Historic Mid-Season Tie Sets Stage for Thrilling Showdown at Life Time Grand Prix
Tight at the top
Both competitions are primed for excitement heading into the third race of the series with Sofía Gómez Villafañe and Cecily Decker tied at the top of the women’s standings – the first time in history of the competition there has been a mid-season tie for first place. Sofia got her season off to a flier by being the highest-placed Life Time Grand Prix finisher at the Sea Otter Classic (where she finished second to Haley Batten), while Cecily took maximum points at UNBOUND Gravel with her second-place finish behind Karolina Migoń. The duo both sit at 58 points, with Cecile Lejeune currently occupying the third spot, 15 points behind.
The top five positions in the men’s standings are split by just five points too, with Matthew Beers and Simon Pellaud tied in third place with Cameron Jones, who earned his place in the series by topping the Wild Card competition, courtesy of his record-breaking victory at UNBOUND Gravel. That trio trail Brendan Johnston by just one point, with Keegan Swenson leading the field with a slender four-point cushion.
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Riders to watch
Here are four athletes we expect to animate this year’s race:
Cecily Decker
Cecily has emerged as a lead challenger in the women’s competition this season, with podium positions at both the Sea Otter Classic and UNBOUND Gravel. A major mechanical derailed her chances at Leadville last season, so it’ll be fascinating to see how the 27 year old fares if she manages to navigate this year’s race without any repeat problems.
Cameron Jones
Cameron cemented his place among the world’s best off-road riders with an incredible victory at UNBOUND Gravel, and the 24 year old New Zealander will be aiming to back that up in Colorado. He’s coming into the race in good form too, having also wrapped up the overall win at the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder early this month.
Melisa Rollins
Having grown up watching her parents tackle ‘The Race Across The Sky’ on numerous occasions, local favorite Melisa Rollins was in tears last year when she soloed to victory in the women’s race. The 29 year old will be gearing up for a repeat performance this time around and is on fire right now, having won both SBT Gravel and the Life Time Leadville MTB Stage Race presented by Kenetik in recent weeks.
Keegan Swenson
Keegan got his 2025 season off to a perfect start by claiming a dominant victory at the Sea Otter Classic but was only the fifth-highest placed Life Time Grand Prix finisher at UNBOUND Gravel (crossing the line in seventh place). The 31 year old from Park City will be looking to reassert his authority in Colorado and comes into the race as four-time defending champion and course record holder (he clocked a time of 5:43:29 in 2023).
In addition to the lineup of Life Time Grand Prix athletes, the elite field will be joined by a host of world-class talent in the women’s and men’s races including 2018 MTB XC World Champion Kate Courtney and 2024 UNBOUND Gravel 200 winner Lachlan Morton.
The Life Time Leadville MTB Stage Race presented by Kenetik concluded on July 27th, which saw an epic battle in the women’s race between Kate Courtney and Life Time Grand Prix rider Melisa Rollins, the latter going on to claim a record-breaking triumph. Payson McElveen, coming off an injury sustained at the Sea Otter Classic, also stormed to victory after a dominant performance in the Stage Race.