Who can block Sofia Gomez Villafañe and Cameron Jones from repeat wins at Life Time Grand Prix in 2026? A look at the top contenders

The fifth season of the Life Time Grand Prix has arrived, blooming with opportunities as the series has found consistency and credibility, making it the most prominent off-road series on the planet.

There are only six races, all in the US, and a limited invitation-only field, which has produced few deviations from pre-season predictions in the past. However, the stakes are higher now with the highest-ever prize purse, $590,000 for series and individual races, and a more diverse field, making the forecast all the more intriguing.

Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) has won the last three series titles, with Haley Smith (Factor Racing Team) the only other elite woman finishing at the top of the leaderboard in four years. Three times Keegan Swenson (now Specialized Off-road) dominated the men's standings, until last year when Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA-RCC) reigned supreme.

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The equilibrium of the seven-month series began to adjust last year, which wasn't a bad thing at all, with the introduction of the wild card entries. That gave Jones the opportunity to join the party of the invitation-only field when the New Zealander finished 12th at the Sea Otter Classic and then won Unbound Gravel 200, going on to win the series. And Canadian Andrew L'Esperance also used the wild card for a top 10 finish.

Now, the complexion of the field itself, from early selections in the field to wild card and under-23 competitors, has grown beyond North American borders. The inaugural season saw 95% of the final top 10s comprised of riders from the US and Canada, that number changing to 75% the next two years. Last year, the combined final top 10s for men and women moved to 60% from North America, with half of the men's 10-wide podium filled by riders representing New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, South Africa and Australia.

Among the new faces for women are past winners of Unbound Gravel 200 – Rosa Klöser of Germany and Karolina Migoń of Poland. On the men's side are 2024 Gravel Earth Series winner Simen Nordahl Svendsen of Norway and The Traka 360 runner-up Jan Stöckli of Switzerland.

In the wild card competition, former Grand Prix regulars like Smith, Emily Newsom, Danni Shrosbree, Russell Finsterwald, Dylan Johnson and Adam Roberge have to earn their way back after Unbound Gravel 200 results are tabulated.

Villafañe and Jones are in top form already - the three-time women's champion having won the overall at Santa Vall, and sweeping Castellon Gravel in Spain, then Valley of Tears and The Mid South in the US. Jones has a pair of second places from RADL GRVL and The Mid South, then added an FKT across The White Rim 100-mile mountain bike trail in Utah. Both Villafañe and Jones should be at the front in the 90-mile Sea Otter Classic, Villafañe on the podium in second last year.

Sea Otter Classic gravel race sets the table for the entire year as the first leaderboard takes shape on April 16 for the Life Time Grand Prix opener from Monterey, California. That is followed by Unbound Gravel 200 in Emporia, Kansas, on May 30 and then the Leadville Trail 100 MTB on August 15.

Here are our early predictions for who could command top positions in these endurance races and disrupt repeat victories for Villafañe and Jones in the Life Time Grand Prix.

Women contenders for 2026 Life Time Grand Prix

Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM-MAAP)

There aren't many riders in the Grand Prix field who would ride Paris-Roubaix in the weeks leading to gravel races in the series, but Rosa Klöser does, as part of her commitment to Women's WorldTour team Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto. This year, she went on an early solo charge that lasted for 60km, and replicated last year's finish of 31st.

Last year, she had three weeks to transition to gravel, racing The Traka 200 and finishing second. This year, there are just four days for the turnaround, a short time to adjust to a double debut at both the Sea Otter Classic gravel race and the Life Time Grand Prix.

The reigning German gravel champion won almost everything last year, including The Rift, CORE4, Lauf Gravel Worlds and Ranxo Gravel to set up the Gravel Earth Series overall title. She had 12 gravel podiums last year, eight of those race wins, and finished fourth at her second Unbound Gravel after recovering from a puncture and crash.

This year, she has only one day of racing on the gravel bike, going second on stage 1 at Santa Vall and then withdrawing due to an injured elbow, but the Spring Classics have unfolded safely as she returns to gravel. It will be interesting to see how she handles Leadville and the two shorter, yet technically challenging MTB races later.

