UCI World Series – Hans Becking and Maddy Nutt win Kenya's Safari Gravel

Hans Becking (Buff Megamo) and Maddy Nutt won the Safari Gravel Event on Saturday, the Kenyan round of the Trek UCI Gravel World Series which took competitors through the Hell’s Gate National Park in Naivasha - a location which inspired the Lion King.

In the men's race, Becking came across the line ahead of German rider Lukas Baum (Speed Company) and American Chad Haga (PAS Racing) was third. 

The Dutch winner commented on Instagram that the race delivered a "good battle with friends on a sandy route. Happy to sneak away with the win!" To which Haga replied: "There's nothing sneaky about going so fast that nobody can keep up!"

In the women's race British rider Nutt held on for a solo win ahead of Rwanda's Xaverine Nirere (Team Amani) and in third it was US rider Amity Rockwell (Pas Racing)

"Without a doubt the toughest course I’ve raced, with miles of leg-sapping deep sand, and slippy and rough descents," said Nutt in an Instagram post. "I was in the lead early on in the race before coming down pretty dramatically on some deep sand. I thought my race could be over, but quickly got back on and pushed to move back forwards."

That was not an easy task though, with Nutt pushing up the longer climbs to distance herself from the rivals but her legs telling the tale of the effort as she got to the final stages of the race.

"I had 12.5km to go, and the biggest result of my cycling career within sight, but both my calves, my foot and a quad were cramping and I didn’t know if I could get to the line before being caught, unable to push any power through my pedals," added Nutt. "My earlier efforts were enough to have created a big enough gap, and I crossed the line tearful and overwhelmed."

The field was packed with international competitors, that are next week set to take on the four-stage Migration Gravel Race from June 18-21, and started at Elsa's Gate before taking on a 90% gravel course.

The race which finished at Naivasha Simba Lodge covered 120km with 2,500m of climbing and is the second African qualifying event for the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships, which will be held in Belgium on October 5-6. The first, Swartberg 100 in South Africa in April, was won by Tiffany Cromwell and Jaco van Dyk.