Rock Cobbler 12.0 winner Ruth Holcomb makes cut for new U23 programme, which confirmed 63 athletes
Alex Howes leads the front of the pro men's race at Big Sugar Gravel and finished ninth in the first year of the Life Time Grand Prix(Image credit: Wil Mathews/ Life Time)
A total of 201 athletes were named to compete in a pair of new high-stakes contests for the 2025 Life Time Grand Prix. For the six wildcard spots into this year's off-road series handed out after Unbound Gravel 200, 138 riders were selected this week comprised of 40 women competing for three of those entries and 98 men competing for the other three.
Top women's riders who have been part of the series in past years and are looking to return include Australian Peta Mullens, Canadian Angela Naeth and US riders Emily Newsom, Amity Rockwell, Hannah Shell and Anna Yamauchi. Among the men looking to return to the series are Czechia's Petr Vakoč, Canadians Andrew l'Esperance and Adam Roberge, and a hefty list of US riders which includes Alex Howes, Truman Glasgow, Taylor Lideen, Tobin Ortenblad, Ryan Standish and Kyle Trudeau.
A roster of 63 athletes between the ages of 18-22 will take part in the inaugural U23 Development Program, the names of 12 women and 51 men revealed to vye for two spots in the 2026 Life Time Grand Prix, one spot each for the top male and female finishers across four of six races this season.
The fourth edition of the Life Time Grand Prix series begins April 10 at the Sea Otter Classic gravel race in Monterey, California, followed by the second round at Unbound Gravel 200 in Emporia, Kansas on May 31. This year these two races count for more than just a season-ending share of a $200,000 prize purse, split among the top 10 overall men and women in October after Big Sugar Gravel.
"These initiatives will not only provide fans with exciting new storylines to follow but also create new opportunities for emerging athletes to prove themselves on the biggest stage. We’re excited to see these athletes pushing themselves for the opportunity to race in the Life Time Grand Prix," Kimo Seymour, president of Life Time Events, said in a press release.
Details have not been disclosed about the selection process, or number of spots on offer, for either programme, which assessed personal applications from individual athletes. Once rosters were revealed, a large disparity in gender numbers among both programmes was evident, with four times as many men competing in the U23 Development Program than women and more than double the number of men's accepted applications for the wildcard berths than women. However, even with larger fields, the men do not compete for higher numbers of entries in either the wildcard or U23 programmes.
"I was in the Grand Prix for the last three years, but I didn't make the cut this year. It seems like Life Time is just bringing in some diversity, which is great to see. It's disappointing not to make the cut, but I'll earn my way in through on of the wildcard spots. If not, I'll shift my priorities for the season. It's all good either way," L'Esperance told Cyclingnews before he departed to South Africa for Cape Epic.
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Wildcard athletes must contest the opening two rounds of the Grand Prix, and the top performers across the two races combined will earn spots in the 2025 series, bringing the invitation-only fields to a maximum of 25 women and 25 men across the final four races.
New to gravel racing this year, 22-year-old Colorado native Ruth Holcomb said she did not apply to the Grand Prix last fall, but decided to apply for the U23 programme since it was her final year in that category, and she's glad she did.
"I'm excited about it. I was just going to do some the [Grand Prix] races that I could with the htSQD and I was going to do four of them anyway, so I talked to Keegan [Swenson] and Tobin [Ortenblad] and they said I should totally do it. I think it will be fun," Holcomb said about her new teammates with htSQD, including three-time Life Time Grand Prix champion Swenson, encouraging her to apply.
Having competed with the Bear National team in mountain biking as a junior, she said other women to watch in the U23 field are Emily Stapleton, also a Bear National grad, and Kylie De Jager. On the men's side, she said that field was stacked, and watch for riders like Luke Mosteller, Justin Peck and Brady White.
The U23 riders must compete in four of the six events of this year's series, with a separate leaderboard tracking scores for female and males. All the rules are available at the Life Time Grand Prix web site.
Life Time Grand Prix selections 2025
Note: asterik indicates riders who have applied for both programmes
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
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