Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialised Off-road) and Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz Bicycles) ruled the second one version of the Lifestyles Time Grand Prix introduced through Mazda and had been formally topped champions of the seven-race off-road collection after finishing the finale at Giant Sugar Gravel on Saturday.
The combat for issues within the Lifestyles Time Grand Prix box culminated after 680 miles of racing and greater than 59,000 toes of elevation achieve as Villafañe and Swenson transformed their ratings into $25,000 every.
A $250,000 general prize handbag used to be allotted flippantly some of the most sensible 10 professional girls and most sensible 10 professional males the mud settled in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Organisers introduced that the prize handbag will building up to $300,000 in 2024 for an invitation-only box of 30 professional girls and 30 professional males, down from 35 in every class this yr. “The precise payout scheme remains to be being made up our minds,” in keeping with a remark from Lifestyles Time.
Whilst the make-up of the highest 10 for professional girls used to be reshuffled on the conclusion of Giant Sugar Gravel, the boys’s most sensible 10 noticed the largest adjustments. This yr rider ratings had been tallied from their very best effects at 5 of the seven occasions, giving athletes the solution to simply race 5 occasions or compete within the complete agenda and toss out decrease ratings.
Matthew Beers, 7th within the collection going into Giant Sugar, and Zach Calton, 8th within the collection, dropped out of the highest 10. For Calton, it used to be difficult as he turned into a casualty within the Giant Sugar tiebreaker. He completed 14 seconds in the back of Konny Looser for twentieth position and the Swiss champion secured the tiebreaker bonus together with his nineteenth position and the general most sensible 10 place within the collection.
Beers, who completed 2nd to Swenson per week in the past at Little Sugar MTB, didn’t end Saturday’s gravel match so didn’t qualify for a 5th race end. Johnston moved into his spot for 7th total, whilst Alex Howes moved 3 spots into 8th. Howard Grotts additionally moved from twelfth to 9th.
The ladies’s most sensible 10 noticed Jenna Rinehart and Paige Onweller soar two spots and earn $2,000 extra every with 6th and 7th puts, respectively.
Crystal Anthony moved to 8th and Hannah Otto to 9th, with Deanna Mayles conserving directly to tenth position.
General winners Villafañe and Swenson grabbed the collection lead within the 70-rider invitation-only box through profitable the hole spherical at Sea Otter Vintage Fuego XL and persisted to take most sensible Grand Prix issues around the subsequent 3 occasions – Unbound Gravel 200, Crusher within the Tushar and Leadville Path 100 MTB.
Swenson received the entire in all 4 of those occasions, environment a brand new direction report at each Crusher and Leadville within the procedure. He completed 2nd at Chequamegon MTB to seal his 2nd total victory within the collection after which went directly to win the inaugural US gravel nationwide name, which he wore at Giant Sugar. Alexey Vermeulen, who received Chequamegon and The Rad Grime Fest, completed 2nd total. Cole Paton used to be 0.33, Russell Finsterwald fourth, Lachlan Morton 5th and Peter Stetina 6th.
Villafañe received a trio of races within the first part of the collection, with a girls’s direction report at Crusher. She completed 2nd at Unbound Gravel 200 in the back of Germany’s Carolin Schiff, who used to be no longer a part of the collection so the Argentine rider took most sensible collection issues. She then locked in her total name with a third-place end at Chequamegon. Alexis Skarda held directly to 2nd total and Haley Smith, ultimate yr’s winner, used to be 0.33. Sarah Sturm used to be fourth and held off a overdue fee through Lauren De Crescenzo, who got here inside of one level of a tie together with her victory at The Rad Grime Fest and 2nd position at Giant Sugar.
Subsequent yr’s lineup for the Grand Prix will come with the similar occasions, 4 gravel and 3 mountain motorcycle – the Fuego XL at Sea Otter, Unbound Gravel, Crusher within the Tushar, Leadville Path 100 MTB, Chequamegon MTB Pageant, The Rad Grime Fest, and Giant Sugar Gravel. All of those races will supply separate begins for the elite girls and elite males.
The applying procedure for the invitation-only box is now open via October 25. New for the 0.33 version is that the highest 15 finishers from this season will routinely qualify.
Lifestyles Time Grand Prix ultimate standings 2023
Elite girls most sensible 10
- Sofia Gomez Villafañe, 173 issues
- Alexis Skarda, 167 issues
- Haley Smith, 160 issues
- Sarah Sturm, 157 issues
- Lauren De Crescenzo, 156 issues
- Jenna Rinehart, 149 issues
- Paige Onweller, 148 issues
- Crystal Anthony, 142 issues
- Hannah Otto, 136 issues
- Deanna Mayles, 133 issues
Elite males most sensible 10
- Keegan Swenson, 174 issues
- Alexey Vermeulen, 165 issues
- Cole Paton, 161 issues
- Russell Finsterwald, 154 issues
- Lachlan Morton, 153 issues
- Peter Stetina, 146 issues
- Brendan Johnston, 144 issues
- Alex Howes, 135 issues
- Howard Grotts, 132 issues
- Konny Looser, 128 issues