Life Time recently announced the 70 athletes who have been selected to compete in the 2023 Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda Race Series, and several Durangoans and former Fort Lewis College cyclists were chosen.
The expanded field of 70 athletes include 35 men and 35 women who will compete for a $250,000 equally split prize purse in the seven-race series.
Local athletes selected include Ellen Campbell, Sarah Sturm, Sofia Gomez Villafane, Howard Grotts, Payson McElveen and Cole Paton.
“Bring on dirt, bring on endurance, bring on seven races,” Sturm said. “I feel like I learned a lot racing this season and I am excited to carry that over to next year too. I am hoping to get to be a part of the ‘traveling circus’ again, it was really exciting to be a part of an off-road series for the year, people were stoked to follow, and it was a huge learning for me as an athlete.”
In the final women’s standings last year, Gomez Villafane finished second with 134 points, Sturm was third (134) and Campbell finished 15th (87). Last year’s overall winner with 138 points, Haley Smith of Quebec, was also selected to return.
“I believe this style of event is the future of the sport,” Smith said. “It’s refreshing and motivating to be part of an event style that is focused on mass participation and getting more people involved at all levels of ability. I very much think pros have a role to play in this equation, and part of my purpose is to inspire people of all abilities to take up bike riding. These events accomplish just that!”
“The cycling world is growing and evolving in many ways, and the Grand Prix has changed the game for endurance cycling, which I was lucky enough to experience in 2022,” Campbell said. “I see how this series has transformed the cycling community to step it up a notch.”
In the final men’s standings, Paton finished fourth with 129 points and Grotts was 11th with 100. An injury, unfortunately, prevented McElveen from competing in several races. Keegan Swenson of Utah won the overall title with 149 points.
“The mixture of events and accumulation of overall points keeps me motivated and excited for the entire season of racing,” Paton said.
“I like to encourage people to try new disciplines of cycling and show them that you can have fun on any sort of bicycle in almost any location,” Swenson said.
Other athletes selected from Colorado include Lauren De Crescenzo, Holly Mathews, Deanna Mayles, Jessica Mullins, Hannah Shell, Alexis Skarda, Starla Teddergreen, Caroline Tory, Leah Van der Linden, Ruth Winder, Eric Brunner, Russell Finsterwald, Alex Howes, Lachlan Morton, Alexey Vermeulen and Jack Odron.
This year’s series will include seven events, beginning with the Sea Otter Classic on April 22 in Monterey, California. The series then moves to Kansas for UNBOUND Gravel June 3, followed by Crusher in the Tushar on July 8 in Utah, the Leadville Trail 100 MTB on Aug. 12 in Colorado, the Chequamegon MTB Festival on Sept. 16 in Wisconsin, and then conclude with Big Sugar Gravel on Oct. 21 in Arkansas. A seventh wild card event is scheduled to be announced on Jan. 11.
The top 10 male and female athletes in the final cumulative standings will share the $250,000 purse, with the first-place finishers winning $25,000. Some events in the series also have their own prize purses.
Athletes will be ranked against other Life Time Grand Prix competitors by points received based on their finishing position at each event. Similar to the 2022 series, the first athlete will earn 35 points, second, 34; third, 33; and so forth. The overall results will use an athlete’s best five finishes, and participants must start in five of the seven events in order to be eligible for an overall prize. The final event in the series, Life Time Big Sugar Gravel, is also mandatory and will serve as a tiebreaker in the event of a tie in points.
“After an overwhelming success with the inaugural 2022 Life Time Grand Prix, our team is stoked to be back in 2023,” said Kimo Seymour, President of Life Time Events. “Thanks to guidance and input from our athletes, sponsors, communities and team members, we’ve implemented changes to the series as we strive to bring more fans to the sport of professional cycling in North America. We are all looking forward to 2023 and beyond.”
