince Alfred Pass on the way down actually wasn’t too bad. There’s a very rocky section in the middle, but manageable. The sketchiest part was between the climbs on the way to Knysna. That section was really, really rough, especially on the descents.

 

From about kilometre 50 through to 126, it was basically non-stop bumpiness. Either potholes on the Knysna Forest road or corrugation. The roads also weren’t closed, which added another layer of risk. I know there were some pretty scary moments on those descents. There was one accident where a guy hit a car head-on. He seems to be okay, but his bike’s completely wrecked.

 

Overall, it was a very bumpy stage. It took more out of the body than the legs, just from hanging on the whole time. Suspension, or at least some form of front compliance, is definitely a worthwhile investment for roads like these.

[sboschnoob]

Final stage recap. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbOkvKqfI44

 

[the_roadie]

What an incredible week! Here's my thoughts on GRG vs GB:

TLDR; Garden Route Giro has a better route (#propergravel 99% of the way), but the organization  and communication can be better. Gravel Burn is an all inclusive event (you don't open your wallet once during the entire event), but the route for 2025 was not as good as GRG, and there were a lot more MTB sections disguised as "gravel".

I really enjoyed GRG. It was hard, very very hard. I died a thousand deaths on most of the stages but probably also because I had a goal to reach top 5 in vets GC at the end and there was some good competition that did not make that easy. I had to work for every second gained.

My review of the event and organization:

Route - Very good in my opinion. They used tar where they couldn't find suitable gravel which is fine and a better choice than taking riders through rough jeep track. This is where GB did not get it right. There was some corrugation, that's unavoidable. But it's also something you can use to your advantage if you're racing. It was interesting seeing strong guys getting blown off the back in the final section of corrugation on Saturday's stage because they're going to slow. Fast is smooth, smooth is fast.

Accommodation - I stayed in a luxury tent. I think it's the best option and was very comfortable. Normal beds with normal thick mattresses you'd find in a 3 or 4 star hotel and clean linen. With electricity and enough room to stand up and a large side table. Better than the tents at GB.

Food - Good, but not enough. They seemed very strict on controlling how much everyone dishes. I only eat oats for breakfast and had to tell the chef, listen, I'm dishing 2 bowls of oats because I'm not having bacon and eggs. Also no included drinks or water with the meals. You had to buy your own. Also no snacks in between meals. This is where GB won hands down. You could basically eat from 1pm to 10pm non stop if you wanted. Everything was included (lunch, drinks, snacks, etc.)

Ablutions & Facilities - Pretty good, but for some reason they seemed to have more female ablutions set up at the Calitzdorp stop than male. Not sure how they figured that since the majority of entrants were male. GB won here as well since the ablutions they built were unisex and very well done.

Water - I'm not a fan of trusting local water sources, especially not during a race. Maybe that's why I've never gotten sick during a race. So using a tap to fill my bottles was not going to be an option. At GB they had purified and chilled water stations we could use. At GRG they seemed to tap from a borehole / tap and then run it through a big plastic container. I ended up buying water from local shops. Yes, I'm full of s***, but I'm not risking a ~R50k race entry and prep on dirty water. Point for GB here.

Communication - Disappointing and frustrating. Lots that GRG need to improve here. Some examples: I booked a service package, but received no communication and it took multiple attempts to get this confirmed and resolved with Dryland. Same with shuttle service, never got added to the whatsapp group and my shuttle confirmed. Had to get another rider to add me. Also at the venues it wasn't always clear where things are and I only received sporadic whatsapp messages with stage briefings and media. Same with the bike transport to the remote start at De Rust. Only some riders received the SMS. I know these might sound like small things, and yes, I did manage to get the information I needed, but when you're tired after a hard stage, you don't want to walk around trying to figure out where to get water. This is where GB shined. There communication is excellent and at no point during the event (and months before) did I ever wonder about anything. Their app also made it very easy to know what and when things were happening at each venue.

