| Monterey, CA., (Thursday, April 2): The fifth edition of the Life Time Grand Prix returns to the Laguna Seca Raceway on April 16, with the Life Time Sea Otter Classic Gravel. The first of six iconic events in the 2026 Series, featuring an elite roster of world-class athletes set to battle it out for a record prize purse. New for 2026 For the very first time, the Life Time Sea Otter Classic Gravel Race will be live-streamed in its entirety. After the success of introducing free live coverage in 2025, fans from around the globe will be able to follow the action right from the start of the race, beginning at 9:45am PST on YouTube. The Life Time Grand Prix has introduced a Pregnancy Policy to provide protection for athletes competing in the series, continuing efforts to support women in sport through every stage of life, including pregnancy and motherhood. The policy allows selected athletes to withdraw from the series without penalty and guarantees them a protected roster spot for the following season. To maintain field depth, Life Time may expand wildcard entries during these periods. To qualify, athletes must provide timely notification of their pregnancy and confirm their intent to return to the following season. |
| Sarah Sturm, on Instagram, said, “When I got pregnant, my first call was to the Life Time Grand Prix to figure out what to do. This sparked a whole conversation, and with the hard work of the people at Life Time, we now have a pregnancy policy! This is a big deal for women in the Grand Prix and for women in sport. “There is so much uncertainty as an athlete, especially as a female, and this feels huge. This policy shows us respect and trust that we are capable of continuing our careers even after we have children.” |
| Course Overview Athletes will tackle the 90-mile gravel course, consisting of three 29.6-mile laps, each racking up 2,719 feet of climbing by traversing the spectacular Ford Ord National Monument, for a total of 8,157 feet (2486 meters) of elevation. Click here for an in-depth course preview by Gravel Bike California. Elite men and women will continue to have separate start times, making each race more competitive and easier to follow. The men will roll out at 10:00am PDT followed by the women at 10:30am PDT. |
| A Look Back at 2025 Last year’s Life Time Sea Otter Classic saw the Life Time Grand Prix race transition from the mountain bike to the gravel format. Keegan Swenson secured his fourth consecutive victory by launching a decisive late attack on Lookout Ridge to finish nine seconds ahead of Matt Beers. In the women’s race, Olympic silver medalist Haley Batten took a dominant solo win by over five minutes; however, since Batten was not a Grand Prix entrant, runner-up Sofía Gómez Villafañeearned the maximum series points. These results left Swenson and Villafañe leading the overall Life Time Grand Prix standings heading into the second round at the Life Time UNBOUND Gravel 200 presented by Shimano. Click here to watch the 2025 race highlights. Return of the Wild Card & U23s The Wild Card will return in 2026 following its successful launch last year, adding a chance for riders who were not selected in the initial roster to make their mark. Riders will battle it out for the chance to make it onto the Life Time Grand Prix roster, with three spots available in the men’s and four in the women’s fields (an additional space is now available following Sarah Sturm’s pregnancy announcement). Selections are based on the strongest combined performances at Life Time Sea Otter Classic and Life Time UNBOUND Gravel presented by Shimano. Click here for more information. Open to cyclists aged 18-22, the U23 program also returns for 2026, offering the top male and female finishers a spot in the 2027 Life Time Grand Prix. Click here for more information. World-Class Roster The 2026 lineup will feature competitors from 11 different countries across the men’s and women’s competitions, with a record 19 of the 44 selected riders originating from outside the United States, transitioning from a domestic off-road circuit into a premier global championship. The 2026 women’s field is characterized by unprecedented international depth, with Karolina Migoń and Rosa Klöser joining a strong group of seven athletes who are set to make their Grand Prix debut. Migoń is the defending UNBOUND Gravel 200 champion who has also triumphed in the two most recent editions of The Traka 360 and Klöser, having also tasted victory at UNBOUND Gravel 200 in 2024. Ruth Holcomb will also be joining the women’s line-up, having won the U23 competition in dominant style in 2025. The top 12 finishers from the 2025 series are also returning, as well as Life Time Grand Prix veteran Paige Onweller. Three-time women’s overall champion Sofía Gómez Villafañe will be returning, aiming for her fourth successive title. In the men’s field, the defending champion Cameron Jones returns as well as three-time victor Keegan Swenson, alongside the top 12 finishers from the 2025 competition. Following his victory in the debut U23 program this year, Griffin Hoppin will also join the elite men’s field, having earned automatic qualification. Nine further riders are also set to make their series debut, including reigning European Mountain Bike Champion Andreas Seewald, 2024 Gravel Earth Series winner Simen Nordahl Svendsen and Jan Stöckli, who finished runner-up at The Traka 360 last year. The full roster can be found here, and the 2026 Wild Card athletes here. In addition to the ranks of the Life Time Grand Prix, Life Time’s events continue to attract global cycling talent, including Tiffany Cromwell and Kate Courtney, who are set to line up for the Life Time Sea Otter Classic Gravel race. The complete elite start list can be found here, which also includes Rob Britton, Mattia De Marchi, Haley Smith and Carolin Schiff. |
| Series challengers react ahead of the first round of the season |
| Sofía Gómez Villafañe “I’m looking forward to kicking off my fifth year of the Life Time Grand Prix. I have had a different lead-up to the Sea Otter Classic Gravel since I did not return to Cape Epic this spring. The field has gotten more competitive, and it’s looking to be a proper battle in the first round” |
| Cecily Decker “I’m super excited for Sea Otter Classic, it’s a race I really enjoy and one of my favorite of the year. My preparation this year has been really good, I have been enjoying riding and my time on the bike–that’s always when things tend to go well for me so I’m feeling really good going into this one. |
| Keegan Swenson “I’m recovering well from my broken pelvis, and I’m really looking forward to restarting my season at Sea Otter. I’ve had a great team behind me to help get me back on track from this injury. It has been nice to be able to rebuild properly and not rush the process. Hopefully, my body is ready to go racing in a couple of weeks’ time. My form last year was far from ideal [after a pre-season crash]; it’s a different situation this year, but it’s a familiar scenario.” |
| Griffin Hoppin “The Sea Otter Classic Gravel race is my favorite race of the series, and I’m eager to get started. Winning the U23 series was a big moment of recognition, and it opened up the opportunity for me to continue to pursue what I really love. I have some nerves as the level of competition in this year’s series is super high, but I’m optimistic and believe in myself.“ |
| Kimo Seymour, President of Events and Media at Life Time, said, “As we enter year five of the Life Time Grand Prix, the energy and anticipation around the series continues to amplify. The Life Time Sea Otter Classic is the ideal location to launch the series — it sets the tone with a deep, international rider field and live coverage that brings fans closer to the action — all within the spectacle of the world’s premier cycling festival. We’re all excited to see how the athletes set the intensity from the first start line and begin to shape the story of the season.” |
