News: Easter Wins, Preen Relegated, and Eklund Inherits the W

Griffin Easter, the man who fractured both his wrists in a Nedbank Gravel Burn crash 12 months ago, thundered to victory on Stage 6 of the 2026 event on Friday, 30 October. Easter’s win is the first by an American male, adding his name to the young event’s roll of honour alongside fellow American gravistas, Lauren Stephens and Melisa Rollins, who won Stages 3 and 4 in 2025. Easter’s win was far from straightforward, but it appeared simple in comparison to the women’s result. Hayley Preen crossed the finish line first, before a protest led the race’s commissaires to relegate Preen, Clara Koppenburg, and Carolin Schiff to the back of the lead group. This meant that Nathalie Eklund inherited the stage victory after crossing the chalk second.

Easter Thrilled by Stage Win

Griffin Easter was in an exuberant mood after winning Stage 6 of the 2026 Nedbank Gravel Burn. “This week hasn’t been easy, I had a mechanical which put me out of the GC on Stage 2,” he said, looking back on the race thus far. “My confidence wasn’t quite there. But I’ve kept trying and today it came off.”

“We got away almost as soon as the neutral zone ended. And had really good cooperation in the break, with Alex [Miller], Georg [Egger], Hugo [Drechou], Juri [Hollmann], Cronje [Beukes], and Mattia [de Marchi]. Unfortunately for Mattia he punctured, and Juri dropped off on one of the climbs. The five of us that remained kept working almost right to the line.”

: Alex Miller in the Stage 6 break. Photo by Paul Ganse/Gravel Burn

: Driving the break forward. Photo by Paul Ganse/Gravel Burn.

What Easter could not have known was how happy the general classification contenders were to let the break’s advantage grow. They rode at a steady but not fast tempo through the first 50 kilometres of the 76 kilometre stage, and only started to attack one another when the road surface deteriorated. “After the first river crossing the road narrowed and there were a few climbs,” the aggressor from the general classification group, Henrique Avancini explained. “I wanted to get ride of a few guys there, to see if I could gain time in the battle for the top ten.”

Avancini’s aggression inspired Filippo Colombo to try to put pressure on Matt Beers, in the fight for the orange leaders’ jersey too. The Toyota Specialized man briefly found himself caught behind what could have become a split, but he had enough firepower to haul his way back to the front.

: Matt Beers crossing one of five rivers on the Stage 6 course. Photo byPaul Ganse/Gravel Burn

: Full gas racing. Photo by Paul Ganse/Gravel Burn.

“In the finale there were still lots of attacks,” Marc Pritzen added, about the general classification group. “It was a crazy day again and so hard. I’m glad I survived it and managed to protect fifth overall.”

Up the road the five men in the breakaway charged towards the finish line on the boundary of Shamwari Private Game Reserve. “Griffin did what I had wanted to do and attacked from a way out, from the back of the group,” Beukes revealed. “I jumped onto the right hand side of the road and just went all in,” Easter grinned. “I kept thinking Alex [Miller] or Hugo [Drechou] would come past me, but they never did.”

Griffin Easter won Stage 6 from a five rider breakaway group. Photo by Paul Ganse/Gravel Burn.

“I’m so happy! It’s been a long year without a big win, so this is really important for my season,” Easter concluded.

The general classification group crossed the line 4 minutes down. Despite the main contenders being awarded the same time the result sheet tells little of the story. It was an attritional day out, ahead of what could be a decisive final stage on Saturday.

: Departing Gwanishi for Shamwari. Photo by Paul Ganse/Gravel Burn.

: A journey of galloping giraffe. Photo by Paul Ganse/Gravel Burn.

Relegations Redefine Stage 6 in the Women’s Race

Hayley Preen can breath a sign of relief, while still feeling aggrieved, after being penalised for failing to adhere to a commissaire’s directive to remain on the left hand side of the road in the lead-up to the sprint finish. The South Africa, along with Clara Koppenburg and Carolin Schiff strayed into the right lane as a group of nine women rolled into the final kilometre. After a protest from one of their fellow riders, and a long deliberation, the trio were relegated to the back of the group, but were not further punished with a time penalty.

The day had been uneventful until that point with Larissa Hartog going solo in an early but ultimately doomed breakaway. The general classification contenders then marked each other out of any meaningful moves. Having injured her knee Isla Short took the day off from contesting for stage victory and rode with fellow Pump for Peace ambassador, Faith Tuhwe. The pair rode relatively socially, while ahead the racing was on and off, but never decisive enough for race leader, Nele Laing or one of her key rivals, to distance one of the top six general classification contenders.

: The women in action on Stage 6. Photo by Fahwaaz Cornelius/Gravel Burn.

: The terrain made it difficult to split the peloton. Photo by Fahwaaz Cornelius/Gravel Burn.

In the sprint finish Preen powered across the line first. Followed by Nathalie Eklund and Hartog. Then a protest was lodged and the deliberations began. The final results from the day will show Preen, Koppenburg, and Schiff in seventh, eighth, and nineth, rather than first, fourth, and seventh.