Divying up dollars and snaring spots for 2026 as Big Sugar Classic settles Life Time Grand Prix overall standings for fourth time

There can be no doubt of the prestige and rewards Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) and Cameron Jones Scott-Shimano) gathered by winning the 2025 Life Time Grand Prix series. While the battle for the top spots gets much of the attention, reshufflings in the top 10 were underway as the six-event series wrapped up at Big Sugar Gravel on Saturday.

A $200,000 prize purse was at stake – $20,000 for the winner, right down to $4,500 for 10th place – and a guaranteed entry for the top five riders in next year's invitation-only series, there wasn't just pride at stake. Out of the top 10? No series podium and no share in the big purse, so the seven-month investments were high.

One of the closest series competitions was for the top four spots in the elite men's category, with just two points between first and fourth. Three-time winner Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz htSQD) usually entered the final race in a dominant situation, but after flats ruined his race at Little Sugar MTB last weekend, he was now in a perilous position. An 11th-place finish at Big Sugar then sent the three-time series champion down to fourth place overall, as Jones, Simon Pellaud (Tudor) and Torbjørn Andre Røed (Trek Driftless) jumped ahead.

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"Today was a tricky and tactical race; I had no choice but to give it all I had, but I knew I was going to be up against it," said Swenson. "It’s been a great year, but some of my races didn’t go as I wanted; but that’s cycling."

Matt Beers (Specialized Off-road), with his win at Big Sugar, also managed to secure a spot for next year as it left him with fifth in the series, the first time in two tries he has finished in the top 10. Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE) was shuffled into sixth and out of the locked-in spots for 2026, but he was back in the mix after finishing 11th last year.

"Rode well, finished 14th on the day and 6th overall - not the end I dreamed of, but that’s bike racing. Very happy for Matt Beers and Cameron Jones, it ain’t easy to be that far away from home," he said on social about the South African and New Zealand riders dedicating themselves to US races.

Cole Paton (Giant) snared the all-important final spot in the top 10. That final spot for Paton kept his streak alive for a top 10 across all four years of the Life Time Grand Prix, with Swenson the only other elite man to do the same.

However, the streak for Paton ended hopes for Payson McElveen (Allied Cycle Works), who suffered a hip fracture at Sea Otter Classic Gravel and had to score well at the final four races. He ultimately finished just five points out of 10th.

"The early break was long gone by 10 miles in, but there was still much to fight for in the Life Time Grand Prix overall," McElveen posted to his Instagram after Big Sugar, noting he 'tangled' with TV motos, then a photographer and crashed within 20 minutes of the finish.

"Didn’t have the legs to sneak around Cole Paton in the big scrum of 26 of us sprinting for the line, so he took 10th place on the series, and I ended up 11th. He’s had a really rough season as well, and I’m genuinely happy for him to achieve that silver lining."

Major achievements by Skarda and Otto

Villafañe may have had the top women's spot locked in and then won the final race as well but there was a tight battle for second, with Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) and Cecily Decker (PAS Racing) just two points apart. Eighth at Big Sugar was enough to snare Decker the runner-up position in the series, given a 13th placing for Rollins.

"It was full gas from the start, I felt pretty good and was happy where I was, but midway through the day, I felt like it was going to end in a bunch sprint," said Decker. "Melisa and I were really tight on points, so I’m really happy to have got it just at the end."

Taking fourth and fifth, respectively, it was Alexis Skarda (Santa Cruz htSQD) and Cecile Lejeune (CCB p/b Levine Law Group), securing spots for next year. While Hannah Otto (Scott Sports USA) repeated in eighth place from a year ago, she joined Villafañe and Skarda as the only elite women to have finished in the top 10 all four years of the Grand Prix.

One of the big movers among the top 10 was Courtney Sherwell (Santa Cruz), her fifth-place at Big Sugar moving her from 10th to seventh. Sarah Lange took the final spot in the top 10 and the $4,500 that went with it, distancing Samara Sheppard by 13 points.

"I’ve learned a lot about race strategy this year. Despite a subpar result on the day, I was able to hang on for an overall at Life Time Grand Prix top 10 result giving me something to celebrate despite the disappointing result here in Bentonville," she said on social, noting that three plugs and some CO2 left her chasing after a flat tyre at mile 10 of Big Sugar to secure her first top 10.

There was also the new under-23 category, with winners Ruth Holcomb (Santa Cruz htSQD) and Griffin Hoppin (Dirt Camp Racing) also securing a guaranteed entry to the 2026 series as elite riders.

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