Offseason? Not for Tom Pidcock — spotted racing in South Africa, chatting with Dutch riders… and finishing second to last

Pidcock took time off immediately after the Gravel World Championships and headed to the Seychelles for a vacation with his girlfriend, Bethany Louise Zajac. There, the Brit from Q36.5 proposed to his girlfriend, which he referred to on Instagram with the caption “went there as a boy, came back as a man.” From the holiday island, he flew on to South Africa for Gravel Burn.

Gravel Burn is an initiative of Kevin Vermaak, also the founder of the famous Cape Epic mountain bike race in South Africa. With gravel racing becoming increasingly popular, he saw a new gap in the market: the seven-day race covers a total of 800 kilometers and 11,000 meters of elevation gain, while riders can also spot many animals along the way, including the Big Five.

Pidcock is undoubtedly not the only well-known name on the start list. Former pros Cameron Wurf, Lawrence Naesen, Lachlan Morton, Chad Haga, Peter Stetina, Lukas Pöstlberger, and Simon Pellaud—all of whom are now active in gravel racing—will also be there, as will Dutch riders Ramon Sinkeldam and Ivar Slik. Pidcock had a chat with the latter two during stage two, as we saw on Sinkeldam's Instagram.

What Pidcock is doing in South Africa is not really racing, though. Under the heading ‘active vacation’, he finished 32nd in stage one and 37th on day two... out of 38. South African Matthew Beers won both stages.

We also see some familiar names among the women. Axelle Dubau-Prévot, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's sister, won the first two stages, ahead of Aisleigh Moolman-Pasio, Lauren Stephens, Clara Koppenburg, and Alison Jackson, among others.

You can watch the highlights of each stage every day on the YouTube channel of Gravel Burn.