Life Time Grand Prix reveals riders for 2024 gravel series

Swenson and Villafañe return for the seven-race series that will see $300,000 up for grabs

21:29, Tuesday 7th November 2023

Logan Jones-Wilkins

Junior Writer - North America

Courtesy of Life Time

The Life Time Grand Prix peloton racing through the hills of Arkansas

The 2024 Life Time Grand Prix line-ups are set, with the series announcing the 30 men and 30 women who will be competing in the seven races next year.

The series, which is in its third season, is billed as the top off-road endurance series in the world, with pre-selected competitors vying for the overall prize purse of $300,000.

The series will continue using the same seven races from last season, with the only changes being an increase in the prize purse and a return to 30 riders after last season had a field size of 35.

“Preparing for the third season of the Life Time Grand Prix has been super exciting for our team, as we continue to innovate and build on the momentum from our first two years,” Kimo Seymour, President of Life Time Events, said in a press release.

“We’ve all worked hard this past year to grow off-road cycling in North America and we believe 2024 will bring even bigger enthusiasm and fan engagement with the sport.”

Headlining the names are Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafañe, last year’s winners and the two dominant riders in the biggest US gravel and mountain biking events. There was some speculation that Swenson would possibly shake up his objectives after two dominant seasons, but he will be returning to attempt a hat-trick.

One rider who is new to the series and who might stand in Swenson's way is Petr Vakoc. Vakoc is a former World Tour rider who had the power to win one-day races on the world stage. He will be coming into the Life Time Grand Prix with big ambition, especially after his second place at Unbound and SBT GRVL, the two biggest days in North American gravel racing.

On the women’s side, the big newcomer is Lauren Stephens. Like Vakoc, she brings a wealth of European race experience and will have the ability to focus lots of energy on the series as she steps down to the Cynisca continental team.

In terms of under-the-radar names, there are a few pure gravel specialists emerging from the discipline's proliferation over the last couple of years. A couple of women making their debut in the series this year are Michaela Thompson from Durango, Colorado, Cecily Decker from Bozeman, Montana, and Anna Hicks of Placerville, California.

On the men’s side, Carter Anderson makes the step up to the field after a very strong Unbound Gravel, as does fellow Utah mountain biker Truman Glasgow, while Jordan Schleck of Uganda and Team Amani will be flying the flag for East Africa.

Another general trend in the 2024 Life Time Grand Prix roster is the inclusion of more international riders for both genders, with eight different nations represented in each field. Interestingly, there is less diversity of geography amongst the Americans, with only 10 states represented on the women’s side and six states on the men’s side. In fact, only two riders live on the east coast of the country: Dylan Johnson from Brevard, North Carolina, and Sarah Lange from Lyme, New Hampshire.

That being said, the series only ventures as far east as Arkansas, which is still a 14-hour car journey from the Atlantic Ocean. It is a series that predominantly takes place in the high mountains of the Rockies and the variable terrain of the Midwest.

Once again, riders are required to race five out of the seven events, with the Big Sugar Classic being mandatory for all the riders as it is meant to function as the de facto championship event.