UCI Gravel World Series: Lawrence Lorot and Claudette Nyirarukundo sprint to victory at Safari Gravel

Haley Hunter Smith leads Claudette Nyirarukundo during 2025 Safari Gravel while in 2026 it was Nyirarukundo in front
Haley Hunter Smith leads Claudette Nyirahabimana during 2025 Safari Gravel, while in 2026 it was (Image credit: Safari Gravel / Salt Lake Lian)

It all came down to a sprint at the Safari Gravel race with Lawrence Lorot (Team Amani) and Claudette Nyirarukundo (Team Amani) claiming the UCI Gravel World Series race set in the Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya.

It was a step up from last year for Nyirarukundo, who in 2025 finished second to Haley Smith at the challenging 111km event with 85% gravel and surfaces that range from red clay to single track and game trails. This year the Rwandan got the better of Canada's Sarah Diekmeyer in a tight battle to the line in the women's elite race. Austria's Theresa Rindler-Bachl (Megamo) was third, more than ten minutes further back.

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Elite men's top 5

Position

Rider

Time

1

Lawrence Lorot

03:29:04

2

Stanley Ngugi

+01

3

Ivan Kipruto

+18

4

Jordan Schleck

+2:15

5

Benard Bendard

+3:38

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Elite women's top 5

Position

Rider

Time

1

Claudette Nyirarukundo

04:16:52

2

Sarah Diekmeyer

+01

3

Therese Rindler-Bachl

+10:31

4

Kendra Masiga

+12:39

5

Jelimo Monica

+25:53

Simone Giuliani
Australia Editor

Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.

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