Gravel Burn Firestarter
Gravel Burn Firestarter events aim to light your fire!
What is a Gravel Burn Firestarter? Well it’s one of three events that aim to get you fired up for the Gravel Burn. These events will take place in the second half of January in London, Barcelona and Girona. At each Firestarter Kevin Vermaak, founder of the Cape Epic MTB stage race, will talk about his latest venture; Gravel Burn.
Gravel Burn is a unique event, it’s a seven day, 850Km gravel stage race that will be held in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Not only is it likely to be one of the toughest races on the calendar, it will also be the richest. A $150,000 prize fund will make it a lucrative as well as prestigious race for whoever wins the inaugural event. South African gravel and mountain biking champion Matt Beers, a three-time Cape Epic winner, Belgian Waffle Ride champion, and 2024 Lifetime Grand Prix Series runner-up, expressed his enthusiasm:
“This changes everything. Gravel Burn is putting the focus on stage-racing in the gravel category. A prize purse of this magnitude shows how serious gravel cycling has become. It’s a big step toward further professionalising the discipline and giving it the recognition it deserves. It will also motivate international gravel racers, especially from the U.S., to come to South Africa to compete.”
Gravel Burn will be open to both professional and amateur riders. While it’s still early days for the event, they already have two stars from the world of professional cycling lined up.
Jesper Stuyvens
First up is Milan-San Remo winner and former European gravel champion Jesper Stuyvens of Lidl-Trek. For Stuyvens, the event offers more than just racing. “I came across Gravel Burn a few weeks ago, and it looks like a great event. I’m looking forward to seeing the route, the Karoo nights, the local food, and the nice Burn Camps we’ve seen on the website,” he says.
Maurizio Fondriest
While Stuyvens will be looking to compete, the next rider will be riding for the experience. That rider is ex-World Champion Maurizio Fondriest. In the year of his 60th birthday the Italian cycling legend will share the experience with his daughter Carlotta.
Fondriest says that “my daughter will be by my side, and we’ll ride together for seven days. Every evening after the stages, we’ll gather around the campfire—the perfect setting to relive those memories. The stories we’ll tell each other are such an important part of cycling and this journey—a deeply meaningful element, just like the people I’ve met over the years. My wife, Ornella, and my children, Maria Vittoria and Lorenzo, will join us for the last few days and share this adventure, including the emotions of crossing the finish line.”
Gravel Burn
Gravel Burn is Kevin Vermaak’s brand new event. Twenty years ago he launched the Cape Epic – an eight-day mountain bike stage race. In 2017 the Cape Epic – called by some 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.
Now Vermaak is back with the Gravel Burn. The race route will take riders through some of South Africa’s diverse landscapes. The event starts in the coastal forests surrounding Knysna, before heading into the breath-taking Great Karoo – a famously spectacular semi-desert region. Riders will rest each night in remote ‘Burn Camps’ under star-filled skies. Meanwhile the final stage will give them a chance to spot Africa’s iconic Big 5 wildlife as they ride through the Shamwari Private Game Reserve.
So if you like the idea of being at the start of what could become the ultimate gravel stage race, reserve your place at one of the the Gravel Burn Firestarter events and light your fire! That’s the last of the puns, for now… For more details about the race head over to the Gravel Burn website.
