The 2024 Life Time Grand Prix offroad series kicked off with the Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL mountain bike race on Friday.
Many of the best North American gravel and mountain bike racers (not in Brazil for the World Cups) gathered in Monterey to test out their legs and compete for the Fuego XL podiums and the Life Time Grand Prix points.
See the race report from Life Time and Cyclocross Magazine photos below.
Monterey, CA (Friday, April 19): History repeated itself in the opening race of the 2024 Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda, with Keegan Swenson winning his third consecutive Fuego XL 100k presented by Continental and Sofia Gomez Villafane also repeating her success of 2023.
Howard Grots leading the group. Keegan Swenson won the 2024 Fuego XL mountain bike race for the third time. Report and results. © John Silva / Cyclocross Magazine
Swenson led from the front in the men’s race, pulling away with 15 other riders before going solo in the closing stages and pressing home his advantage, crossing the line with a 49-second winning margin.
Keegan Swenson won the 2024 Fuego XL mountain bike race for the third time. Report and results. © John Silva / Cyclocross Magazine
American compatriot Alexey Vermeulen battled hard to finish in second place with South African Matthew Beers a further 17 seconds back in third.
Keegan Swenson leads Alexey Vermeulen in the 2024 Fuego XL mountain bike race for the third time. Report and results. © John Silva / Cyclocross Magazine
Keegan Swenson won the 2024 Fuego XL mountain bike race for the third time. Report and results. © John Silva / Cyclocross Magazine
In the women’s race, Villafane proved in a class of her own. The Argentine attacked from the gun and only Alexis Skarda (United States) was able to keep pace with her on the opening lap.
That situation didn’t last long though, and by the time Villafane climbed Lookout Ridge for the second time she’d built a lead of almost two minutes, and that advantage only continued to grow.
Samara Sheppard finished second with Hannah Otto in third. Sofia Gomez Villafane repeats as 2024 Fuego XL mountain bike race winner. Report and results. © John Silva / Cyclocross Magazine
The 29 year old flew down the descent to the finish and wrapped up an incredible win by three minutes and 40 seconds.
Sofia Gomez Villafane repeats as 2024 Fuego XL mountain bike race winner. Report and results. © John Silva / Cyclocross Magazine
New Zealander Samara Sheppard, making her Life Time Grand Prix debut, finished the women’s race in second, 17 seconds ahead of an impressive Hannah Otto (United States).
Jenna Rineharrt leads the chase in the chase. Sofia Gomez Villafane repeats as 2024 Fuego XL mountain bike race winner. Report and results. © John Silva / Cyclocross Magazine
Those results mean Swenson and Villafane sit at the top of the men’s and women’s overall standings on 35 points respectively, with Vermeulen and Sheppard both on 33 points, and Beers and Otto two points further behind.
Men’s winner Swenson said,”In the first race of the year you never really know where your fitness is at so it was good to have a hard and tactical race today. There was a pretty large group for the first lap and a half and not many guys were willing to do the work on the front. That meant we were fighting for the technical and singletrack sections, and it took a while for Matt [Beers], Alexey [Vermeulen] and I to create a gap and then work together for a bit. I managed to break clear from them on the descent to the final climb and then extend my lead into the finish.
“This is one of my favorite events of the year and I’ve been racing here since I was 17 years old. I have a lot of good memories and it’s always fun to come back and race in Monterey.”
Women’s winner Sofia Gomez Villafane said, “This is the first race of the year I’ve had where we had a separate women’s start. That gave us the opportunity to get a gauge on where everyone is and I had a good day. Last year I remember leading on the first singletrack descent and getting a gap, so I put in a big push at the top of the tarmac and build a pretty big lead again and decided to run with it.
Sofia Gomez Villafane repeats as 2024 Fuego XL mountain bike race winner. Alexis Skarda follows, and would go on to finish fifth. Report and results. © John Silva / Cyclocross Magazine
“Alexis Skarda was able to bridge up at the end of lap one and we worked together until I felt she was hurting. I wondered if it might be too early to go but thought I’d give it a shot and I’m super-stoked to come away on the top step of the podium.
“It was 100% my decision to ride this Series again this year. I’ve already won the Grand Prix so that gave me the freedom to take some risks today and thankfully it worked out.”
Kimo Seymour, Life Time Senior Vice President and President Media & Events, said, “The first round of the Life Time Grand Prix Presented by Mazda was spectacular and we couldn’t have asked for a better day of racing. Conditions were perfect – it started off sunny and cool without too much wind and never got too hot for the athletes. We saw two fabulous races with Keegan and Sophia both coming out on top, which probably wasn’t a surprise to anybody as they are both so well prepared, so focused and so talented, but we also saw some fantastic action further down the field. It sets us up really well for the Series ahead.”
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2024 Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL Mountain Bike Results:
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Full men’s results are here, and women’s results are here.
