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Record $800,000 prize purse in 2027 'continues to elevate the standard' for Life Time Grand Prix series and events with Unbound, Leadville and Big Sugar each boosting payouts
'There needs to be better opportunities for the athletes to make money' and YouTube engagement recognised as the driver of dollars for Life Time to invest back into the series
In 2026, Specialized Off-road duo Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafañe each won the Life Time Grand Prix overall titles for a fourth time(Image credit: Life Time)
A record $800,000 will be offered across seven individual races and the overall prize payout for the Life Time Grand Prix in 2027, organisers of the off-road series confirmed Thursday. This reflects a 36% increase from this past season, and is more than triple the original prize purse from the inaugural 2022 season.
The overall series purse jumps from $350,000 in 2026 to $400,000, while the other $400,000 will be spread across each stop on the calendar, spread across April to October, an increase from $240,000 last season. All prizes are paid for the top 10 in races and the series, split eventually between the men's and women's pro fields.
"It just continues to elevate the standard. And we think we've seen great success. We want to elevate the stature and the attraction to the Life Time Grand Prix and the individual events. We've been able to do that with continuing to increase the prize purse for both the individual events and the Grand Prix as a whole," Kimo Seymour, president of Events and Media at Life Time, told Cyclingnews.
Life Time launched the invitation-only series in 2022 as the popularity of gravel and endurance mountain bike races surged. Specialized Off-road duo Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafañe have won the overall pro titles four times each across the first five years. Swenson won $25,000 for first place in the inaugural year, while Villafañe earned the same amount with her first title in 2023.
In October, they earned $50,000 each for first place. However, next year whoever lands on the top steps will earn $40,000 each. The pool of money now distributes payouts more evenly across the rest of the top 10, with riders going seventh through 10th now receiving $10,000 or more each. Life Time says restructuring the purse was about "incentivizing season-long competition".
"If we want professional off-road cycling to grow, we have to get serious about how athletes make a living. As the Series becomes more successful, the athletes should share in that success. By putting more money into every race and spreading those dollars deeper into the field, we're creating more opportunities for more riders, not just the handful at the very top," Michelle Duff, co-director of the Life Time Grand Prix, stated in a press release.
Emphasis on events
Maybe more significant are the individual race payouts, now equal to the series itself in total money and moving from just the top five to the top 10. A total of $80,000 will be on offer at Unbound Gravel 200, Leadville Trail 100 MTB and Life Time Big Sugar Classic.
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Last year, the purses at Unbound Gravel and Leadville Trail 100 MTB were $60,000 each, and Big Sugar was $30,000. In fact, Unbound and Leadville did not offer prize money for pro fields until two years ago.
The other four events - Sea Otter Classic, Chequamegon MTB Festival, The Rad Dirt Fest and Little Sugar MTB - will pay out $40,000 each. That is a 33% increase for three of the races, while The Rad Dirt Fest has an enormous boost from a previous payout of $2,5000, since it was last part of the series in 2024. And, those US dollars are for any athlete who finishes in the top 10, not just the Grand Prix riders.
"I have to give a lot of the credit to the athletes. You know, we spend so much time with athletes, hearing feedback and getting advice and guidance and suggestions. One of the suggestions was about offerings at individual events, not so much on the Grand Prix. So that's why we've chosen to split it equitably between the Grand Prix and the individual events. It's significant enough that big-name athletes are starting to show up," Seymour explained to Cyclingnews.
"There needs to be better opportunities for the athletes to make money. I think with the new distribution this year will continue to draw some of those big international names as well, which only brings more eyeballs, more viewership, more fan engagement, and hopefully more, you know, more sponsor investment."
Where does the money come from for the $800,000? Life Time owns all the races in the series, so has complete control of not just logistics but broadcast rights and sponsorships. Seymour said that an emphasis on social media engagement was the biggest component of their portfolio, which includes the robust live stream shown on the YouTube channel.
"It's not a sponsor-specific prize purse. It just comes out of our overall budget for the Grand Prix. We're able to monetize the series more and more each year, as it's grown overall. So, primarily YouTube engagement, we're able to drive more sponsorship or advertising dollars against the series," Seymour said.
"Probably more than anything, it's been our YouTube views. I think we're over five million views this year on Life Time specific [channel] and Grand Prix content that we've put out."
Seymour confirmed to Cyclingnews that they planned to offer live broadcasts for five of the seven events in 2027, the elements to bring video from mountain bike events at Chequamegon and Little Sugar still being worked out.
The Life Time Grand Prix will continue as an invitation-only field of 50 riders, the rules for participation also evolving to a more performance-driven pathway. The compensation portion of the series extends beyond the podium, and for a second year, athletes who complete the series and finish 11th through 25th will receive a $2,500 finisher bonus, which is outside the primary prize purse. Introduced in 2026, this structure rewards the riders who race all season.
The opening round of the 2027 Life Time Grand Prix will be Thursday, April 15 in Monterey, California, for Life Time Sea Otter Classic Gravel.
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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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