On a day when the general classification action took a pause, Travis Stedman and Alison Jackson won Stage 4 of the Nedbank Gravel Burn. Wednesday, 28 October 2026, brought searing heat, red-hot racing in the breakaway, a crash in the general classification group, and attempts by Marco Joubert to gain time over Matt Beers, Filippo Colombo, and Tristan Nortje. In the women’s race, the action was more controlled, as Canyon DT Swiss ATR used their team strength to good effect, but could not prevent Jackson from sprinting to victory from a group of 12.

Stedman Takes a Flier, While Beers Shuts Down Any GC Aggression

Having started the day three-quarters of an hour down, after a puncture cost him 43 minutes on Stage 3, Travis Stedman was well out of the general classification picture. He, Jordy Bouts, Travis Stedman, Ryan Gibbons, Henrique Avancini, Georg Egger, Wessel Botha, Alex Miller, and Cole Davis, and a handful of others were therefore allowed a long leash by the contenders for overall victory. Matt Beers, Filippo Colombo, and Tristan Nortje were happy not to pursue the break, but they had to police potential moves earlier in the stage.

“We only got away when we got onto the broader roads near the halfway mark,” Stedman recounted. “Before that it had been a bit chaotic, with lots of attacks and even a small group which included Jaedon [Terlouw, Stedman’s Toyota Specialized Imbuko teammate] up the road. But with Jaedon in there the GC guys had to chase it down.”

“I’d told the team I was keen to get in a break today, because I was feeling fresh. I took it easy after my puncture yesterday and save my legs for today,” Stedman confirmed.

Before the break could go, a major crash in the peloton brought down Rick Ottema. “Rick, the Dutch Champion, was right in front of me. He kind of got caught in a rut and lost his front wheel at high speed. I’m not sure how I avoided him. It looked a bad crash!” Nortje stated.

“I’m sort of okay, but the big problem is that I broke my bike,” a grazed and bruised Ottema said after visiting the race hospital. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to continue tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, the race continued on. Stedman’s breakaway group went with Egger one of the key protagonists. “He [Stedman] did a lot of work,” Egger praised. “The group was maybe a bit big at first, and Travis [Stedman] attacked on two climbs. We chased him back down, but the group was smaller each time.”

“I rode the final few kilometres this morning and saw that it was pretty rutted and rocky,” Stedman added. “I’d been on Georg [Egger’s] wheel until about 1 kilometre to go, then decided to just go for it. It was a long way out, but I knew it would be tough to come around me, if I was on the only smooth line. I was worried about Ryan [Gibbons] but I also had another kick in the tank if I felt him coming.”

Gibbons could never draw level with Stedman, and the Toyota Specialized Imbuko man could celebrate his second Nedbank Gravel Burn stage victory. Adding 2026’s Stage 4 to 2025’s Stage 7 on his palmarès. Stedman’s fellow South African, Gibbons, was second, just ahead of the USA’s Davis. Joubert led the general classification group in 2 minutes and 41 seconds down. Beers and Terlouw finished on the same time as Joubert, but Nortje and Colomo lost a single second on the finish line.

Alison Jackson

Alison Jackson celebrating her maiden Nedbank Gravel Burn stage win. Photo by Paul Ganse/Gravel Burn.

Securing the Stage That Eluded Her in 2025

Alison Jackson came to the Nedbank Gravel Burn in 2026 with the mission of winning a stage. In 2025 that goal had eluded her. So the desire to secure a victory was stronger this time out. Stage 4 always looked like her best opportunity, with a sprint finish likely, given the 61 kilometre course with just 550 metres of climbing.

It was far from easy however. “I had a mechanical today,” Jackson revealed. “My derailleur’s battery wasn’t making contact properly and I had to stop to change it at the Tech Zone.”

Having spent the first half of the stage in a fairly controlled group, policed by race leader, Nele Laing’s Canyon DT Swiss ATR team the women’s peloton began to thin on the second half of the day. “When we reached the climbs there were more attacks, but nobody could really get away,” Laing pointed out. “Our team plan had been to get Jade Treffeisen into a breakaway, but when that didn’t work we switched to working for our fastest sprinter Larissa Hartog. But we always knew Alison would be hard to beat.”

So it proved. After fighting her way back to the group Jackson ensured nobody escaped off the front, then launched a perfectly timed sprint. “Last year I came here off the back of surfing in Muizenberg. This year I kept riding, knowing I had to if I wanted to win a stage,” she beamed after crossing the finish line.

