The hills of the Highlands Gravel Classic split the field with Jenna Rinehart (Rene Herse Cycles) and Daxton Mock (Trek Driftless) riding solo to victory at the first 2026 round of the UCI Gravel World Series in the United States.
On the 95% gravel course, Rinehart came over the line with an advantage of 4:40 to Emily Newsom while Canada’s Dylan Baker took third in the elite women’s race, more than 12 minutes further back.
“Emily Newsom and I pushed the pace and broke away from the rest of the field pretty early,” said Rinehart in an Instagram post. “I ended up getting a little gap on a steep climb around mile 33. I was not planning to try and go that early but decided to take a chance.
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“Emily has such a strong motor and race tactics, so I was expecting she might catch me. I stayed on the gas and pushed the descents and was able to grow the gap and get out of sight to the finish line.”
Mock also carved out a solid gap, crossing the line with a 1:46 margin to fellow US rider Lance Lakoski, while Colombian rider Oscar Mauricio Pachon Melo was more than six minutes back in third.
Mock was first part of a group of four out front and then was in the lead with Lakoski, but didn’t want to have to leave it to a climbing showdown to decide the race.
“I wasn’t climbing the best, so I wanted to get away before the last climb and then just go all in,” said Mock in a post-race interview with organisers.
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The course in Fayetteville, Arkansas with more than a dozen climbs packed in 4,850 feet (1,478m) of elevation gain across its 67 miles (109km). There will also be another round of the series in the United States later in the year, on September 19 at Mammoth TUFF.
The elite women’s podium at the 2026 Highlands Gravel Classics 2026, a UCI Gravel World Series race (Image credit: Ben Robles / HIghlands Gravel Classic)
