Sofia Gomez Villafane and Keegan Swenson Win and Set Course Records at the Life Time Crusher in the Tushar presented by The Creamery

July 8, 2023

600 riders tackle 10,400 ft of climbing over 69.9-mile course; Gomez Villafane and Swenson continue to lead the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda overall

Beaver, Utah, (July 8, 2023) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Sofia Gomez Villafane and Keegan Swenson won and set course records at the Crusher in the Tushar presented by The Creamery, a gravel cycling event owned and produced by Life Time, which welcomed a field of approximately 600 riders representing 37 states and eight countries to Utah’s Tushar Mountains outside of Beaver, Utah on Saturday.

The event features a 60/40 split of gravel to tarmac and brings riders to explore the stunning backcountry of Utah’s little-known Tushar Mountains and Fishlake National Forest. Racers tackled 10,400’ of climbing over 69 miles on the Crusher course, which serves as one of the most challenging gravel races in the world and the only one with a true mountain top finish.

With the women’s mass starting five minutes before the pro men start the leaders all hit the dirt together at mile ten. From there in the men’s race Swenson took a dominant lead with Peter Stetina not far behind despite a dropped chain early on. Matt Beers worked hard to stay with the leaders and was on Stetina’s wheel for most of the race. In the end Keegan Swenson set a course record with a time of 3:56:42 and was dominant from the start of the race.

When the women hit the dirt Sofia Gomez Villafane put down the hammer and was leading by two minutes over the Col ahead of Lauren De Crescenzo. Going up the switchbacks of the Col ‘de Crush Gomez Villafane led De Crescenzo and Flavia Oliveira Parks by over five minutes. The lead group of women were all close throughout the day powering through hot conditions and steep climbs. Sofia Gomez Villafane set a course record with a time of 4:49:43.

“The weather was amazing, this has to be the best year we’ve had weather wise. I could tell from the get-go that a course record would be set today, based on how fast the men started off the line and it was exciting to hear that both Keegan and Sofia took down the previous records. The depth of the field is heads and tails better than it’s ever been and that’s really cool to see,” said Burke Swindlehurst, Race Founder. “I had the honor of riding this year, and I finally got to reap what I’ve sewn. I kept thinking ‘I’ve had this coming.’”

Women’s Race Results

Men’s Race Results

Non-Binary Race Results

Full race results can be found here.

The next events on the Life Time off-road event calendar will bring mountain bikers to the border of Nevada and California for the Tahoe Trail 100 on July 15 followed by the Stages Cycling Leadville Stage Race happening July 28 – 30. Proceeding events include the Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB on August 13 – the fourth event in the Life Time Grand Prix Series presented by Mazda – and the Chequamegon MTB Festival in Hayward, Wis. on September 16.

To see the full leaderboard with all athlete standings for the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda, visit: lifetimegrandprix.com. Follow along throughout the 2023 season on Instagram: @lifetimegrandprix.

To view all of the Life Time athletic events, please visit: https://my.lifetime.life/athletic-events.html

The Crusher in the Tushar is among more than 30 premier athletic events owned and produced by Life Time, including the Miami Marathon, the Leadville Race Series and UNBOUND Gravel.

About Life Time, Inc.

As a wellness pioneer, Life Time is reshaping the way consumers approach their health by integrating where we move, work, live and play – digitally and physically – all with the primary objective of helping people lead healthy, happy lives. With more than 150 destinations in 41 major markets across the U.S. and Canada, Life Time operates luxury athletic resorts, owns and produces iconic athletic events, and is expanding its brand through Life Time Work premium coworking spaces and Life Time Living high-end leased residences. For more information visit lifetime.life.

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Media Contact:

Marisa Dobrot | marisa@verdepr.com

Photo assets HERE.