The Life Time Grand Prix is back for 2026, and plenty of Durango off-road cyclists will be competing around the country for the next six months for prize money and positioning in the series’ standings.
It’s the fifth year of the Life Time Grand Prix, the premier off-road cycling series in the United States, and there are more riders with Durango ties than ever before. The series begins on Thursday with the Sea Otter Classic, a 90-mile gravel race in Monterey, California.
There will be many riders in the field at the six Life Time Grand Prix races, but there are only 25 men and 25 women who are a part of the Grand Prix. In addition to the prize purses at each race, there’s prize money at the end of the season for how the Grand Prix athletes finish in the overall standings.
Elite riders from all over the world are competing in this year’s Grand Prix, but here’s a breakdown of the riders with Durango connections and who they’re chasing at the top:
The gravel power couple of Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafañe should be at the top of everybody’s contenders list.
Gomez Villafañe, a former Fort Lewis College student-athlete, has won the overall title the past three Grand Prix seasons and finished second in 2022. She has 11 wins in the Grand Prix since 2022, including three wins to start last season. Gomez Villafańe has finished off the podium in a Grand Prix race once in the past two seasons. At 32, she’s still in the prime of her career and is the favorite on the women’s side.
Swenson is also a three-time LTGP series champion, but finished fourth last season in a very close title fight. Swenson has 14 LTGP wins, including two last season at the start of the season. Swenson is starting the season at Sea Otter, but it’s unclear if he’s 100% after fracturing his pelvis in February.
The man who beat Swenson last season, Cameron Jones, is also one of the favorites on the men’s side as he tries to retain his title. Jones, 25, won two races last season to take the title.
Simon Pellaud from Switzerland is also back after finishing second last season with two podiums.
On the women’s side, Germany’s Rosa Klöser is a contender after winning the Gravel Earth championship in 2025. Poland’s Karolina Migon is competing after winning Unbound Gravel last season. Cecily Decker is also back after finishing second in the LTGP standings last season.
One of the most prominent riders in the LTGP is Payson McElveen. The longtime Durango resident has raced in the LTGP since its inception in 2022, with his tied-second finishing in the standings in 2024 the highlight of that stretch. When healthy, McElveen has always been inside the top 10 at races.
“It’s great to be back,” McElveen said. “Knowing what I’m getting into at this point makes it feel like you’re starting something big. You’re on the precipice of another long season. Every year is different because the athlete lineup changes a good amount, especially this year, but all the races are familiar. I’m trying to do all the last preparations before hopefully getting off to a good start at Sea Otter.”
Health has been an issue for McElveen, and this season is a great chance for McElveen to bounce back after a 2025 season marred by injury. McElveen crashed in the feed zone at Sea Otter last season, breaking his hip and missing Unbound Gravel because of it.
He still bounced back last season to finish 12th in the standings, with the highlight being his fourth-place finish at the Leadville 100 MTB. McElveen is excited to see how his record power statistics in training translate to racing.
McElveen is one of the most heard voices in the sport with his “With Pace” podcast. He wasn’t afraid to share his thoughts on who made the Grand Prix and the new prize payout breakdown for the series. The LTGP touts its 55% total increase in prize payout from 2025 to 2026, including the winners getting $50,000, but most of that money is at the top of the series, with finishers outside the top 10 getting $2,500.
“I would have spent the money differently,” McElveen said. “At the same time, events, being able to tell that they have really big prize purses, is an important marketing piece, so I understand why the motivation is there. Whoever ends up winning $50,000 for the series, that’ll be cool … but the sport as a whole, and also the series is still quite young, and there are some areas that could use improvement … mainly safety.”
Despite the critiques of how the money is paid out, McElveen knows the LTGP is the best place to test himself as an off-road endurance racer. He also knows it’s the series all his sponsors want to see him compete in.
Another returner with Durango connections is former FLC rider and Durango resident Cole Paton. Now based in Washington, Paton has been a part of the LTGP since 2022, with his third-place finish in the 2023 season his highlight so far. Paton has five podiums in his LTGP career.
Durango resident Maude Farrell is back in the LTGP after two seasons not competing as part of the series. She did have some impressive performances last season, finishing 12th at Unbound Gravel and 11th at the Leadville 100.
A unique returner who technically isn’t returning is Sarah Sturm. The former FLC rider and longtime Durango resident took last year off from the Grand Prix after competing in the first three seasons. She was announced as a rider in the series this season, but she’s expecting her first child with her husband in the summer. Therefore, Sturm won’t race this year, but plans on commentating on the races.
While there are some established riders with Durango connections, it will be fun to see the younger generation compete for the first time as part of the series.
Durangoan Cobe Freeburn is one of the more promising up-and-coming riders in the series this year. At 24, Freeburn had a very successful 2025, finishing fifth in the elite men’s race at the Chequamegon MTB Festival. Now riding for Trek Driftless, Freeburn has had a great start to his 2026 season, winning the Mid-South Gravel Race in March.
“Winning Mid-South is a good boost in confidence and helped me kind of get a good frame of where I’m at,” Freeburn said. “Then it’s just been nice. The weather’s been pretty good in Durango. It’s been easy to train … I spent most winter in Tucson. But, I spent the last month here in Durango.”
Freeburn is already looking ahead to Chequamegon, a race that suits him very well with his mountain bike background. He’s also ready to improve on last year’s result at Sea Otter when he was sick.
The former FLC student-athlete hopes to finish inside the top 10 because that’s where the money is.
Another Durangoan competing in the LTGP is Ruth Holcomb. It’ll be Holcomb’s first time competing in the main series, but she got into the series after dominating the first year of the LTGP U-23 category last season.
At 23, Holcomb is a well-rounded racer in multiple cycling disciplines. She’s finishing up her final year of school, studying chemistry at the University of California Santa Barbara.
“I had a good offseason,” Holcomb said. “I’m definitely excited to be a part of the elite field. Finishing up my last year of school has kind of been my main focus this offseason. It’s a pretty long season. So heading into Sea Otter, I’m prepared, but definitely targeting more of the later races.”
Holcomb is looking forward to the end of the schedule once she’s done with school with races like Chequamegon in Wisconsin on Sept. 19, Little Sugar on Oct. 11 in Arkansas and Big Sugar in Arkansas on Oct. 17. Those races also suit her mountain biking background and are shorter.
Ruby Ryan is also in the women’s field of the LTGP. Ryan is new to the gravel scene, and her best result of the year was her 12th-place finish in the elite women’s race at the Leadville Trail 100 MTB. She’s lived in Durango in the past, but spent the offseason at home in New Zealand.
One of the more surprising omissions from the LTGP women’s field was Michaela Thompson. The FLC student and Durango resident had three top 10 finishes last season and finished 12th in the standings after finishing 10th in 2024.
Thompson has a great mix of experience and potential in the women’s field. Lucky for her and other riders, the LTGP introduced the wild card for this season. There are three spots in the men’s field and three spots in the women’s field for wild cards this year to join the LTGP. Those wild cards will be announced after the second round of the season, Unbound Gravel, on May 30.
Another rider looking to make the LTGP via wild card is Durangoan Ellen Campbell. She had been part of the LTGP since 2022, but only had one top 10 finish in 2025.
Two other riders with Durango connections trying for the wild card spots are Henry Nelson and Sofia Waite.