It is not simply the elevation that’s excessive at among the occasions within the US-based Life Time Grand Prix off-road collection, however now the prize cash on supply for 2026 has been raised to $590,000. The record-setting pool of prize cash features a 75% increase in collection payouts for the highest 10, now $350,000.
As well as, double the prize cash will probably be provided at Unbound Gravel 200 and Leadville Path 100 MTB, every race price $60,000 for the highest 5, with all prizes cut up evenly amongst men and women.
Life Time, the wellness model with health services and now possession of greater than 30 athletic occasions, launched the gender-equal Grand Prix in 2022 with a mixture of gravel and mountain bike races throughout the US. The prize purse was $250,000 for an invitation-only area of 60 athletes within the debut of the collection. For a fifth version, Life Time has boosted the prize construction, refined the choice course of for a area of fifty riders and added incentives for athletes.
“We’re very happy with how far the Life Time Grand Prix has superior in simply 4 seasons, with 2026 reflecting our elevated and ongoing dedication to skilled off-road biking,” mentioned Kimo Seymour, Life Time president of media and occasions.
“With the expanded prize purse, a extra structured and performance-based choice course of, and our funding in athlete improvement by means of the U23 program, we’ve created an unparalleled platform that each acknowledges and rewards essentially the most devoted and completed riders within the sport.”
Probably the most placing modifications are the hefty chunks of cash for particular person race and total collection prize purses, with $50,000 paid to the highest girl and prime man with the very best scores throughout 5 of the six collection occasions, every podium dividing $175,000.
Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialised Off-road) received her third Grand Prix title every week in the past after back-to-back wins at Little Sugar and Large Sugar, whereas Cameron Jones (Scott-Shimano) knocked three-time males’s champion Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz htSQD) off the highest spot, the New Zealander surging from a wild card entry he earned by profitable Unbound Gravel 200.
A brand new $2,500 skilled finisher compensation will probably be provided in 2026 for athletes outdoors the highest 10. Life Time mentioned this was added “recognizing the dedication required all through the season” to athletes who completed no less than three collection occasions.
The calendar stays the identical as this previous season, with three gravel races and three mountain bike races, the opening spherical April 16, 2026 at Sea Otter Traditional Gravel in California. Sea Otter, Chequamegon MTB Fest, Little Sugar MTB and Large Sugar Traditional will every keep a $30,000 prize purse, whereas Unbound Gravel 200 and Leadville Path 100 MTB will every function $60,000 in prize cash. These particular person race prize purses will probably be allotted to the top-five girls’s and males’s finishers in every occasion, no matter whether or not they’re competing within the Life Time Grand Prix.
Extra advantages for Grand Prix individuals embrace complimentary race registrations, for each the elites and U23 riders, complimentary entry to different Life Time occasions nationwide (together with Crusher within the Tushar, Silver Rush 50), media publicity with dwell broadcasts of 4 occasions (Sea Otter Traditional Gravel, UNBOUND Gravel 200, Leadville Path 100 MTB and Large Sugar Gravel) and entry to Life Time services throughout North America.
So how does an athlete earn an invite to the Life Time Grand Prix? The choice course of begins Monday, October 27 with functions accepted by means of November 5.
A complete of 25 girls and 25 males will comprise the sector once more, with the highest 5 total finishers from 2025 receiving computerized entries, in addition to the highest under-23 girl and man. Ten men and women will turn into eligible for the U23 competitors after Unbound Gravel.
On November 11, 2025, athlete choices will probably be introduced from the appliance course of, with three wildcard spots put aside in every division for qualification after Unbound 200.
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Life Time Grand Prix 2026 collection calendar
- Thursday, April 16 – Life Time Sea Otter Traditional Gravel, Monterey, California
- Saturday, Could 30 – Life Time UNBOUND Gravel 200 offered by Shimano, Emporia, Kansas
- Saturday, August 15 – Life Time Leadville Path 100 MTB offered by Kenetik, Leadville, Colorado
- Saturday, September 19 – Life Time Chequamegon Mountain Bike Pageant, Cable, Wisconsin
- Sunday, October 11 – Life Time Little Sugar MTB, Bentonville, Arkansas
- Saturday, October 17 – Life Time Large Sugar Gravel offered by Kenetik, Bentonville, Arkansas
