Gravel Race Series with $250,000 in Prize Money

The Call of a Life Time is a mini docuseries that follows the Life Time Grand Prix Series of 2022. Filmed by Cold Collaborative, it provides some great visuals and insights into what it’s like to be a top tier athlete racing at some of the biggest bike races in the US.

In an added flair for dramatics, the series uses the gravel riders vs. mountain bikers angle. Who’s better? Is it the endurance engines you typically find in gravel pros or is it the bike handling and ability to go hard into the red that mountain bikers are known for? Well, you’ll have to watch to find out what happened, but I really like this angle. Now if we could only get a good way to watch live race action.

Instead of giving race recaps, it really focuses on the riders themselves. At this level, there are highs and lows that match elevation changes on some of these courses. Cold Collaborative’s founder Shannon Vandiver, who directed the series, said the idea was to focus more on the characters and to glorify the races less.

While the docuseries lightly treads over the Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson tragedy, it’s hard to not think about it while watching the first episode. Mo won the Sea Otter Classic after just a short time in the sport and was a rising star. Dateline covered the story in an episode called “The Last Ride” that details just how crazy the events leading up to her murder and, more specifically, the events after.

With a total prize purse of $250,000 for their first year of the race series, it’s not a bad start – considering some of these athletes are used to racing for buckles and medals. The 2022 Giro d’Italia had a total prize purse of €1.5 million (about $1.6 million dollars). So, while it’s not UCI World Tour good, it’s still amazing to see cycling growth in the US.

Since purchasing Colorado’s iconic Leadville Race Series in 2010, the fitness-club brand Life Time has made it clear that they want to be the premiere athletic event company in the US. Today it owns and operates over 30 events nationwide in 11 different states. While the event space makes up a small percentage of Life Time’s overall business it’s clear hosting premium endurance events aligns with the company’s brand.

So, is the series worth a watch while spinning on the trainer? I would say, absolutely!

Full Episode List

• Episode 1: Sea Otter Classic
• Episode 2: UNBOUND Gravel
• Episode 3: Crusher in the Tushar
• Episode 4: Leadville Trail 100 MTB
• Episode 5: Chequamegon MTB Festival
• Episode 6: Big Sugar

Watch all episodes here.

The athlete selections have been made for 2023 and the season kicks off with the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California on April 22nd. You can follow the leaderboard and check out the athlete list on the Life Time Grand Prix website. With four gravel events and three mountain bike events participants must start five of the seven to be eligible for the overall prize. The seventh event has been added this year as a “wild card” – that event being The Rad Dirt Fest in Trinidad, Colorado on September 30th. Athletes may ride all seven events, but they get to take points from their five best performances.

While last year events were to be streamed in partnership with FloSports, the challenges of broadcasting in such remote locations ultimately ended with a mutual agreement. No word on if another attempt will be made this year. He’s to hoping they can get past the technical difficulties this year.