Pidcock pounces, Beers retains lead

On a day of racing marked by minor attacks from riders within the large lead group, the decisive moment of Stage 5 at the Nedbank Gravel Burn came down to the summit finish on Swaershoek Pass near Cradock in the Eastern Cape.

Germany’s Andreas Seewald (Singer KTM Racing) was the first to pull away from the group, but he was almost instantly reeled in by Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) at the 133km mark of the 137km-long stage. Pidcock surged and claimed his first stage win of the 2025 Nedbank Gravel Burn. Seewald rolled over the line in second place, with Simon Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling) third on the day.

“It looked to me to be the easiest stage, with only one climb to do,” said Pidcock, “That’s why I thought I would have a go. But it was actually Alistair Brownlee’s idea. He persuaded me… Right at the end of the stage, he told me to go for it, so I did. Everyone has been saying to me, ‘You should try to win a stage’. But the riding is tough. I have been suffering all year. I don’t want to suffer here!”

‘LOVING THIS EVENT’

After some light suffering on the final climb of Stage 5, Pidcock is back to enjoying himself in the Burn Camp. “I am loving this event. Everything is very cool. A highlight for me has been the camaraderie among all the riders, eating with everyone, sitting around the fire at night, and just getting to know all the other participants.”

Two riders getting to know each other very well at the Nedbank Gravel Burn are Beers and Pellaud. Over five days of racing, the General Classification top two are almost inseparable.

Beers appeared to take his foot off the gas slightly, riding defensively, rarely spending much time at the front. Instead, after a few early attacks from Marco Joubert (Imbuko ChemChamp Specialized) and Lukas Baum (Orbea x Leatt Speed Company), it was Lukas Pöstlberger (Rose Racing Circle) and Cameron Wurf who put the most effort into the racing. Wurf sat at the front of the group for long stretches, with Pöstlberger taking over in the latter half of the stage.

When asked by the other riders on the finish line why he was racing so hard, Pöstlberger replied drily, “If I wasn’t putting that pace down so hard, you guys would have been out there for another hour!”. Pellaud offered his thanks in the shape of cool refreshments, “Beer on me tonight, Lukas!”.

ALL ON THE LINE

With two stages remaining, everything is on the line for Beers and Pellaud. “Day five is normally my worst day on these stage races,” said Beers.

“I didn’t feel bad, but the heat definitely affected me today. Coming up to the climb, Simon attacked me there. I knew he would, so I just had to hold my own pace and not get overexcited. I lost about 24 seconds in the end. It sucks to lose the time, but it could have been worse.

"At one point, I think he had gained 40 seconds on me, so it’s not too bad. I just did everything I could to stay in touch. We still have two big days left – we are quite even, so it’s going to be tight. I think my technical skills could give me the advantage over the next two days, but I have no idea what we are really in for.”

Pellaud was happy with his ride, but felt he needed to eat a little more into Beers’ lead. “I made some time, but not enough time! Not enough time! That was definitely the plan today, to try and chip away at Matt’s lead, but I am not a climber, so I couldn’t get away from him.

"I just pushed the pedals as much as I could for as long as I could. I don’t think it was enough. I didn’t ever feel like I could make up time on him today, so the result is a bit of a bonus.”