Cecily Decker (PAS Racing)

Three years ago, Cecily Decker (PAS Racing) moved into road cycling while at Montana State University after competitive alpine skiing, and won two collegiate road titles. The next year, she made a splash in gravel, winning The Rift in Iceland and finishing sixth or better in seven other big races, including third at SBT GRVL and Big Sugar Gravel.

The New Mexico native earned a spot in the LTGP for 2025 and wasted no time in making her presence known - third place at Sea Otter Classic, second at Unbound Gravel 200 and then third at Leadville Trail 100 MTB.

In Kansas, she escaped early with Lauren Stephens (Aegis) and PAS Racing teammate Karolina Migoń, who went on to win solo, but Decker was the first LTGP rider across the line, so she scored top points. She battled Villafañe for the top spot in the series and would finish second overall.

Decker is one of the few women in the field who has proven she has the skills and the stamina for the variety of courses in the lineup, and should Villafañe falter, she could pounce this year.

Hayley Preen (Factor Racing)

The South African all-rounder is a two-time gravel national champion and last year also won the African Continental Championships. Hayley Preen has racked up victories on the road and in mountain biking, though mainly on the African continent. In her second appearance last year in the Grand Prix, she finished in a tie for seventh, alongside US rider Hannah Otto and Australian Courtney Sherwell.

With several dedicated trips to the US for the series, she was rewarded with fourth at Sea Otter Classic, adding top 20s at the other five races, including 11th at Chequamegon MTB and 17th at Big Sugar. She would end the season at home at the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn, going third in the seven-stage GC. It is no surprise to see her in the LTGP this year.

Racing in the Southern hemisphere in February, Preen has already qualified for the UCI Gravel World Championships with a victory at The Cedar. Her form continued in March as she partnered with Factor Racing teammate Haley Smith and the two finished second overall at Cape Epic. This is another duo who can work together, Preen a new international rider on the top step or a return for the 'other' Haley from wild card to repeat winner.

Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless)

The Arkansas-based rider has proved she is one of the most consistent riders from the US and is only improving on all types of surfaces. Paige Onweller has been part of the Grand Prix since the first year, using her victory at the 2022 Big Sugar Gravel to finish ninth overall that year.

After finishing seventh the next year, she soared to third place in 2024, using her third place at Unbound Gravel 200, which earned top points for Grand Prix finishers, and sixth at Chequamegon.

The 2025 season looked promising, as she had top 10s at the first three events, but she suffered a severe concussion when a driver of a car struck her while riding her bike and missed the back half of the season completely.

This year, Onweller has signalled she is healthy and fit, finishing second at Valley of Tears in Texas and then fourth in a sprint at The Mid South. This season, she'll have a teammate in the races to help, Cécile Lejeune.

Other women to watch

It's tough not to consider reigning Unbound Gravel 200 champion Karolina Migoń (PAS Racing) among the leaders for the LTGP title, but with her lack of mountain bike experience, she's most likely to finish in the top 10, not in the top spot.

She has only been racing for four years and all on gravel. It's her first season in the Life Time Grand Prix, so expect her to be at the front of all three gravel races, but the mountain bike events may prove too much.

This is Ruby Ryan's debut in the LTGP, so watch the 24-year-old from New Zealand make moves in the standings once the mountain bike races begin. She has lived in Durango for five years, attending Colorado Mesa University, and last year finished runner-up at Rad Dirt Fest in Colorado, and was 12th at Leadville Trail 100 MTB.

This year, she has won a bronze medal in XCC at New Zealand MTB Nationals and was sixth in XCO, so she just needs to deliver results in the gravel endurance events.

Men contenders for 2026 Life Time Grand Prix

Matt Beers (Specialized Off-road)

As a top-five finisher in the Life Time Grand Prix Series last year and runner-up in 2024, Matt Beers was always going to be a rider who would be seen as a potential winner, and now that's been amplified. The South African finished 2025 on a high, managing to finally snatch that win he had been chasing at Big Sugar Classic, launching early and then celebrating on the rain-soaked finish line of the weather-shortened race.

Then, if that confidence boost at the tail of the season wasn't enough, Beers proved his 2026 form by overcoming the setback of his planned race partner, Keegan Swenson, being out with injury and instead rode to victory with new partner Tristan Nortje.

