If you've been following gravel racing in the U.S., you've likely been paying attention to the Life Time Grand Prix, the seven-race series that includes Unbound, Big Sugar and Leadville, amongst others. The season concluded with Big Sugar Gravel in Bentonville in October, and now, gravel fans are counting the days until the second season of what can only be called the reality show of the gravel scene—Call of a Life Time—to drop.
But if you missed the racing action or are wondering what’s in store for next year, allow us to catch you up on the racing, the rider selection, and season 2.
Who Won the 2023 Life Time Grand Prix?
TL;DR: Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gómez Villafañe won the overall series this year—making it a repeat performance for Swenson and redemption for Gómez Villafañe, who finished second last year. Alexey Vermeulen also repeated last year’s performance with another second place, while Haley Smith scored second compared to last year’s overall win.
The final race of the season, Big Sugar, was won by current UCI Gravel World Champion Kasia Niewiadoma—with a 9-minute gap over second place finisher Lauren de Cresenzo—and Torbjørn Andre Røed, who took it in a sprint against Brendan Johnston, Vermeulen and Swenson.
When is Call of a Life Time Coming Back?
This year, Life Time put out more post-race highlights immediately following two of the big races, including this 43-minute recap of Big Sugar:
What does that mean for their documentary series, Call of a Life Time, which launched last year? It's confirmed that the series will be back in January 2024, but with the recaps already posted, it's likely that the series will be more focused on season-long storylines and more in-depth content with individual riders.
Who’s Racing the Grand Prix Next Year?
As the series has grown in popularity, racers are now able to leverage Grand Prix entries while talking to potential sponsors. Because of that, the rider roster for the Life Time Grand Prix will be announced on November 7th—much earlier than years past, in order to give riders more time to obtain sponsors.
New for 2024:
- Top 15 finishers in the 2023 series who reapply will be invited into the 2024 series
- 30 men and 30 women will be admitted into the series. This is the same as 2022 but fewer athletes than 2023.
- International athletes will be required to show that they have proper travel visas to be in the US for the full series
- The prize purse is increased to $300,000 and will be paid to the top 10 men and women. The exact payout scheme is still being decided.
- Crusher in the Tushar, Chequamegon MTB Festival, and Sea Otter Classic all have individual prize purses as well.
What’s New in the Grand Prix for 2024?
2024’s Grand Prix will consist of seven of Life Time’s off-road races, three of which are cross-country mountain bike races and three of which are gravel: the Fuego XL at Sea Otter, Unbound Gravel, Crusher in the Tushar, Leadville Trail 100 MTB, Chequamegon MTB Festival, The Rad Dirt Fest, and Big Sugar Gravel.
There is one big change, however. The most critical is the race starts. In 2024, Elite men and women will start separately at all Grand Prix races. Presumably this means that all elite men and women, regardless of Grand Prix status, will be starting separately, an issue that's been hotly contested over the last two seasons for the mass start events.
Otherwise, it’s similar to last year: Participants must start five of the seven events in order to be eligible for an overall prize. Riders will be scored on their five best finishes—which admittedly makes watching the standings throughout the season a little tricky. Additionally, Big Sugar Gravel is mandatory and serves as the tie-breaker in the event of a points tie.
