{"id":74273,"date":"2025-11-01T16:43:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T14:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/?p=74273"},"modified":"2025-11-01T16:47:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T14:47:03","slug":"axelle-dubau-prevot-wins-nedbank-gravel-burn-with-dramatic-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/axelle-dubau-prevot-wins-nedbank-gravel-burn-with-dramatic-comeback\/","title":{"rendered":"Axelle Dubau-Prevot wins Nedbank Gravel Burn with Dramatic Comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

French rider Axelle Dubau-Prevot (Num\u00e9ro 31 par Caf\u00e9 du Cycliste \/ Pinarello) stormed back dramatically on the final stage of the Nedbank Gravel Burn today (Saturday, 1 November), winning Stage 7 and overturning an 8:54 deficit in the General Classification; she went from fifth in GC to race winner in the process. It was a ride of grit and determination after Dubau-Prevot had all but ruled herself out of contention earlier in the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Axelle dubau prevot wins Stage 7 of the Nedbank Gravel Burn . Photo by Bruce Viaene\/Gravel Burn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

American Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) finished second overall, with South African National Gravel Champion Hayley Preen (ChemChamp Honeycomb 226ers) finishing third at the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn. Overnight leader Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance Soudal), who started Stage 7 with a strong GC lead of 4:20 over Rollins, eventually finished fifth overall due to mechanical issues on the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For Dubau-Prevot, the stage and overall win were just rewards after a commanding week on the bike. Earlier in the race, she had relinquished her GC lead to Moolman-Pasio, but only after a lengthy puncture repair. After each stage, Dubau-Prevot said she felt stronger and stronger each day; that proved true after seven stages of racing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI woke up feeling very good today,\u201d said Dubau-Prevot at the finish line at Shamwari Private Game Reserve. \u201cYesterday \u2013 on the neutral stage \u2013 I had such a good day on the bike with Melisa (Rollins). We took it easy and made it a fun ride; we stopped at all the Padstal feedzones and really just enjoyed ourselves. So today I think I was in good shape to push.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting the seventh and final stage in fifth place on the GC and almost nine minutes behind Moolman-Pasio, Dubau-Prevot said she intended to help Rollins in her GC fight. \u201cI was in two minds this morning. I thought I would help Melisa, but then I started feeling really strong and I told her that I would attack 70km into the race. At one of the river crossings, Melisa got a puncture. I waited for a while, but it was too long. I rejoined the group, and then it was chaos; more punctures and Lauren Stephens crashed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Melisa Rollins, Axelle Dubau-Prevot, Lauren Stephens Finish line during stage 7 of Nedbank Gravel Burn stage race from Gwanishi to Shamwari Private Game Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa on 1 November 2025. Photo by Bruce Viaene\/Gravel Burn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dubau-Prevot managed to avoid any misfortune and joined Moolman-Pasio at the front. \u201cThere was a lot of cow manure on the road, so I told Ashleigh we must now be careful and smart on the course. But then Ashleigh punctured; so I thought \u2018okay, now I must just focus on my own race and maybe I can make up some time on the GC\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sensing that the overall win might be in her grasp, Dubau-Prevot attacked with 30km to go, riding solo all the way to the finish line to claim the stage ahead of Stephens and the overall title ahead of second-placed Rollins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Axelle DUBAU-PREVOT after stage 7 of Nedbank Gravel Burn . Photo by James Cameron Heron\/Gravel Burn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a long time alone. But I had already said to Lauren this morning that I was prepared to die on the bike to get the win, so I just put my head down and pedalled. I am so happy to win, especially after what happened on Stage 4 with my puncture. I really thought it was all over, but I rode for myself and in the end it paid off.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro Women Stage 7 Results<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Axelle Dubau-Prevot \u2013 Num\u00e9ro 31 par Caf\u00e9 du Cycliste \/ Pinarello \u2013 3:52:40
2 Lauren Stephens \u2013 Aegis Cycling Foundation \u2013 +4:37
3 Hayley Preen \u2013 ChemChamp Honeycomb 226ers \u2013 +4:38
4 Clara Koppenburg \u2013 +4:39
5 Melisa Rollins \u2013 Liv Racing Collective \u2013 +6:41<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro Women General Classification Final<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Axelle Dubau-Prevot \u2013 Num\u00e9ro 31 par Caf\u00e9 du Cycliste \/ Pinarello \u2013 23:40:55<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Melisa Rollins \u2013 Liv Racing Collective \u2013 +2:07<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 Hayley Preen \u2013 ChemChamp Honeycomb 226ers \u2013 +2:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 Lauren Stephens \u2013 Aegis Cycling Foundation \u2013 +2:44<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio \u2013 AG Insurance Soudal \u2013 +10:41<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

French rider Axelle Dubau-Prevot (Num\u00e9ro 31 par Caf\u00e9 du Cycliste \/ Pinarello) stormed back dramatically on the final stage of the Nedbank Gravel Burn today (Saturday, 1 November), winning Stage 7 and overturning an 8:54 deficit in the General Classification; she went from fifth in GC to race winner in the process. It was a ride […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":74274,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5368],"featured_location":[337],"class_list":["post-74273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-gravel-burn","featured_location-top-row"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74273"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74278,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74273\/revisions\/74278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74273"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=74273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}