Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz Bicycles-SRAM) is on the verge of securing a third overall title in the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda off-road series, which he can seal with a victory Saturday at The Rad Dirt Fest in Trinidad, Colorado.
But there are 113 miles across 10,613 feet of climbing that the US rider has not seen before, and a solid men's field trying to extend the battle for a share in a $300,000 prize purse through to late October at Big Sugar Gravel.
"It's my first time in Trinidad. It's kind of a similar vibe to Steamboat [SBT GRVL], but more turns and less long straightaways, with some punchier climbs near the end. It's a nice change from the Midwest gravel we've done the last bit," the three-time SBT GRVL winner said after a pre-ride on the course Thursday.
"I think the race will blow up a fair bit. It might be a big group for the first half, then I think it will slowly become a smaller bunch. It definitely won't be a sprint finish like the last few races. There's a couple of short, steep climbs in the last few kilometres, so it could be groups of one and two at the finish."
A packed late-summer schedule kept Swenson away from the southern Colorado race the past two years. In 2022 he was a late addition to Team USA for the UCI Road World Championships and headed to Australia, where he was the second-best placed US men's rider in the road race behind Neilson Powless. In 2023 he travelled to Italy to compete at the UCI Gravel World Championships, where he was the top US rider in sixth overall.
Despite missing The Rad Dirt Fest, he still won the Life Time Grand Prix overall both years. Not much should change this year, again.
"It's been a similar season to last year in terms of the calendar. It has been fun to have a couple new events, Valley of Tears was a great race. Leadville was good. It was fun to go back there and defend that title, try to go fast," he said with a small laugh. "From Steamboat to Gravel Nats and Chequamegon and now we're here. Just have a nice, consistent ride here and less pressure at Big Sugar."
While Swenson dominated the majority of races he entered this season, including Leadville for a fourth time, he did not repeat as the US national champion, with Brennan Wertz (Mosiac Cycles) taking the stars-and-stripes jersey away instead. Wertz is headed to the Gravel World Championships next week, and Swenson said he'd try to watch the broadcast of the race, having declined a wildcard invitation to make the trek to Belgium between Grand Prix events.
"I haven't looked at the start list. I know there's a handful of WorldTour guys racing and a bunch of the gravel guys. If it's available in the US I'll try and watch it, see how it plays out. It looks very similar [the course] to a one-day Belgian Classic."
The former US gravel national champion currently leads a 29-rider field in the Life Time Grand Prix standings by sweeping the three different types of mountain bike events on the calendar - Fuego XL 100K MTB at Sea Otter Classic, Leadville Trail 100 MTB and Chequamegon MTB Festival.
Swenson hopes to coast across the white rocks of northern Arkansas at the sixth and final event for a $30,000 first-place check, the winner's share in a $300,000 prize purse, split evenly among men and women. But before then, McElveen is one of the top contenders who wants a win at The Rad too.
"Technically, Keegan doesn't have it locked up, which is why he has to go to Trinidad. There's 20 guys who could still finish in the top three [of the Grand Prix]. It's still very exciting," assessed Payson McElveen (Allied Cycle Works-Red Bull), who is third overall in the standings.
"The points are getting interesting. My ambitions for this race changed after Chequamegon, because unfortunately I picked up COVID right after the race, trying to get healthy. I'm in a great spot to finish second overall, but need to play some defense."
The Rad Dirt Fest will separate elite fields by five minutes at the start for the first time. A stacked men's field with Swenson, McElveen, defending champion Alexey Vermeulen (Factor-ENVE), and Cole Paton (Giant) hit the hills in the remote and rugged Spanish Peaks at 9:00 MDT.
The women's field is expected to include former Rad winner Lauren De Crescenzo (Factor /The Feed/Maxxis/Castelli/PERC) and the top two riders vying for the Grand Prix lead, Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized) and Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless).
"The Rad is very much a pure gravel event. It's also a lot of pedaling, there's not a lot of sitting in even on the descending. So I think pure power and being able to climb well is going to be important. Additionally, the course is at altitude; it's a bit sneaky. So athletes need to handle altitude pretty well and pace their efforts accordingly," Onweller said about the course.
"Additionally, this is the first year that we have had a separate women's start at the Rad, last year was mixed. And so I do feel like we will have larger groups of women up until critical points, with a mix for the race to be more dynamic."
There is no live streaming, but race coverage will be provided on Life Time Grand Prix social channels.
