Stage 2 | Racing News | Nedbank Gravel Burn 2026

Exhilarating, breathless and breathtaking, the 2026 Nedbank Gravel Burn thrilled on stage one from Clarefrenette to Blaauwarter Farm and then doubled down on Rugged Beauty for stage two. The vastness of the Great Karoo provided a constantly evolving backdrop onto which the world's best gravel racers and the 400-odd avid amateurs in the field wrote their individual stories. At the sharp end, competition was fierce, And the day's course lent itself to aggressive racing. When the opening day had trended inexorably uphill, stage two provided a punchy mix of climbs and descents for 105 kilometers. The ascents of Tafelkop and Lucop within the first 15 kilometers set the scene ahead of the Compass climb, topping out at 1,894 meters. It was the highest point of the 2026 race. A final climb to the summit of Tafelkop, overlooking Blaauwarter Farm, took the accumulated ascent to 1,450 metres. Ahead of what was always going to be a challenging day, Matteo De Marchi of The Grip wore the orange leader's jersey. His nearest rivals, Marco Hubert and Travis Stedman, would start the stage just 13 seconds adrift. France's Hugo Dreschoux was a further two seconds back in the general classification, four ahead of the defending champion, Matt Beers. Beers had clearly woken up angry, because the big South African drove the tempo from the off. On the first rise of any significance, he went all in, and only Filippo Colombo could follow. The Scott SRAM man would later recount that it was not that he was unwilling to help his Toyota-Specialized rival, he was simply unable to do so. The pair forged a healthy lead which topped out over two minutes. Behind them, the chasers collaborated but were unable to reel Beers and Colombo back in. De Marchi would endure misfortune in addition to the pain of being unable to follow the day's key move. He punctured and lost significant time getting going again. At the front, meanwhile, Colombo poached the stage victory from Beers, making the most of his cross-country kick. Tristan Norkia led the chasers home, 1 minute 21 down. Filippo Colombo was therefore flanked by Beers and Norkia on the Stage 2 podium. Then, Matt Beers stepped up to receive the orange jersey. Overall, he leads Colombo by four seconds, with Marco Hubert sitting third. At 1.15, having made the racing on stage one and then won the sprint for victory, Niele Lang started stage two in the women's orange leader's jersey. The Canyon DT Swiss ATR rider's nearest rival on the general classification was Scott SRAM's Alexis Skada. The South African fan favourite Hayley Preen was third, one minute 18 seconds back. With climbs key to the race strategy of all the major protagonists in the women's race, the first 15 kilometers were raced aggressively. Following that, on the descent from Liekop, there was a regrouping and a lull in the action. It was only when the route ramped up again that the peloton began to split once more. Neel Lang's teammate Caroline Schiff launched up the road ...and established a 1 minute 20 second buffer over the summit of Kompas. Skada would puncture out of the chase group on the descent to New Bethesda, dropping out of the battle for stage victory. Preen and Lang pushed on with Clara Marie Koppelberg, Eleanor Hartmann, Natalie Eklund and Olivia Hottinger catching Schiff. Shortly after that, Lang crashed but fought her way back to within touching distance of the leaders with the help of her teammates. Preen and her group kept the pace high to prevent the race leader from coming back. In the closing kilometers, the South African attacked, going solo to win her first Nedbank Grabelburn stage. Hayley Preen was joined on the stage podium by Hartmann and Hottinger. Lang's fight to limit her time losses ensured that she retained Orange. She now leads Preen by just 39 seconds going into stage three.