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Gravel Burn introduces 'new dimension' of teams classification at October stage race while schedules revealed for BWR and Grasshopper series - Gravel Bits
Privateers invited to join forces at South African gravel stage race in competition against Canyon x DT Swiss ATR, Scott-SRAM, Toyota Specialized and The Grip
Matthew Beers wins the overall at 2025 Nedbank Gravel Burn(Image credit: James Cameron Heron/Gravel Burn)
The second edition of the seven-day Gravel Burn gravel stage race in South Africa, October 25-31, introduces a teams classification with points to determine standings and prizes. It will be the first such classification recognition at a gravel stage race.
Trade teams of three to four riders, as well as alliances of independent riders, will be eligible for the new classification. The top three riders from each team will earn points that will contribute to the daily standings.
Organisers developed the format in collaboration with several individuals, including pro road and gravel veteran Peter Stetina of Canyon x DT Swiss ATR and Adam Hansen, president of the CPA (Cyclistes Professionnels Associés), both having participated in last year’s inaugural race.
"This innovation provides another dimension to the racing and also rewards the riders’ efforts and the teams’ investment," said race founder Kevin Vermaak.
"Independent ‘privateer’ racers formed the foundation of professional gravel racing, adding to the ‘freedom’ and charm of gravel. We recognise that the emergence of ‘superteams’ is a threat to that. That’s why we opened the Teams Classification to all to help level the playing field, where they may form ad-hoc teams to compete with the more formal outfits.”
Canyon x DT Swiss ATR will field a women's team led by former Unbound Gravel 200 winner Carolin Schiff. They will also start two men's teams, one led by former US gravel champion Bradyn Lange. Scott-SRAM will have one team in each division, the women's team including Life Time Grand Prix contender Alexis Skarda and the men's team with Filippo Colombo, who won the UCI Gravel World Series Ceder race in February. Toyota Specialized Imbuko will have two men's teams with all-South African rosters, while Mattia De Marchi will lead a three-rider men's team for The Grip.
The solo race remains the foundation of Nedbank Gravel Burn, with a $150,000 US prize purse split equally between the pro women and pro men categories, including daily payouts to the top 3 and overall top 10. Gravel Burn is a full-service stage race in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, covering 750 kilometres and 8,500 metres of elevation gain.
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Among the debutants for individuals are two-time Marathon MTB world champion Henrique Avancini of Brazil, multi-time Japanese XCO mountain bike champion Kohei Yamamoto, as well as 18-year road pro and a former Cape Epic winner Jakob Fuglsang.
Last year's men's champion Matt Beers returns, as well as runner-up Simon Pellaud. Women's champion Axelle Dubau-Prevot will defend her title, lining up against third-placed Hayley Preen.
Belgian Waffle Ride series seeks sixth event in Colorado
Cecile Lejeune (Trek Driftless) on her way to a solo victory at Belgian Waffle Ride Utah (Image credit: Belgian Waffle Ride Utah)
Five events have been confirmed for the Belgian Waffle Ride schedule next year, with a new Colorado event taking shape. Registration opened October 13 for a quartet of US events spread from March to September, while Mexico takes place in late November.
The sequence of events remains the same, opening in Arizona in early March and then moving to Southern California on May 2, the 16th season for the signature event. The Utah event in Cedar City shifts from June to mid-May, and the Bozeman, Montana event then moves from June to mid-September.
Event organisers Monuments of Gravel are looking to fill the summer with a new event in Colorado, though the location has not been named and it is not known if this will be part of the series. The final ride in the BWR mixed-surface collection will again be held in Mexico on November 21, but is not part of the elite series.
The Quad-Tripel Crown of Gravel series has been offered for several seasons across the US-based collection of events, and will return with the best three of four races determining elite winners. A usual suspect in the series has been Utah, but it may be a standalone race in 2027, according to organisers, and could become a UCI Gravel World Series qualifier.
Jen Tavé won the Grasshopper Series in 2025 and 2026 (Image credit: @b.tuckerpics / Grasshopper Series 2025)
The race schedule for the 2027 Grasshopper Adventure Series, now in its 30th year, was released with five races in northern California. The opener takes place at Low Gap on January 31, a 59-mile gravel event with 95% dirt tracks in Ukiah, and culminates at Ukiah Mendo Epic on May 23, a 70-mile mixed-terrain adventure in the same area.
The middle of the schedule includes the classic mixed-terrain Huffmaster on February 28, the road and climbing-heavy King Ridge on March 20 and the gravel-singletrack challenge of Jackson Forest on April 10.
Registration is open, and a series pass for all five events is $675, plus fees, with individual races at $155 each. Prices go up after November 30, two months before the opener.
Last year, Jen Tavé (SpeedBlock-Terún Pro Cycling) and Cassius Anderson (Marin Service Course) secured the overall titles for elite divisions in the five-race Grasshopper Series.
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
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