Summary - I would definitely do GRG again, even if they changed nothing. If I could only do 1, based only on the current route for GRG and last years route for GB, I would rather do GRG. But if I could only do 1 based on the overall experience, I would do GB. It just felt like more value for your money. I'm doing GB in October, and I'm hoping the changes to the route brings it more in line with GRG's proper gravel route.

 

[milky4130]

14 minutes ago, the_roadie said:

What an incredible week! Here's my thoughts on GRG vs GB:

TLDR; Garden Route Giro has a better route (#propergravel 99% of the way), but the organization  and communication can be better. Gravel Burn is an all inclusive event (you don't open your wallet once during the entire event), but the route for 2025 was not as good as GRG, and there were a lot more MTB sections disguised as "gravel".

I really enjoyed GRG. It was hard, very very hard. I died a thousand deaths on most of the stages but probably also because I had a goal to reach top 5 in vets GC at the end and there was some good competition that did not make that easy. I had to work for every second gained.

My review of the event and organization:

Route - Very good in my opinion. They used tar where they couldn't find suitable gravel which is fine and a better choice than taking riders through rough jeep track. This is where GB did not get it right. There was some corrugation, that's unavoidable. But it's also something you can use to your advantage if you're racing. It was interesting seeing strong guys getting blown off the back in the final section of corrugation on Saturday's stage because they're going to slow. Fast is smooth, smooth is fast.

Accommodation - I stayed in a luxury tent. I think it's the best option and was very comfortable. Normal beds with normal thick mattresses you'd find in a 3 or 4 star hotel and clean linen. With electricity and enough room to stand up and a large side table. Better than the tents at GB.

Food - Good, but not enough. They seemed very strict on controlling how much everyone dishes. I only eat oats for breakfast and had to tell the chef, listen, I'm dishing 2 bowls of oats because I'm not having bacon and eggs. Also no included drinks or water with the meals. You had to buy your own. Also no snacks in between meals. This is where GB won hands down. You could basically eat from 1pm to 10pm non stop if you wanted. Everything was included (lunch, drinks, snacks, etc.)

Ablutions & Facilities - Pretty good, but for some reason they seemed to have more female ablutions set up at the Calitzdorp stop than male. Not sure how they figured that since the majority of entrants were male. GB won here as well since the ablutions they built were unisex and very well done.

Water - I'm not a fan of trusting local water sources, especially not during a race. Maybe that's why I've never gotten sick during a race. So using a tap to fill my bottles was not going to be an option. At GB they had purified and chilled water stations we could use. At GRG they seemed to tap from a borehole / tap and then run it through a big plastic container. I ended up buying water from local shops. Yes, I'm full of s***, but I'm not risking a ~R50k race entry and prep on dirty water. Point for GB here.

Communication - Disappointing and frustrating. Lots that GRG need to improve here. Some examples: I booked a service package, but received no communication and it took multiple attempts to get this confirmed and resolved with Dryland. Same with shuttle service, never got added to the whatsapp group and my shuttle confirmed. Had to get another rider to add me. Also at the venues it wasn't always clear where things are and I only received sporadic whatsapp messages with stage briefings and media. Same with the bike transport to the remote start at De Rust. Only some riders received the SMS. I know these might sound like small things, and yes, I did manage to get the information I needed, but when you're tired after a hard stage, you don't want to walk around trying to figure out where to get water. This is where GB shined. There communication is excellent and at no point during the event (and months before) did I ever wonder about anything. Their app also made it very easy to know what and when things were happening at each venue.

Summary - I would definitely do GRG again, even if they changed nothing. If I could only do 1, based only on the current route for GRG and last years route for GB, I would rather do GRG. But if I could only do 1 based on the overall experience, I would do GB. It just felt like more value for your money. I'm doing GB in October, and I'm hoping the changes to the route brings it more in line with GRG's proper gravel route.

 

Great feedback, as a matter of interest what was the price difference between the two events?

[the_roadie]

2 minutes ago, milky4130 said:

Great feedback, as a matter of interest what was the price difference between the two events?

For GB last year I paid R45,990 (R6,570 per stage), and for GRG the total with entry, food and accomodation was R38,750 (R6,458 per stage). So the per stage cost is very similar.

