After the inaugural Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda, Life Time will launch a docuseries on Jan. 27 called “Call of a Life Time,” following the elite women and men, including many Durangoans, who competed in the off-road cycling series.
The docuseries offers a behind-the-scenes look into the off-road cycling world and the characters at play. Featuring three gravel and three mountain biking events that are owned and produced by Life Time and make up the Grand Prix, “Call of a Life Time” explores the intense competition that exists in the United States among 60 elite cyclists. Each episode will expose their highs, lows, drama, self-doubt, turmoil and accomplishments, and what it took emotionally and physically for them to perform at the highest level over the seven-month 2022 race season.
The races are memorized in each of the six episodes, including the Life Time Garmin Unbound Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear and the Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB. The Docuseries finale showcases the Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Mazda, which took place in Bentonville, Arkansas and culminated the Grand Prix season and revealed which athletes walked away with $250,000.
The series was filmed by the award-winning production company, Cold Collaborative, and conceptualized by director and company founder, Shannon Vandivier.
“When I was first approached by Life Time with the opportunity to create this docuseries, I was inspired by “Drive to Survive,” the Formula 1 Netflix series,” Vandivier said. “The idea was to focus more on the characters and to glorify the races/championship aspect a bit less. ... We wanted to uncover why they do this kind of thing, and what it takes emotionally and physically.”
“It’s a complicated process, as a director,” Vandivier said. “On average, we had seven people at each race over the course of the past year, pouring massive amounts of time, effort and creativity into this project.”
The format of the series flips back and forth, with the first and last episodes highlighting both the women’s and men’s races, the second event highlighting the men’s race, the third event highlighting the women’s race, and so on.
“A key objective for creating the Life Time Grand Prix was to generate fandom around the United States cycling scene,” said Michelle Duffy, director of brand and content for events at Life Time, and co-executive producer of the series. "Cycling fans will be able to reminisce on the exciting 2022 season, while non-cyclists, and new fans, can indulge in the drama and complexity of these athletes, their unique stories and the sport as a whole.”
All six episodes will be available for free on the Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel and premiere at 5 p.m. on Jan. 27.