Alison Jackson

Not taking a pre-Burn surf camp paid off for Jackson. Photo by Paul Ganse/Gravel Burn.

Hartog and Nathalie Eklund were jointly awarded second, after they could not be separated by the finish line cameras. Hayley Preen was fourth, gaining a couple of seconds on Laing, who crossed the line in seventh. Clara Koppenburg finished safely in the 12 rider front group too, but also ceded a handful of seconds. The Tudor Pro Cycling star remains third overall.

Gravel Burn

Photo by Fahwaaz Cornelius/Gravel Burn

Going to Gwanishi

On Stage 5 the route heads southeast once more, exiting the Swaershoek Valley and Merino Farm for the flatlands and veld of the Somerset East, Cookhouse, and Middleton. The day trends downhill, losing elevation from a starting altitude of nearly 1 400 metres above sea level to 600. At 128 kilometres long, with a 7 kilometre liaison from the finish line in Middleton to the remote Gwanishi race village, it is the second longest stage of the race. Just 1 050 metres of climbing across that ultra-marathon route suggests another lighting fast day.

Gravel Burn

The race treks Southeast across the Karoo veld to Gwanishi on Stage 5. Photo by Sam Clark/Gravel Burn

2026 Nedbank Gravel Burn Results

Stage 4 Men’s Results

  1. Travis Stedman: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (1:28:08)
  2. Ryan Gibbons: RoadCover SunGod (1:28:10 | +0:02)
  3. Cole Davis: Speed Studio (1:28:10 | +0:02)
  4. Jordy Bouts: The Grip (1:28:10 | +0:02)
  5. Henrique Avancini: Swift Pro Cycling (1:28:10 | +0:02)
  6. Alex Miller: Swatt Club x KingPrice (1:28:11 | +0:03)
  7. Luca Dreßler: Canyon DT Swiss ATR (1:28:11 | +0:03)
  8. Fredrik Raßmann: Canyon DT Swiss ATR (1:28:11 | +0:03)
  9. Bradyn Lange: Canyon DT Swiss ATR (1:28:12 | +0:04)
  10. Hugo Drechou: Gravel Nation (1:28:13 | +0:05)

Stage 4 Women’s Results

  1. Alison Jackson: St Michel – Preference Home – Auber93 (1:55:13)

2= Nathalie Eklund: 58&fam (1:55:13 | +0:00)

2= Larissa Hartog: Canyon DT Swiss ATR (1:55:13 | +0:00)

  1. Hayley Preen: ChemChamp Honeycomb (1:55:13 | +0:00)
  2. Olivia Hottinger: SCOTT-SRAM (1:55:14 | +0:01)
  3. Carolin Schiff: Canyon DT Swiss ATR (1:55:15 | +0:02)
  4. Nele Laing: Canyon DT Swiss ATR (1:55:15 | +0:02)
  5. Isla Short: HUNT Cullen Kilshaw (1:55:16 | +0:03)
  6. Alexis Skarda: SCOTT-SRAM (1:55:16 | +0:03)
  7. Jade Treffeisen: Canyon DT Swiss ATR (1:55:16 | +0:03)
Gravel Burn

Photo by James Heron/Gravel Burn.

Men’s General Classification after Stage 4

  1. Matthew Beers: Toyota Specialized (10:54:08)
  2. Filippo Colombo: SCOTT-SRAM (10:54:40 | +0:32)
  3. Tristan Nortje: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (10:54:59| +51)
  4. Marco Joubert: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (10:55:22 | +1:14)
  5. Jaedon Terlouw: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (10:55:22 | +3:49)

Women’s General Classification after Stage 4

  1. Nele Laing: Canyon DT Swiss ATR (13:24:40)
  2. Hayley Preen: ChemChamp Honeycomb (13:25:36 | +0:56)
  3. Clara Koppenburg: Tudor Pro Cycling (13:28:54 | +4:14)
  4. Olivia Hottinger: SCOTT-SRAM (13:34:53| +10:13)
  5. Caroline Schiff: Canyon DT Swiss ATR (13:39:47 | +15:07)

For the full results from the 2026 Nedbank Gravel Burn, click here.

Gravel Burn

Photo by Fahwaaz Cornelius/Gravel Burn.