From Zwift Academy to Gravel Burn glory: Nele Laing's Canyon Grail CFR
Custom-painted gravel bike melds heavy-duty mountain bike tyres with aero-optimised road bike components
Nele Laing started cycling just six years ago but quickly fell in love with two wheels. In 2022, she competed for a pro contract with Canyon-SRAM at the Zwift Academy and, despite finishing runner-up, her impressive performances throughout the talent search caught the eye of several Continental Women's Teams, including Maxx-Solar Rose (2024) and LKT Team (2025). While she’s raced primarily as a road racer, Laing began experimenting with gravel racing in 2023 and hasn’t looked back since.
The German came to Gravel Burn with a four of her Canyon DT Swiss ATR teammates, showing her intent and confidence to challenge for the overall win – after all, she finished just off the podium at the 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships in Australia, losing to Larissa Hartog in a sprint finish. With two stage wins to her name, she led the Gravel Burn general classification from start to finish, beating South Africa’s Hayley Preen by more than a minute.
Laing was elated with the overall victory, especially considering it was her first attempt at a multi-day gravel stage race. "This was my first gravel stage race, and my first stage race this long. Being here in this beautiful environment in South Africa is special, and being here with my whole team was the best way to end the season.”
Age: 27
Raised: Darmstadt, Germany
Lives: Cologne, Germany
Rides for: Canyon DT Swiss ATR
Best results: Gravel Burn win (‘26), National Championships Hill Climb win (‘24), 4th UCI Gravel World Championships (‘26)
This was my first gravel stage race, and my first stage race this long. Being here in this beautiful environment in South Africa is special, and being here with my whole team was the best way to end the season.
Nele Laing
Laing was riding the all-new Canyon Grail CFR, plastered in her team's ATR checkered livery and funky decals, which stood out boldly against the South African Karoo backdrop. Her size XS frame matches a 537mm stack with a 385mm reach. The Grail CFR comes in two configurations: SRAM Red XPLR AXS or Shimano GRX Di2, as pictured here.
The bike is stock for the most part, featuring a Shimano GRX Di2 wireless groupset but mixing some componentry from the Shimano parts bin – most notably the Dura-Ace crankarms mated to a 44T chainring.
The brakes, shifter, and rear mech are GRX Di2-branded. It also has a chain keeper, which is a must for the terrain of South Africa's Karoo region. The Grail CFR rolls on a pair of DT Swiss GRC 1100 wheelset wrapped in 2.25in Schwalbe Thunder Burt MTB tyres – bang on with the 57mm maximum recommended width.
Touchpoints are a mix of components, most of which are sponsor-correct and not available on complete builds. Her setup is fairly aggressive, with a slammed Ergon SR Allroad Pro Carbon Women saddle and an equally slammed front end – Laing runs an integrated Canyon CP053 Race carbon bar measuring 380mm wide with a 90mm stem.
Topeak handles the bottle-cage duties: one is bolted to an in-frame storage hatch, while the other uses a clever side mount to house a CO2 canister.
While many pro riders opt for road bike-specific pedals for seven days of gravel racing in the Karoo, Laing stuck with the bulletproof Shimano XTR M9200 double-sided SPDs.
Tech spec
- Frameset: Canyon Grail CFR Carbon
- Fork: Canyon FK0157
- Cockpit: Canyon CP053 Race
- Seatpost: Canyon Aero
- Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace, GRX Di2 44T, 10-51T
- Wheelset: DT Swiss GRC 1100
- Tyres: 2.25in Schwalbe Thunder Burt
- Saddle: Ergon SR Allroad Pro Carbon Women
