The men’s professional field for the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn has been recently announced. It is a gathering drawn from road, gravel and mountain biking in equal measure, with riders from many disciplines stepping across to test themselves in this relatively new format – gravel stage racing. Edition one of the race looks to be a melting pot for the sport’s most diverse and now converging talents. Each brings their own superpowers to the campaign.

Every contender carries recent history in their legs. Some come from long gravel campaigns in Europe and North America, others still have major races to tackle before the start in Knysna, including UCI Gravel World Championships in Limburg. One notable rider, double Olympic Champion Tom Pidcock, arrives after placing on the podium at the 2025 Vuelta d’Espana and racing on African soil recently at Rwanda’s World Road Championships (where the conditions were furnace-hot and attritional from the first climbs over the cobbles), taking tenth on the day. 

Simon Pellaud

We’ve seen some prime form from the riders racing Nedbank Gravel Burn, but these are brushstrokes rather than the final lines. Simon Pellaud is the clearest example. He took second at Unbound in June, then banked points all summer and now sits second in the Life Time Grand Prix standings as the series tightens in the final rounds. His trademark of relentless, race-long aggression is exactly what can translate into a top result after a week in the Great Karoo, in Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Andreas Seewald

Hugo Drechou has also shown sharpness with a podium at the European Gravel Championships in Avezzano, proof that he has the acumen to read long races with calm precision. Andreas Seewald underlined his fitness by winning Gravel Suisse, a Gravel World Series event earlier this year, reminding everyone of his considerable capabilities on highly demanding terrain.

Lachlan Morton arrives with proven pedigree on the road, MTB and gravel. He won Unbound in 2024 in a two up sprint with Giro d’Italia stage winner Chad Haga (lining up in Knysna), then returned in 2025 to take second in the Unbound XL after a gruelling battle that lasted deep into the night. Few riders combine speed, endurance and mental fortitude the way he does and his versatility makes him a major contender in any stage race on dirt.

Chad Haga

The further one reads down the list the more the possibilities multiply. Three-time Cape Epic winner and former South African Gravel Champion Matt Beers knows these roads better than any, is feared for his firepower and is often one to seize opportunities and make them decisive. Koen Bouwman and Lukas Pöstlberger bring WorldTour class and racecraft, sharpened on the road scene – knowing when to spend energy and when to save it. Ivar Slik arrives with the confidence of an Unbound victory behind him and the calm required to handle the messiest of finale scenarios. The Godfather of pro gravel racing, Peter Stetina, remains the quiet metronome, often present when the selection sticks.

Matt Beers

The cast is rich. Brennan Wertz comes in with American gravel wins, hungry after losing his national title to Bradyn Lange – Nedbank Gravel Burn could be a compelling, long-hand rematch. Ramon Sinkeldam brings a road engine built on tens of thousands of kilometres on European passes, ragged echelons and hectic lead-outs. 2021 Cape Epic winners Lukas Baum and Georg Egger, and multiple Namibian champion Alex Miller’s off-road endurance skills bare their teeth when the road surface deteriorates. Cameron Wurf, a name familiar to many after his WorldTour career and his long distance triathlon pedigree, now turns his attention to gravel’s proving ground.

Payson McElveen brings a different kind of value to fans, alongside his career racing at the highest level on the gravel scene. Through his With Pace podcast he will publish dispatches from inside the event and let the world follow Nedbank Gravel Burn through his eyes. In a field this layered, a rider who can articulate what it feels like from the inside as part of the show will offer unique insights.

Lukas Baum

Readers looking for a sure fire race prediction will be left wanting. One-day results may flatter form but they can hide weakness. Stage racing has a way of revealing the truth, sometimes slowly, sometimes sharply (and painfully). Fatigue must be managed, equipment must be minded, decisions must be made often and in a split second or risk suffering for hours. 

Ivar Slik

That is why the old hands are careful with predictions. They know – a rider who loses five minutes on Tuesday could just as easily be the rider who lights the GC race on Friday.

Hugo Drechou

There is a ceremony to match the stellar field. On 7 October the Winner’s Trophy and the Assos Ember Jersey will be unveiled, the prizes that will be lifted and worn for the very first time at the inaugural race. 

Pete Stetina

Rider Number	Name	Surname	Nationality
1	Lachlan	Morton	Australia
2	Tom	Pidcock	UK
3	Andreas	Seewald	Germany
4	Matthew	Beers	South Africa
5	Marco	Joubert	South Africa
6	Lukas	Poestlberger	Austria
7	Brennan	Wertz	USA
8	Koen	Bouwman	Netherlands
9	Lukas	Baum	Germany
10	Alex	Miller	Namibia
11	Ivar	Slik	Netherlands
12	Chad	Haga	USA
14	Peter	Stetina	USA
15	Simon	Pellaud	Switzerland
16	Mat	Stephens	USA
17	Ramon	Sinkeldam	Netherlands
18	Bradyn	Lange	USA
19	Payson	McElveen	USA
22	Georg	Egger	Germany
23	Travis	Stedman	South Africa
24	Martin	Freyer	Namibian
25	Alistair	Brownlee	UK
26	Cam	Wurf	Australia
27	Johan	van Zyl	South Africa
28	Hugo	Drechou	France
29	Andrew	L’esperance	Canada
30	Paul	Sandmann	Germany
31	Lawrence	Naessen	Belgium
32	Tristan	Nortje	South Africa
33	Andri	Frischknecht	Switzerland
34	Griffin	Easter	USA
35	Jasper	Ockeloen	Netherlands
36	Drikus	Coetzee	Namibian
37	Zachary	Allison	USA
38	Daniel	Bonello	Malta
40	Lawrence	Carpenter	Great Britain
41	Lood	Goosen	South Africa
42	Robert	Gesink	Netherlands
43	Rudi	Koen	South Africa
44	Andy	Lydic	USA
45	Luis	Neff	Germany
46	Carl	Pasio	South Africa
47	Peter	Schermann	Germany
48	Jordan	Schleck	Uganda
49	Rogan	Smart	South Africa
50	Justin	Weeks	USA
51	Ismael	Ventura	Spain
52	Philipp	Rindler-Bachl	Austria
53	Bernard Ndungu	Njoroge	Kenya