The rich prize purse of the Life Time Grand Prix series has long stood out in gravel, and while it will be getting just a little slimmer in 2025, the potential payouts on offer have actually climbed given each of the events will now also have $30,000 up for grabs.
In 2024 there was $300,000 on offer to be split between the top ten riders of the men's and women's divisions in the selective series, next year that will drop to $200,000 with another $180,000 up for grabs at the six events that make up the series.
Some events included in the series have had modest prize packets in the past, but it was all for the glory at Unbound Gravel 200, Leadville Trail 100 MTB and Big Sugar Gravel up until now. They, along with Sea Otter Classic, Chequamegon MTB and the new addition to the series for 2024, Little Sugar MTB will all have $30,000 up for grabs at each race in 2025.
That's a huge jump in the offering for all races bar one – Little Sugar MTB which was the one race which previously did have a big payout, with $65,000 up for grabs in 2024 but has also only just been added to the series.
The big difference, however, is not the amount of money on offer but who has access to it. Life Time prize money is only eligible to those selected athletes that take part in the series but now riders that just turn up for individual events can capture the individual race prizes.
"While continuing to devote a significant prize allocation to the series itself, we felt the time was right to offer additional prize money at each of the six races comprising the series," Kimo Seymour, Life Time President Media & Events said in a statement. "This will enable us to attract a competitive, global field of top athletes and to further grow the sport domestically.”
It will also further help set the US Gravel races apart, with the more lucrative prize purses often not easy to come by internationally.
The prize money announcement comes after the Life Time Grand Prix also announced additional changes for 2025 earlier this month. The field of the fourth edition will drop to 25 men and 25 women, a selection that includes three wildcard entries after two events – the Sea Otter Classic Gravel on April 11, 2025 and Unbound Gravel on May 31, 2025.
First, however, the finale of the 2024 season is set to play out on Saturday at the 100-mile Big Sugar Gravel, where the series winners will once again be crowned.
