Lawrence Naesen built a reputation as a strong and reliable lieutenant to some of the biggest stars in the professional road peloton. As a sought after rider, the Belgian has six years in the WorldTour behind him, racing for teams like Lotto Soudal and AG2R. Now very much on the gravel privateer path, he prefers a less rigid structure and the freedom of choosing his own racing calendar. In 2025 he chose to race the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn.

His approach 

He arrived in Knysna in good shape and with a plan: not to aim for general classification, but to look for stages that suited him, and for the right moments: like when the wind blows and the race splits, for rougher terrain where he can lay down his considerable power and apply his canny nous honed from racing at the highest level. The results followed that pattern: fourth on Stage 2, third on Stage 4, seventh into Shamwari on the final day.

“I wasn’t there to ride safe,” he says. “I wanted stage wins.”

That racing instinct fits the nature of the event. Each day shifts with the weather, the wind, the terrain and the highly variable Karoo road surfaces. Combine this with the dynamic racing that comes with a field that includes some of the biggest road and MTB stars in the world. What looks like a straightforward morning rarely stays that way. At least not for long.

“A lot of people ask me what I thought about the Nedbank Gravel Burn,” he says. “It’s wild and beautiful. In the middle of nowhere and also the best organised race and I’ve ridden Giro d’Italia.”

He talks about the details, the things that are only really noticed once inside the ‘Burn bubble’. “You cross the finish line and someone takes your bike. Someone asks if you want a full service or just a clean. You have a proper meal. Yeah it’s been a hard day, but it’s enjoyable.” Then, after a pause, he comes back to what stayed with him most: “The big tents, everyone together, talking. Pros, amateurs. It’s just… nice.”

What the race taught him

Naesen arrived in 2025 on an Orbea Terra Race, a fast, aggressive setup that felt closer to a road bike than many of the more robust rigs lining up. It might have suited the way he wanted to race, especially on the quicker stages where speed and positioning matter. But as the days went on, the terrain began to take its toll.

“The racing gravel bike is like a road bike,” he says. “The wheels were skipping around a lot. It is not something you feel straight away.” Over one stage, it is manageable. 

“Over seven days, it adds up.” The effort of keeping the bike under control, of absorbing the surface, of staying composed over long stretches of rough surfaces takes its toll, particularly later in the race when the decisive moments come.

“I saw Lukas [Baum] on the standard Orbea Terra with more clearance and wider tyres. I was jealous of his bike.”

Coming back in 2026

For 2026, that has become a clear change in his approach. Naesen will return on the Orbea Terra, moving away from the race-focused setup towards something more stable and forgiving over long distances. “I’m going to take the more ‘adventure bike’ this time. It’s better – less fatigue in the last part of the race.” It should clear to his rivals which stages he is targeting…

He is also planning to run a 50T chainring, paired with higher volume semi slick tyres, with Schwalbe preparing a special version that’s wider than 50C, which should suit the terrain even better. His previously held opinions on the speed of narrower tyres now adjusted, it’s now about what is left in the tank after five hours on the bike.

Naesen returns in 2026 with the same intentions, “I’ll go for the stages again,” but with a clearer sense of the way the land lies. He knows which stages to aim for, which terrain might force the selection and where a move can stick if it is timed well.

Naesen is one of a select group of professional riders confirmed for the 2026 Nedbank Gravel Burn. With space for 50 professional men and 50 professional women, the field remains intentionally small, creating a race where the world’s best line up alongside an international field of amatuers, all sharing the same roads, the same race villages and the same special memories.