For this year GB is R54,990.

[Bub Marley]

1 hour ago, the_roadie said:

What an incredible week! Here's my thoughts on GRG vs GB:

TLDR; Garden Route Giro has a better route (#propergravel 99% of the way), but the organization  and communication can be better. Gravel Burn is an all inclusive event (you don't open your wallet once during the entire event), but the route for 2025 was not as good as GRG, and there were a lot more MTB sections disguised as "gravel".

I really enjoyed GRG. It was hard, very very hard. I died a thousand deaths on most of the stages but probably also because I had a goal to reach top 5 in vets GC at the end and there was some good competition that did not make that easy. I had to work for every second gained.

My review of the event and organization:

Route - Very good in my opinion. They used tar where they couldn't find suitable gravel which is fine and a better choice than taking riders through rough jeep track. This is where GB did not get it right. There was some corrugation, that's unavoidable. But it's also something you can use to your advantage if you're racing. It was interesting seeing strong guys getting blown off the back in the final section of corrugation on Saturday's stage because they're going to slow. Fast is smooth, smooth is fast.

Accommodation - I stayed in a luxury tent. I think it's the best option and was very comfortable. Normal beds with normal thick mattresses you'd find in a 3 or 4 star hotel and clean linen. With electricity and enough room to stand up and a large side table. Better than the tents at GB.

Food - Good, but not enough. They seemed very strict on controlling how much everyone dishes. I only eat oats for breakfast and had to tell the chef, listen, I'm dishing 2 bowls of oats because I'm not having bacon and eggs. Also no included drinks or water with the meals. You had to buy your own. Also no snacks in between meals. This is where GB won hands down. You could basically eat from 1pm to 10pm non stop if you wanted. Everything was included (lunch, drinks, snacks, etc.)

Ablutions & Facilities - Pretty good, but for some reason they seemed to have more female ablutions set up at the Calitzdorp stop than male. Not sure how they figured that since the majority of entrants were male. GB won here as well since the ablutions they built were unisex and very well done.

Water - I'm not a fan of trusting local water sources, especially not during a race. Maybe that's why I've never gotten sick during a race. So using a tap to fill my bottles was not going to be an option. At GB they had purified and chilled water stations we could use. At GRG they seemed to tap from a borehole / tap and then run it through a big plastic container. I ended up buying water from local shops. Yes, I'm full of s***, but I'm not risking a ~R50k race entry and prep on dirty water. Point for GB here.

Communication - Disappointing and frustrating. Lots that GRG need to improve here. Some examples: I booked a service package, but received no communication and it took multiple attempts to get this confirmed and resolved with Dryland. Same with shuttle service, never got added to the whatsapp group and my shuttle confirmed. Had to get another rider to add me. Also at the venues it wasn't always clear where things are and I only received sporadic whatsapp messages with stage briefings and media. Same with the bike transport to the remote start at De Rust. Only some riders received the SMS. I know these might sound like small things, and yes, I did manage to get the information I needed, but when you're tired after a hard stage, you don't want to walk around trying to figure out where to get water. This is where GB shined. There communication is excellent and at no point during the event (and months before) did I ever wonder about anything. Their app also made it very easy to know what and when things were happening at each venue.

Summary - I would definitely do GRG again, even if they changed nothing. If I could only do 1, based only on the current route for GRG and last years route for GB, I would rather do GRG. But if I could only do 1 based on the overall experience, I would do GB. It just felt like more value for your money. I'm doing GB in October, and I'm hoping the changes to the route brings it more in line with GRG's proper gravel route.

 

This is extremely helpful. Thanks mate. 

[babse]

2 hours ago, the_roadie said:

What an incredible week! Here's my thoughts on GRG vs GB:

TLDR; Garden Route Giro has a better route (#propergravel 99% of the way), but the organization  and communication can be better. Gravel Burn is an all inclusive event (you don't open your wallet once during the entire event), but the route for 2025 was not as good as GRG, and there were a lot more MTB sections disguised as "gravel".

