The race includes a highlight reel of starters, though the mixed field and unfamiliar racing seems to be throwing some well-known riders off the pace. Olympic mountain bike champion Tom Pidcock lost chunks of time on the first two days. His compatriot, Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee, is also riding well down the standings.
Haley Smith hunts podiums in women’s race
Gravel Burn stared off soggy, with an 84km mud-fest racking up 2,000m of elevation gain before the finish line. Haley Smith soldiered through the slop better than most, finishing fifth on the first stage behind stage-winner France’s Axelle Dubau-Prevot and storied South African racaer, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio.
Alison Jackson is also in South Africa for the Gravel Burn. The Paris-Roubaix winner, who is headed to a new team in 2026, lost a substantial chunk of time over the muddy first stage, finishing 32 minutes back on stage 1.
On Monday’s second stage, Axelle Dubau-Prevot again stole the stage win. The French rider counter-attacked Melisa Rollins of the U.S.A. to take the win and add to her overall advantage. Smith finished five seconds in arrears. That chipped away slightly at her defecit to second-ranked Moolman-Pasio.
On Tuesday, Smith was again third, this time behind stage winner Lauren Stephens of the U.S.A. But, with all the women’s leaders finishing in a bunch, there is again little change in the overall. Smith still sits fifth, with Dubau-Prevot, Moolman-Pasio and Rollins controlling the GC standings.
As both the men’s and women’s fields are finding, though, an off day at Gravel Burn can have huge consequences in the overall standings. With four days of racing remaining, the GC order is far from settled.
Jackson sits 15th after three stages of racing, but 59 minutes off the lead. Sarah Diekmeyer is in 17th for Canada, slightly further back.
Men: Beers burns bright on home soil
On the men’s side it is South Africa’s own Matthew Beers controlling the race. Despite a star-studded roster, the Cape Epic veteran is showing a little local knowledge can go a long way. Beers won the first two stages to take an early lead. On Stage 3, he was pushed down to fourth, but only eight seconds back. That cuts his advantage over Switzerland’s Simon Pellaud to less than a minute. Beers now leads by 55 seconds.
Lukas Baum of Germany, another Cape…
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