UCI Gravel World Series: Toki Sawada surprises Tobias Kongstad with victory in muddy Dustman Gravel in Thailand

Toki Sawada (Astemo Utsunomiya Blitzen) of Japan surprised Traka 360 champion Tobias Kongstad (PAS Racing) with the elite men's victory at Dustman Gravel in Thailand on November 1, while Scottish gravel champion Caroline Livesey won the women's title.

With the victories, Sawada and Livesey earned entries into the 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships, as Dustman was the third of four qualifiers in the wrap-around calendar for the UCI Gravel World Series.

Sawada completed the water-logged and muddy course in 4:07:51, with 3:17 to spare to second-placed Kongstad. Rick Noble of the Netherlands was third, another seven minutes back.

A multi-discipline rider who rode for a third year with his UCI Continental-level team, Sawada competes across road, cyclocross and mountain bike, and won Gravel Race Yajurai in August. There were only three elite men's riders from Asia at last year's UCI Gravel Worlds, representing Hong Kong and China, and now Sawada has his ticket punched for the Worlds, which will be in Nannup, Western Australia from October 10–11, 2026.

Kongstad wrapped up his successful 2025 campaign in Thailand, which was the final stop in his "three weekends-three continents tour". He competed at Big Sugar Classic in the US on October 18, where he finished 26th, then stopped at home in Denmark to win Gribben Gravel on October 26, and concluded his global trifecta of racing in Thailand.

The women’s race lived up to expectations as a battle between a duo from Great Britain, Hayley Simmonds and Caroline Livesey. The victory went to Livesey in a time of 4:50:31 that was also good for eighth overall. She earned the inaugural gravel national title for Scotland in June, then finished eighth at the British gravel championships.

"This is the first time Thailand has been host to a UCI Gravel World Series race, and when the opportunity came up for me to race I couldn’t refuse. I’m so glad I came, it’s been a special week, Livesey wrote on Instagram, noting how the rain made the race a "mudfest adventure".

"This race also reminded me that gravel racing is as much about having experience with kit and equipment as it is about being able to hold power. There were a lot of people with the wrong tyres for the job, but I suppose Dustman was a bit of a misnomer. Slicks in those conditions were a death trap and sadly there were a lot of DNFs."

More than 300 riders from 28 countries lined up in Kanchanaburi at the Muang Sing Historical Park for the start, a site known for its proximity to World War II landmark the River Kwai Bridge. The 130km route followed a circuit of heavily-forested roads with rolling terrain for 840 metres of elevation gain, before returning to the park for the finish.

Results

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