Life Time, the owner and producer of more than 30 renowned athletic events across the nation and the nation’s premier healthy lifestyle brand and event producer, announced the 70 athletes – 35 men and 35 women – who have been selected to compete in the 2023 Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda series.
This year’s series will include seven events including Garmin Unbound Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear, the Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB, Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Mazda, as well as a seventh ‘Wild Card’ event that will be announced on January 11.
The field size has been expanded for 2023, and the athletes will be competing for a $250,000, equally-split prize purse.
The lineup of events include:
- April 22 – 100K cross-country mountain bike race in the Fuego XL at the Life Time Sea Otter Classic presented by Continental in Monterey, Calif.
- June 3 – 200-mile Garmin UNBOUND Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear in Emporia, Kan.
- July 8 – 69-mile Life Time Crusher in the Tushar presented by The Creamery in Beaver, Utah
- August 12 – 104-mile Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB in Leadville, Colo.
- September 16 – 40-mile Life Time Chequamegon MTB presented by Trek in Cable, Wis.
- October 21 – 100-mile Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Mazda in Bentonville, Ark.
- Wild Card event to be announced January 11.
“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.”
With the series expanding to seven races, athletes will have the option to drop up to two events versus just one last year. Additionally, entry fees will be covered by Life Time and doping controls will also be expanded to include more races and athletes.
The $250,000 prize purse will pay out ten-deep based on overall series results, which are determined by a points-based ranking system. First place will earn $25,000, second place will earn $20,000, third place will receive $16,000, and so forth. Three events — Crusher in the Tushar, Chequamegon MTB Festival, Sea Otter Classic — offer individual event purses, which Life Time Grand Prix athletes are also eligible for.
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 out of the seven events. The final event of the series, Big Sugar Gravel, will be mandatory for all riders and will serve as a tiebreaker in the event of a tie.
To learn more about the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda, visit lifetimegrandprix.com and follow along on social media. To learn more about Life Time, visit lifetime.life.
Photo by Cycling News
