Swenson not solely received the boys’s race however did so in record-setting trend, protecting the 105-mile course in 5:49:08.
Villafañe got here in second at Leadville with a time of seven:14:03 to American Melisa Rollins (Crew Twenty24), who cruised to the win 4 minutes forward of Villafañe in 7:10:10.
Swenson sits atop the males’s leaderboard with 94 factors, with challengers Payson McElveen (SRAM, Allied Cycleworks) in second, seven factors behind, and Unbound-winner Lachlan Morton (EF Training-EasyPost) in third, 11 factors behind Swenson.
On the ladies’s leaderboard, Villafañe holds the highest spot, however with a a lot smaller margin between her and second place Haley Smith (Trek): Villafañe has 88 factors whereas Smith has 83. Third place Hannah Otto (Pivot Cycles) has 81 factors.
At each Life Time Grand Prix race, the first-place end is value 35 factors, second-place 33 factors, and third-place 31 factors. Every place after that’s awarded one to 2 fewer factors than the place above it.
Now, simply three races stay for Sweson and Villafañe to solidify their collection victories or for a worthy opponent to unseat both of them.
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A take a look at the remaining races:
(Picture credit score: Lifetime)
September 14: Chequamegon MTB
The shortest race of the collection, the 40-mile Chequamegon mountain bike options various terrain because it meanders from downtown Hayward, Wisconsin, over the famed American Birkebeiner Ski Path and into the city of Cable.
September 28: 110-mile The Rad Filth Fest
The penultimate occasion of the 2024 Life Time Grand Prix collection is held in Trinidad, Colorado, on a “enjoyable and quick” gravel course.
Life Time launched the Rad Filth Fest in 2021. Organizers state that the gravel weekend was chosen to be a part of the Grand Prix to offer collection athletes a brand new and ‘relaxed’ occasion to take part in whereas additionally giving Life Time the chance to showcase Trinidad as a motorbike vacation spot and, after all, promote a more recent occasion.
October 19: 100-mile Huge Sugar Gravel Race
The ultimate occasion of the Life Time Grand Prix is necessary for all and can function a tiebreaker within the occasion of a tie on factors. This occasion is one other rugged and distant gravel race, this time showcasing among the greatest unpaved roads Arkansas has to supply.
Swenson had his worst finishes of the collection at Chequamegon and Huge Sugar final 12 months, ending second and third, respectively, with a DNS at The Rad Filth Fest.
Villafañe additionally struggled at these occasions in 2023, ending third at Chequamegon, DNS’ing The Rad Filth Fest, and ending in a stunning twenty fourth at Huge Sugar.
With a $300,000 prize purse on the road, although, followers can guess that Swenson and Villafañe shall be doing all they’ll to retain their prime spots and in the end declare victory throughout the collection for a 3rd time for Swenson, and a second time for Villafañe.
However as all good biking followers know, whether or not street, gravel, or MTB, the race ain’t over ’til it is over, and that shall be very a lot the case all the best way till the ultimate end line dash of the 2024 Life Time Grand Prix collection.
