I joined Simon Pellaud last week for Gravel Burn 2025, an epic 800km stage race event, that was the most extraordinary – and hardest – ride I have ever taken part in. I caught up with the Swiss pro in between stages, to find out more about why he was there, and check out the kit he’d chosen for this wholly unusual race.
Pellaud was heading into Gravel Burn as one of the favourites for the overall title, having finished second on the Life Time Grand Prix GC for 2025. Having duelled it out with Matthew Beers for much of the season, the battle would continue for a further seven days – but in a much more hostile setting marred by corrugated terrain, heavy rain, sub-zero temperatures, extreme heat and wind, hail, and mud. The extreme weather was so severe that it culminated in the neutralisation of stage 6.
(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)
With much of the race being contested at altitude, Pellaud had a slight advantage over his competitors, given that he resides in the high mountains of Colombia. Having bided his time on stages 1 and 2, the Swiss rider delivered a masterclass attack to take victory on stage 3 from Willowmore to Blaauwater. The back-and-forth battle with Beers meant that there was little between the two leading into the final stage, just 33 seconds in fact. Pellaud would ultimately lose time on stage 7 but had enough of a lead on Hugo Drechou to cement his spot on the second step of the podium.
(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)
The Tudor Pro Cycling rider had a BMC URS 01 One at his disposal for Gravel Burn, a bike designed more around exploration than out-and-out racing, but a clever choice given the terrain at hand. One of the very few BMC gravel bikes seen at the race, Pellaud’s features a warm gold colourway with dark red forks and cyan accents. With a focus on storage and utility, the bike features MTT suspension – a fatigue-reducing system that uses elastomers in the seatstays to provide 20mm of travel. While he had the option of using a front suspension stem, Pallaud opted for a regular integrated bar-stem arrangement for improved feel and response from the front end.
(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)
While the BMC URS 01 One has tyre clearance rated at a maximum 47mm front/rear, Pellaud shoehorned a pair of 50mm Schwalbe G-One RS Pro tyres at each end – something not recommended by the manufacturer, given the limited clearance, should conditions be muddy. Pellaud, however, would have weighed up the pros and…