Beers has always been a consistent performer, managing to find the podium and top five on a regular basis, but stepping it up a level where he is finding those winning ways more often could set him up for a big year on the leader board, too. A different dynamic this season is that he'll also have Keegan Swenson on the same team. The question is – will this help or hinder his chances? The friends could prove to be a dynamic duo, or there could be a point where Beers has to sacrifice his chances to make sure it's a team win.

Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-road)

When there are two such powerful riders from the one team, we can't really avoid doubling up in the contenders. Even with a tough lead into the season – having to recover from a pelvis fracture – leaving Keegan Swenson off the list is unthinkable.

The new member of the Specialized Off-road squad is, after all, the 2025 XCM World Champion and has three overall wins in the Grand Prix series. Plus, while he may have been fourth in 2025, it was still tight and could have gone a number of ways at the end. A new team could deliver a fresh boost.

Swenson will not only be riding alongside the very familiar Beers, which means the squad is the only one to have two riders out of last year's top 5 combining, but will also have Mads Würtz Schmidt as a teammate. While the European Gravel Champion isn't a Life Time competitor, he could well be a handy ally in a race on the series schedule, like Unbound Gravel 200.

Grappling with a serious injury at the start of the year may put the rider on the back foot early, but there are still a whole lot of pointers running in his favour, so there is certainly no ruling out a quick return to the series top step, which until last year he had made his own.

Torbjørn Røed (Trek Driftless)

This is a third year for Torbjorn 'Toby' Roed to compete in the Grand Prix, and he is not done with an upward trajectory that has seen him go from eighth overall in 2024 to third overall last year. He's proficient on any surface and any distance, demonstrated by a third place at Unbound Gravel 200 and fourth place at Leadville Trail 100 last year.

Before he was in the series, he won Big Sugar in 2023 and added podiums at a pair of Belgian Waffle Ride events. On his resume are also wins at The Mid South, runner-up at SBT GRVL and ninth at The Traka 360. This year, he finished third at BWR Arizona.

He'll be at the front of races with teammates Cobe Freeburn and Daxton Mock, and could not only land on race podiums but also the overall as well. Look for the Norwegian who calls Colorado home to repeat on the podium, and go better than third overall in the series.

Simon Pellaud (Cervelo-Assos-Maxxis)

If Simon Pellaud is healthy, taking time off this spring to recover from a knee injury, watch out for the aggressive Swiss rider who makes his home in Colombia. High altitude, elevation gain and endurance are where he enjoys earning a living off-road racing, having competed 13 years as a pro road rider, last with Tudor Pro Cycling.

Last year, he wiped away all references to being a 'roadie' by going second at Unbound Gravel 200, third at Leadville Trail 100 MTB and earning second overall at Nedbank Gravel Burn, which included a stage win across the seven days in South Africa. He also won his 'home' stage race at Transcordilleras in Colombia.

He rode to fifth at Valley of Tears earlier in the spring, but was not at 100%. Consider Sea Otter to be his official coming-out party with his new privateer program and his carrot the top spot in the Grand Prix.

Other men to watch

Could this be Alexey Vermeulen's (ENVE) year? The versatile US rider was second overall in his first two seasons in the series, then 11th, only because he opted to attend his brother's wedding instead of racing Unbound. He rebounded with sixth overall in 2025, boosted in the second half of the series with a win at Chequamegon MTB. He's got a win at Valley of Tears and third place from RADL GRVL this year.

A fourth time in the Grand Prix could be the charm for Australian Brendan Johnston (Giant). He has a big engine that has placed him in the top 10 all three previous seasons in the series, his best finish being fourth in 2024. Last year, he had his best ride at Unbound Gravel 200 with fifth place. He also went fifth at Sea Otter and Big Sugar. He used an FKT attempt in January to ride 4,000km from Perth to Sydney as season preparation, so it will be interesting to see his race results with one win at Salty Lizard leading into the season.

Cobe Freeburn (Trek Driftless), a 24-year-old from Durango, Colorado, makes his Grand Prix debut, but he competed at many of the races last year, impressing with 15th overall at Leadville Trail 100 MTB and taking top 10 in both Chequamegon and Little Sugar. He found his form in the summer at SBT GRVL, where he sprinted behind Swenson for third place at SBT GRVL on a 117-mile route. This year, his form has hit early, as he won The Mid South in March. Can he handle the 200 miles of sharp rocks and nine-plus hours of racing in Kansas?

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