I really enjoyed GRG. It was hard, very very hard. I died a thousand deaths on most of the stages but probably also because I had a goal to reach top 5 in vets GC at the end and there was some good competition that did not make that easy. I had to work for every second gained.

My review of the event and organization:

Route - Very good in my opinion. They used tar where they couldn't find suitable gravel which is fine and a better choice than taking riders through rough jeep track. This is where GB did not get it right. There was some corrugation, that's unavoidable. But it's also something you can use to your advantage if you're racing. It was interesting seeing strong guys getting blown off the back in the final section of corrugation on Saturday's stage because they're going to slow. Fast is smooth, smooth is fast.

Accommodation - I stayed in a luxury tent. I think it's the best option and was very comfortable. Normal beds with normal thick mattresses you'd find in a 3 or 4 star hotel and clean linen. With electricity and enough room to stand up and a large side table. Better than the tents at GB.

Food - Good, but not enough. They seemed very strict on controlling how much everyone dishes. I only eat oats for breakfast and had to tell the chef, listen, I'm dishing 2 bowls of oats because I'm not having bacon and eggs. Also no included drinks or water with the meals. You had to buy your own. Also no snacks in between meals. This is where GB won hands down. You could basically eat from 1pm to 10pm non stop if you wanted. Everything was included (lunch, drinks, snacks, etc.)

Ablutions & Facilities - Pretty good, but for some reason they seemed to have more female ablutions set up at the Calitzdorp stop than male. Not sure how they figured that since the majority of entrants were male. GB won here as well since the ablutions they built were unisex and very well done.

Water - I'm not a fan of trusting local water sources, especially not during a race. Maybe that's why I've never gotten sick during a race. So using a tap to fill my bottles was not going to be an option. At GB they had purified and chilled water stations we could use. At GRG they seemed to tap from a borehole / tap and then run it through a big plastic container. I ended up buying water from local shops. Yes, I'm full of s***, but I'm not risking a ~R50k race entry and prep on dirty water. Point for GB here.

Communication - Disappointing and frustrating. Lots that GRG need to improve here. Some examples: I booked a service package, but received no communication and it took multiple attempts to get this confirmed and resolved with Dryland. Same with shuttle service, never got added to the whatsapp group and my shuttle confirmed. Had to get another rider to add me. Also at the venues it wasn't always clear where things are and I only received sporadic whatsapp messages with stage briefings and media. Same with the bike transport to the remote start at De Rust. Only some riders received the SMS. I know these might sound like small things, and yes, I did manage to get the information I needed, but when you're tired after a hard stage, you don't want to walk around trying to figure out where to get water. This is where GB shined. There communication is excellent and at no point during the event (and months before) did I ever wonder about anything. Their app also made it very easy to know what and when things were happening at each venue.

Summary - I would definitely do GRG again, even if they changed nothing. If I could only do 1, based only on the current route for GRG and last years route for GB, I would rather do GRG. But if I could only do 1 based on the overall experience, I would do GB. It just felt like more value for your money. I'm doing GB in October, and I'm hoping the changes to the route brings it more in line with GRG's proper gravel route.

 

Well done on the ride and awesome review and comparable.

 

Please remember to share your feedback with the organizing team. I'm 110% sure will value your feedback and work hard to correct them.

The GB looked average from the coverage compared to the GRG but good to hear the rider feedback. 

[the_roadie]

2 minutes ago, babse said:

Well done on the ride and awesome review and comparable.

 

Please remember to share your feedback with the organizing team. I'm 110% sure will value your feedback and work hard to correct them.

The GB looked average from the coverage compared to the GRG but good to hear the rider feedback. 

Definitely will be doing that. I'm sure they'll send out a survey soon.

You're right about coverage, actually something I forgot to mention. I think GRG did a lot more with media etc. during the event than GB. We got lots of photos (for free) during GRG where you had to pay for those during GB. So that's a point for GRG right there. The coverage was really good.

[jcza]

19 hours ago, the_roadie said:

What an incredible week! Here's my thoughts on GRG vs GB:

TLDR; Garden Route Giro has a better route (#propergravel 99% of the way), but the organization  and communication can be better. Gravel Burn is an all inclusive event (you don't open your wallet once during the entire event), but the route for 2025 was not as good as GRG, and there were a lot more MTB sections disguised as "gravel".

