First-time live broadcast for Leadville 100 MTB begins early Saturday; SBT GRVL pro races return to Steamboat Springs in 2026 - North American Roundup

For the first time in the 31-year history of Leadville Trail 100 MTB, live streaming coverage will be provided for the legendary mountain bike race. Life Time Events, which owns the 100-mile mountain bike endurance test, confirmed that support by Orange Seal will provide 12 hours of coverage, beginning at 5:45 a.m. MDT on Saturday, June 9.

The live broadcast can be seen on the official Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel and Life Time Digital app, which begins 15 minutes before the elite men start at 6:00 a.m. MDT. The elite women depart at 6:10 a.m. and other amateur fields between 6:30-6:50 a.m.

Life Time also confirmed that multiple cameras on the course and in the sky will continue the stream uninterrupted for both elite men's and women's divisions and post-race interviews.

"Leadville is unique in that it's an out and back race, so we have to be very sensitive to our vehicle plan in a different way than we approach Unbound [Gravel 200]," Michelle Duffy of Life Time Events told media on a virtual press conference Tuesday.

There will be four dedicated motos on course, two for the elite men and two for the elite women, one helicopter, a drone and two stationary reporters on course - Lauren Hall at outward bound Powerline and Nat Ross at Twin Lakes/Lost Canyon.

"We face a lot of different restrictions here, from connectivity to tree coverage. There's two-way traffic for men and women, so we want to be sensitive to that. We've scaled back the camera [operations] a bit here, and are still confident in that plan."

Meredith Miller and Bill Ellison will provide commentary from a studio for the race.

Following the elite coverage, a fixed finish line camera will continue the broadcast through the 12-hour mark to capture images of amateurs completing the event.

SBT GRVL pro races return to Steamboat Springs in 2026

SBT GRVL presented by Wahoo organisers confirmed that the popular Colorado gravel event will return to downtown Steamboat Springs for all three days of activities in 2026, including a combination of rides and races on June 28.

Permits were approved last week by local officials with Routt County, where Steamboat Springs is located, after a contentious 2025 when the traditional 'Black Route' for pro racing was replaced by a circuit course 25 miles away in Hayden, Colorado.

Even with a modified course that was separated from recreational rides the day before, a solid pro field took part in 2025 for a $22,000 shared prize purse, and a new $3,000 purse for an SBT GRVL Femmes team competition. Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) out-sprinted two-time SBT winner Lauren De Crescenzo (Factor Racing Wahoo) for the elite women's win. Brennan Wertz (Scott Sport) used a late solo attack to win the elite men's race, three-time SBT winner Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz Bicycles) taking second.

Last week, county commissioners approved a return to downtown Steamboat Springs on the final weekend of June for a two-day expo, followed by rides and races finishing on Yampa Street on a Sunday.

"The tide has changed here in Steamboat and we are back to the foundation that SBT GRVL® is known for with a multi-day celebration in downtown Steamboat Springs," SBT GRVL co-founder Amy Charity told Cyclingnews.

"The local community has rallied behind us and we're proud of the collective efforts with the rural residents, city, and county to find a solution that creates a great experience for our riders, partners, and allows us to maximize our positive impact in Routt County."

Registration for SBT GRVL opens from October 14-31 this fall, with all rider confirmations sent on November 5. In the past, SBT GRVL has sold out.

The 2026 event permit also allowed for an increase of rider registrations to 2,750, according to reports in The Steamboat Pilot & Today. In 2025, participant numbers were cut to 1,800 for the rides held on June 28 in Steamboat Springs, while a separate permit was secured for races in Hayden. The modifications for 2025 were made by organisers in response to concerns from local farmers and residents about public safety.

Olivia Cummins and Lucas Bourgoyne sprint to wins at Littleton Twilight Criterium

Grace Arlandson (Automatic Racing) and Jim Brown (Golden State Blazers) won overall titles at the new Gold Rush Omnium, a new one-week collection of one-day races in different Colorado cities from July 29-August 3.

The signature event on August 2 was the Audi Denver Littleton Twilight Criterium, the elite titles won by Olivia Cummins (Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28) and Lucas Bourgoyne (Team Cadence Cyclery pb Encore Wire).

Cummings was part of a seven-rider breakaway in the final LIttleton circuits to ride across the finish ahead of Laurel Rathbuyn (L39ION of Los Angeles) in second and Kaia Schmid (Liv AlUla Jayco) in third, with Arlandson in fourth in the small group. Arlandson won two of her omnium races for the women's GC.

"Winning Littleton Twilight in a sprint from a break of seven was super special. My teammate Anna Hicks set things up perfectly, doing amazing work early on to keep the pace high and cover key moves," Cummins said in a team statement. I’ve had my eye on this race for a long time - coming up short with second place the last time I was here in 2021 - so to finally take the win feels really rewarding."

The men's race also saw a close sprint of four riders, with the USPro elite men's criterium champion edging Justin Williams (L39ION of Los Angeles) for the win. Brown, who had podiums in three other omnium races, edged Danny Summerhill (L39ION of Los Angeles) for third.

Twilight had turned to darkness for the men's race, with only the finishing straight under bright streetlights. Five L39ION riders massed at the front of the race for the final lap, and Bourgoyne managed to surge through for the victory.

"What an incredible time in Denver last week. Huge shoutout to the Gold Rush Omnium for putting on an amazing series. Racing at altitude? No joke," Williams said on social media about the four days of races.

Elite women's race takes on more distance and climbing at Bucks County Classic

The pro women's race at the 2025 Bucks County Classic has been lengthened for 2025, racing 50 kilometres instead of 40km for the first time in 17 years. Pro and amateur races take place on September 7 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

While four extra laps for the women may not sound significant, it adds more than 106 metres (350 feet) of elevation gain to bring the climbing in the criterium to 600 metres (2,000 feet). The same eight-turn, 2.2km course will be used for the pro men.

The total prize purse is $10,000, paid 20 deep across elite fields. Penn Medicine Doylestown Health pro women’s race will begin at 11:30 a.m. at Court Street and Printer’s Alley, with the men's pro race scheduled at 1:50 p.m.

“As a hospital founded by visionary women and committed to advancing health and wellness in our community, we are proud to continue our support of the Bucks County Classic’s Women’s Pro Race,” said Jim Brexler, CEO of Penn Medicine Doylestown Health.

The Bucks County Classic, founded in 2004 as a men's pro-am race alongside the Univest Grand Prix, added the women's contest in 2014, with support by Doylestown Health, which provided the support this year to extend the women's pro race. The races signal the unofficial end to the summer criterium season in the US, with the conclusion of the American Criterium Cup taking place in St. Louis the weekend before.

Last year Marlies Mejías Garcia (Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY24) won the women's event and Marcos Mendez (Rockland Development) won the men's event. Skylar Schneider (now with SD Worx-Protime) has won the women's race twice, while Eric Marcotte has the most wins on the men's side with three between 2012-2016.