Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda Commences with Fuego XC 80K race at Life Time Sea Otter Classic presented by Continental

April 9, 2022

Moriah Wilson and Keegan Swenson take first place in the 80K distance to become first-ever leaders of the Life Time Grand Prix

Monterey, Calif., (April 9, 2022) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Moriah Wilson and Keegan Swenson each came across the finish line of Sea Otter’s Fuego XC 80K race to win their respective women’s and men’s events and become the first-ever leaders of the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda series. The series opened Saturday, April 9 at the 2022 Life Time Sea Otter Classic presented by Continental. With more than 75,000 attendees, the Sea Otter Classic is the world’s premier cycling festival.

Sea Otter’s Fuego XC 80K had a combined total of more than 290 riders representing 23 states and two countries. Within the field, 60 elite cyclists were competing as part of the inaugural Life Time Grand Prix. The new Fuego 80K event tested mountain bike racers on a premier two-lap course with over 2,750 feet of climbing throughout Fort Ord National Monument’s rolling hills and gravel trails. The race included amateur age-group categories with 80K, 40K and Junior Short 6K distances.

In the women’s Fuego 80K pro open division, Wilson, 25, of San Francisco, Calif. placed first with a finish time of 3 hours, 24 minutes and 13 seconds. Sofia Gomez-Villafane, 27, of Heber City, UT secured second place with a finish time of 3:24:36. Alexis Skarda, 32, of Grand Junction, Colo. placed third in the division with a completion time of 3:24:44.

“I feel incredibly humbled to be here in the first place with 30 of the top racers in the country,” said Wilson at the finish line after winning the. “I feel super new to all of this, so I don’t know what it’s been like historically, but I feel like this is elevating women’s cycling in the US.”

For the men’s Fuego 80K pro open division, Swenson, 27, of Heber City, UT placed first with a finish time of 2 hours 55 minutes and 23 seconds. Russell Finsterwald, 30, of Colorado Springs, Colo. secured second place with a finish time of 2:55:41. Alex Wild, 29, of San Jose Calf. placed third in the division with a completion time of 2:56:30.

“This race has always been big, but there’s more to it now,” said Keegan Swenson, the men’s Sea Otter Classic winner and first leader of the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda. “There’s more at stake to win. I want to try and get those points before going into the longer gravel races, but I think consistency is what wins this series.”

“I think they’re [Life Time] bringing more eyes to the domestic scene and that raises us all up,” continued Swenson. “I think together, we will do a good job lifting up the American cycling scene.”

“We’re continuously working to keep the Sea Otter Classic fresh and provide the best possible experience to the athletes and fans,” said Jeff Frost, Race Director of the Fuego XC 80K. “On top of this ongoing effort, we’re thrilled to have built something special for the inaugural Life Time Grand Prix. The course we’ve created for the new Fuego 80K really delivered today as a worthy backdrop for top-notch cross-country racing.”

The Sea Otter Classic Fuego XC was exclusively live streamed by FloSports, a global sports streaming platform which will be broadcasting each event in the series in 2022. The 60 elite and professional athletes selected to compete in the 2022 Life Time Grand Prix series will face off across six of Life Time’s most iconic cycling events for a $250,000, equally split prize purse. Athletes will be ranked against other Life Time Grand Prix competitors by points received based on their finishing position at each event. The first athlete will earn 30 points, second, 29; third, 28; and so forth. The overall results will use an athlete’s best five finishes out of the six events.

“There’s wonderful energy here and the athletes put on a great show,” said Kimo Seymour, President of Media and Events at Life Time. “Sea Otter is back to where it was pre-pandemic and the event proved to be the perfect place to kick off the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda. Moriah and Keegan are inspiring athletes and put forth huge efforts. It’s going to be hard to wait almost two months until the next round.”

Following the first event, the standings in the women’s division are:

• Moriah Wilson: 30 points
• Sofia Gomez-Villafane: 29 points
• Alexis Skarda: 28 points

The Life Time Grand Prix men’s division standings:

• Keegan Swenson: 30 points
• Russell Finsterwald: 29 points
• Alex Wild: 28 points

To see the full leaderboard with all athlete standings for the Life Time Grand Prix, visit: lifetimegrandprix.com. Full results for the Sea Otter Classic presented by Continental Fuego 80k XC event can be found here.

The next event on the Life Time off-road event calendar—and second event in the Life Time Grand Prix series–is the 200-mile Garmin UNBOUND Gravel Presented by Craft on June 4.

Follow along throughout the 2022 season on Instagram: @lifetimegrandprix.

The Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda is owned and produced by Life Time, the premier healthy lifestyle brand. The series comprises six of Life Time’s most iconic off-road cycle events, which are among more than 30 total athletic events owned by the company, including the Verizon New York City Triathlon, Life Time Chicago Triathlon and Life Time Miami Marathon. To view and learn more about Life Time athletic events, visit: lifetime.life/athletic-events.

About Life Time^®, Inc.

Life Time (NYSE: LTH) empowers people to live healthy, happy lives through its portfolio of nearly 160 athletic country clubs across the United States and Canada. The company’s healthy way of life communities address all aspects of healthy living, healthy aging and healthy entertainment for those 90 days to 90+ years with integrity and respect for everyone. With a team of more than 30,000 Life Time is committed to providing the best programs and experiences through its clubs, iconic athletic events and via a complementary and comprehensive digital platform.

About Sea Otter Classic

Known as the “World’s Premiere Cycling Festival”, the Life Time Sea Otter Classic is a four-day celebration of cycling featuring 9,000 athletes, 7,000 campers, 1,000 exhibiting brands and 300 international media representatives. The 32nd annual Sea Otter Classic is set to take place April 7-10, 2022, at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Monterey, California. For more information visit www.seaotterclassic.com.

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Media Contacts:

Jordan Titus | 218-780-6161 | jtitus@lt.life

Matthew Pacocha | 720-352-2793 | matthew@verdepr.com

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