I really enjoyed GRG. It was hard, very very hard. I died a thousand deaths on most of the stages but probably also because I had a goal to reach top 5 in vets GC at the end and there was some good competition that did not make that easy. I had to work for every second gained.

My review of the event and organization:

Route - Very good in my opinion. They used tar where they couldn't find suitable gravel which is fine and a better choice than taking riders through rough jeep track. This is where GB did not get it right. There was some corrugation, that's unavoidable. But it's also something you can use to your advantage if you're racing. It was interesting seeing strong guys getting blown off the back in the final section of corrugation on Saturday's stage because they're going to slow. Fast is smooth, smooth is fast.

Accommodation - I stayed in a luxury tent. I think it's the best option and was very comfortable. Normal beds with normal thick mattresses you'd find in a 3 or 4 star hotel and clean linen. With electricity and enough room to stand up and a large side table. Better than the tents at GB.

Food - Good, but not enough. They seemed very strict on controlling how much everyone dishes. I only eat oats for breakfast and had to tell the chef, listen, I'm dishing 2 bowls of oats because I'm not having bacon and eggs. Also no included drinks or water with the meals. You had to buy your own. Also no snacks in between meals. This is where GB won hands down. You could basically eat from 1pm to 10pm non stop if you wanted. Everything was included (lunch, drinks, snacks, etc.)

Ablutions & Facilities - Pretty good, but for some reason they seemed to have more female ablutions set up at the Calitzdorp stop than male. Not sure how they figured that since the majority of entrants were male. GB won here as well since the ablutions they built were unisex and very well done.

Water - I'm not a fan of trusting local water sources, especially not during a race. Maybe that's why I've never gotten sick during a race. So using a tap to fill my bottles was not going to be an option. At GB they had purified and chilled water stations we could use. At GRG they seemed to tap from a borehole / tap and then run it through a big plastic container. I ended up buying water from local shops. Yes, I'm full of s***, but I'm not risking a ~R50k race entry and prep on dirty water. Point for GB here.

Communication - Disappointing and frustrating. Lots that GRG need to improve here. Some examples: I booked a service package, but received no communication and it took multiple attempts to get this confirmed and resolved with Dryland. Same with shuttle service, never got added to the whatsapp group and my shuttle confirmed. Had to get another rider to add me. Also at the venues it wasn't always clear where things are and I only received sporadic whatsapp messages with stage briefings and media. Same with the bike transport to the remote start at De Rust. Only some riders received the SMS. I know these might sound like small things, and yes, I did manage to get the information I needed, but when you're tired after a hard stage, you don't want to walk around trying to figure out where to get water. This is where GB shined. There communication is excellent and at no point during the event (and months before) did I ever wonder about anything. Their app also made it very easy to know what and when things were happening at each venue.

Summary - I would definitely do GRG again, even if they changed nothing. If I could only do 1, based only on the current route for GRG and last years route for GB, I would rather do GRG. But if I could only do 1 based on the overall experience, I would do GB. It just felt like more value for your money. I'm doing GB in October, and I'm hoping the changes to the route brings it more in line with GRG's proper gravel route.

 

Great summary although I don't agree with the ablutions at GB. I also participated in GB last year and the route was very average. Bleak that I missed out on GRG but I am familiar with the route having ridden it many times. Don't think I'll be back at GB later this year but definitely keen on GRG. 

 

[the_roadie]

44 minutes ago, jcza said:

Great summary although I don't agree with the ablutions at GB. I also participated in GB last year and the route was very average. Bleak that I missed out on GRG but I am familiar with the route having ridden it many times. Don't think I'll be back at GB later this year but definitely keen on GRG. 

 

Fair enough. There definitely was some issues with the ablutions at some of the stops, but it helped having the guys from ChemChamp there to sort out quickly. And what I did prefer is that the ablutions were mostly closer to the tents and the showers were nicer than the ones at GRG.