The Dane who finished second at the Cape Epic before joining the WorldTour peloton
Long before Jakob Fuglsang became one of Denmark's most accomplished road cyclists, he was a young mountain biker learning how to win the hard way. And now, with the road already in the rear-view mirror, he's heading back to exactly where it all began: the dirt. The Dane has confirmed his entry into the Nedbank Gravel Burn 2026, from 25 to 31 October in South Africa, closing a circle that started almost twenty years ago.
It was 2006 when he turned professional and moved to Italy to join a mountain bike team. A year later came his first great South African feat: the Cape Epic alongside Roel Paulissen, where the pair finished second after a fierce battle with the mighty Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm. That same year, in 2007, he became U23 cross-country world champion, overtaking none other than Nino Schurter on the final lap (the podium was completed by another future legend, Jaroslav Kulhavý). In 2008 he returned to the Cape Epic with Paulissen... and this time they won outright.
Those results caught the attention of Team CSC, the Danish outfit that at the time brought together stars like Fabian Cancellara, Carlos Sastre and the Schleck brothers. Within months, Fuglsang left mountain biking behind and became a full-time road cyclist. It was the start of an 18-year career that would take him through the jerseys of Leopard Trek, RadioShack, Astana and Israel Premier Tech.
South Africa came before everything else
Before the Olympic silver in Rio, before winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia, before his two Critérium du Dauphiné titles and his top-10 finishes at the Tour and Giro, and before his stage win at the Vuelta a España... there was South Africa. Almost two decades on, Fuglsang looks back fondly on those Cape Epic days and admits he always wanted to return to South Africa on a bike, this time without the pressure of the clock and with more time to enjoy the scenery.
Retired from the professional peloton since mid-2025, he now splits his time between family and personal projects, including his cycling apparel brand, Mad.One. And among those projects there's room for a seven-day, 750km race across the Great Karoo, sleeping in the Burn Camps.
What hooks him now goes beyond the race itself
What draws Fuglsang to this event goes well beyond the start line: the local food, the stops at the Lapas, the atmosphere among riders at the end of each stage, and those Karoo nights under a sky full of stars. In his own words, few races have the same spirit once you get off the bike, and that's one of the reasons he decided to sign up.
Old habits die hard, though. Fuglsang admits he still holds onto "a small idea" of being competitive on certain stages, and that he'll arrive in South Africa with some fitness built up ahead of late October. He says it with the calm of someone who no longer needs to prove anything, but who also hasn't lost the appetite to fight for the front if the day allows it.
The best part of stage racing: pros and amateurs, same adventure
One of the biggest draws of the Nedbank Gravel Burn, and of this kind of stage race in general, is that professionals of Fuglsang's calibre share the route, the camp and the fatigue with amateur riders from all over the world. Same dust, same climbs, same Burn Camp at night. For the rest of us, that means one thing: a real chance to share a week of racing with a legend of the peloton.
The lesson we take away at masquebici
If there's something we love about stories like this, it's seeing that gravel doesn't care about your résumé. It doesn't matter whether you've won a Monument or you're about to toe the line at your first ever stage race: we all start day one with the same mix of nerves and excitement. Fuglsang is leaving familiar tarmac behind to throw himself into the uncertainty of the dirt, exactly like anyone taking their first step into gravel.
And that step is easier when you're not going it alone. At masquebici we help you prepare your bike and your logistics so that, whether you're racing for the overall or simply want to enjoy the scenery like Fuglsang, the only thing you have to manage is the route itself.
We'll keep sharing more confirmed names for this 2026 edition of the Nedbank Gravel Burn. And if you fancy living your own version of this adventure, you know where to find us.
