Schleck, Masiga lead strong global field for LOOP Safari Gravel Series in Nanyuki

The LOOP Safari Gravel Series will head to Nanyuki for the first time this Saturday, 17 October 2026, for the fourth leg of the 2026 edition, with more than 600 cyclists set to take on the course at the Mt Kenya Wildlife Conservancy. 

The Nanyuki event is the latest addition to the LOOP Safari Gravel Series calendar and will give riders an opportunity to tackle new terrain while experiencing one of Kenya’s popular adventure destinations from a different perspective.

This season, cyclists had a say in the destination of the final leg of the series following the introduction of a new riders’ choice event which saw them vote and settle for Nanyuki as the preferred stop. Cyclists will compete over 11 km Chui Route, 45 km Duma Route, and a 90 km Simba Route for the elite, with up to 636 cyclists registered as of Wednesday, October 13.

The men’s elite line up will see Jordan Schleck, Ivan Kipruto, Bernard Njoroge, and youngster Stanley Ngugi take to the course while Team Black Mamba trio of Kendra Masiga, Monica Jelimo, and Dinnah Safari will lead the women’s elite race.

Also in the men's elite race will be the duo of Vincent Chege and Evans Wangai from the newly-formed club, The Hub Karen, take part while DR Congo’s 19-year-old Martinie Ditona and Uganda’s Mary Aleper are also part of the women’s elite team. 

The top five finishers in the elite 90-kilometre race for both men and women set to claim cash prizes of KES 20,000, KES 15,000, KES 10,000, KES 7,000, and KES 5,000, respectively. 

The winning team will take home KES 125,000 while the second and third-placed teams will receive KES 100,000 and KES 70,000, respectively.  

Speaking ahead of the Nanyuki event, Troy Barrie, Team Amani Coordinator, said: 

“We are pleased to have such a strong field for the Nanyuki leg of the series. This event gives us a completely new setting for the LOOP Safari Gravel Series and we hope it will be as interesting as the other destinations have been. This leg will serve as the Kenya Gravel National Championship and makes it even more interesting. We have seen the cycling community grow tremendously, and we are happy to have made it possible in the series for the third year in a row. This season the competition was very stiff, and we cannot wait to see what the closing leg has in store.” 

Limuru hosted the season opener in March before paving the way for the UCI-accredited leg in Naivasha in June, followed by the recent outing at Vipingo Ridge in August.  

Uganda’s duo of Schleck and Aleper successfully defended their LOOP Safari Gravel Series titles in Vipingo Ridge last month, winning the men’s and women’s 105km elite races. 

Schleck retained his Vipingo crown after clocking 3:31:59 in the 105km men’s race, holding off Kenya’s Njoroge, who finished second in 3:36:44. Billy Mangwana completed the podium at 4:08:07. 

Aleper also successfully defended her title in the women’s 105km race, completing the course in 4:42:24. She finished ahead of Kenya’s Alice Miring’u, who clocked 5:24:19, while Mercy Eregae was third in 5:51:51. 

Following his win in Vipingo, Schleck leads the Men’s Overall Individual Standings for the season with 270 points. Ngugi is second with 267 points while Njoroge rounds off the podium places with 254 points. 

In the Women’s Overall Individual Standings, Masiga leads with 250 points followed by Safari on 236 while Jelimo is third with 235 points. 

Black Mamba Development Squad tops the Overall Team Standings with 1306 points while Ariya Finergy Solar Cycling and Joy Riders are second and third with 1025 and 864 points, respectively. 

The LOOP Safari Gravel Series is organised by The Amani Project, an initiative dedicated to developing and supporting cycling talent across East Africa, with LOOP Digital Financial Services as the title sponsor, in partnership with Vipingo Ridge and the Kenya Cycling Federation.