{"id":565273,"date":"2025-11-12T07:38:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T07:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/565273\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T07:38:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T07:38:18","slug":"more-youth-more-international-life-time-announces-its-new-roster-of-athletes-for-the-2026-grand-prix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/565273\/","title":{"rendered":"More youth, more international: Life Time announces its new roster of athletes for the 2026 Grand Prix"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Life Time Grand Prix<\/a> has announced its 2026 roster, with a cast of 20 men and 20 women hand-selected <\/a>for the world\u2019s premier endurance off-road series.<\/p>\n

The field once again will feature top gravel and mountain bike talent from North America and around the world as the series continues to grow into an institution on the global cycling calendar. While other series have emerged, Life Time remains the biggest fish in the gravel pond.<\/p>\n

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A big change heading into the 2026 season was both an increase in the overall prize purse, with $590,000 in total winnings <\/a>up for grabs, and a refined selection process. Before today, five men and five women were already guaranteed a spot in the 2026 roster by virtue of their top five finishes in the 2025 overall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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This includes the returning champions Sofia Gomez Villafa\u00f1e<\/a>, a former mountain bike Olympian and three-time Life Time Grand Prix winner, and Cam Jones,<\/a> the first international winner of the men\u2019s competition. Keegan Swenson<\/a> will also be returning, with a marathon world championship under his belt, as will Melisa Rollins, who has shown that her potential is only growing in the off-road space.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Griffin Hoppin and Ruth Holcomb earned their tickets to the series by winning the U23 series this year, providing a much-needed boost to the series’ credentials as a viable platform to develop American talent<\/a> in true professional, international competitions.<\/p>\n

As for the other spots? Here is the breakdown of who made the cut, what that means for the series, and who might be in the mix for the key wildcard places:<\/p>\n

Kl\u00f6ser, Mig\u00f3n, and Aguirre bring international talent to the women\u2019s field <\/p>\n

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\"Karolina\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Life Times)<\/p>\n

On the women\u2019s side, the big new additions are, first and foremost, the past two champions of Unbound Gravel<\/a>: Rosa Kl\u00f6ser<\/a>, the 2024 champion, and Karolina Migo\u0144<\/a>, the 2025 champion.<\/p>\n

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Both riders are from Europe, which is a significant development for the women, as the female side of the LTGP has typically skewed more toward North American riders than the men’s field. This year, with the inclusion of those two Europeans as well as South African Hayley Preen, Frenchwoman Cecile Lejeune, Kiwi Samara Sheppard, and Australian Courtney Sherwell, the competition is suddenly much more global.<\/p>\n

If Unbound is anything to go by, this should be a significant boon to the competitive balance of the women\u2019s season-long battle. While Sofia Gomez Villafa\u00f1e<\/a> has won the last three Life Time Grand Prix editions, she last won Unbound<\/a> in 2022, the only year she didn\u2019t win the Grand Prix overall.<\/p>\n

That being said, the North American contingent remains strong, with Sarah Sturm<\/a> returning to the series, along with US national gravel champion Lauren Stephens<\/a>, after a season away from the competition. Those riders, plus the likes of Cecily Decker, Lauren De Crescenzo<\/a>, Melisa Rollins, and Gomez Villafa\u00f1e, should deliver a fiercely competitive 2026 season.<\/p>\n

2026 Life Time Grand Prix women\u2019s roster <\/p>\n