Entries open for brand-new gravel bike race

GEORGE NEWS - Entries for a brand-new international gravel biking adventure, Gravel Burn, a seven-day stage race from Knysna to Gqeberha, are now open.

Gravel bike racing has quickly become the hottest new category in cycling and those who take an interest in this 'new' sport, will be thrilled to hear that this unique gravel race will launch next October. Held over 850km, this full-service event will be open to both professionals and amateurs.

Gravel Burn will start in Knysna on 26 October and finish at Shamwari Private Game Reserve just outside Gqeberha.

Riders will start from our indigenous forests, and tackle gravel roads, mountain passes and the Great Karoo in what promises to be an exceptional cycling adventure.

Each night riders will rest in remote 'Burn Camps' and the race will open for individual competitors – it’s purely a solo race.

Gravel Burn is Cape Epic founder Kevin Vermaak’s brand-new event. Twenty years ago he launched the Cape Epic – the eight-day mountain bike stage race that has become the most successful of its type in the world.

In 2017 the Cape Epic – by then widely held to be the 'Tour de France of mountain biking' – was sold to the US-based Ironman group. Kevin stayed on for a while as a consultant and eventually left in 2022, then took a much-needed sabbatical.

Riders shouldn't be surprised if they come across resident wildlife.

Why gravel?

"I believe gravel biking in South Africa is now at about the place where mountain biking was 20 years ago," says Vermaak. "It is growing exponentially in Europe and the United States, both among professional and amateur riders, and we think the timing is perfect for a major, long-distance, full-service pro-am gravel race. And where better to stage it than South Africa?"

When it comes to Knysna, there’s a certain degree of nostalgia for Vermaak. For the first five years, the Cape Epic route headed broadly west and finished near Cape Town.

Gravel Burn will also begin in Knysna, but this time, it will head into the Karoo landscapes of the Eastern Cape. "We want riders to fully experience the spirit of gravel. To me that means adventure, distances, a journey and exploring new routes," says Vermaak.

This promises to be a gravel bike race like no other.

Assos signs up

Assos of Switzerland has signed a multi-year agreement to become the official cycling apparel sponsor of the newly launched event, establishing itself as one of the founding partners.

Assos was the first to use Lycra fabric to make cycling shorts (in 1976); they produced the first carbon fibre bicycle frame (also in 1976) and created the first sublimated cycling jersey.

The team at Assos will design two Gravel Burn leader jerseys, one for the pro-elite racing category and one for the amateur age-group categories – both gender-specific - with the aim of the jerseys becoming the most iconic and sought-after stage-race leader jerseys in the world of gravel racing.

"I’ve worked with Assos and its founding family for more than a decade, and I’ve followed their brand development keenly over this time," says Vermaak.

The route will take riders from indigenous forests to the barren Great Karoo.
Photos: Rainedupon Media