The Life Time Grand Prix off-road collection begins anew for a 3rd season this Friday at Fuego XL 100k, and organizers will introduce guidelines and factors modifications which will probably be standardized throughout all seven occasions.
Adjustments in mass begins and an alteration within the factors system are the 2 most vital adjustments for the collection, the opening spherical on show in Monterey, California, for the endurance cross-country mountain bike race at Life Time Sea Otter Classic.
Life Time owns and operates the US-based Life Time Grand Prix collection in addition to the seven MTB and gravel occasions assembled for a season-ending money purse of $300,000, paid to the highest 10 elite males and elite ladies comprised of their invitation-only discipline of 60 riders. Life Time’s Michelle Duffy, the senior advertising and marketing director for occasions and retail advertising and marketing, advised Cyclingnews that athletes have been a part of the choice course of on which adjustments must be applied for 2024, and which of them wanted extra time to germinate.
“As we’re getting into yr three, we have undoubtedly found out a number of the issues we wished to alter. And that’s mirrored in a few of our new rule adjustments, factors changes, etcetera. And then we have additionally found out what we wish to maintain constant, which incorporates the schedule of occasions, for instance,” Duffy mentioned in an interview with Cyclingnews.
“For scoring, we have moved to a mannequin the place if you happen to podium, you are mainly bonused in factors. Last yr, there have been some inconsistencies, some occasions have been high three and a few occasions have been 5 for the rostrum, so this yr, a podium will probably be high 5,” she mentioned. First by fifth will probably be separated by two-point spreads, whereas sixth by thirtieth will rating on a sliding one-point scale.
“If you’re the high finisher at an occasion like Unbound Gravel or Leadville, you need to be rewarded for that. And then secondly, let’s get the dynamics going slightly bit in the direction of the top of the racing there, understanding that there are extra factors on the road.”
The adjustment in time gaps for all pro-division firstly is an enormous change, for which the elite ladies had promoted to present them their very own race and never result in the blending of newbie riders beginning minutes behind them.
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“For all of our occasions, the elite women and men may have separate begins. We began to maneuver in that route in the direction of the top of the yr. An occasion like Leadville, the place we have by no means seen something like that, is a much bigger change. And then, we have adjusted the time gaps to be sure that the women and men have extra cushion. For the ladies, [it’s] extra cushion between their begin time and the newbie males.”
The choice course of for the 60 spots within the discipline takes place every fall. New for this yr, any high 15 finishers within the 2023 collection who reapplied have been prolonged an invitation to return in 2024. The standards for choice within the invitation-only discipline, in any other case, thought-about off-the-bike actions similar to storytelling and fan engagement to assist develop the game of biking.
Duffy mentioned the most important ‘worth propositions’ for this yr, which Life Time is delivering to its elite discipline, embody rider sources to assist them with private branding in addition to the general strategy to content material.
“So an instance of that, we simply got here off of three coaching periods that we offered to the Life Time Grand Prix athletes. The first was round USADA drug testing protocols, the chance to ask USADA about their insurance policies. The second was media coaching. And the third was social media coaching, so the right way to develop a model for your self,” she defined about new sources.
“I feel we’ve an obligation because the producer of this collection, in a format that is new to the US and lots of of those athletes, to assist them determine the right way to optimize what they’re enduring all yr.”
In addition to a aggressive discipline, Duffy mentioned Life Time was trying to transfer to create a “fandom” for the game with extra real-time storytelling. While stay streaming remains to be a problem for the distant areas which host many of the races, she mentioned that ingredient was nonetheless being thought-about, however not a slam dunk. Live broadcasts have been tried on the first three occasions of the 2022 Grand Prix however have been later discontinued on account of an absence of sources.
“Trying to livestream in yr one was aggressive. Our focus for this yr just isn’t happening the stay stream rabbit gap simply but, largely as a result of if it failed, then we did not ship expertise. But as a substitute, rising the mannequin that we examined at Leadville after which Big Sugar, which is a ‘Life broadcast’, race highlights video that comes out 24 to 48 hours following the race,” she defined.
“One of our objectives is to create extra Fandom of the game. It’s a disservice to the collection, within the work that we’re doing and the athletes which can be dedicating their season with us, to not be telling these tales as they’re taking place in actual time. So we’re shifting our content material format to be extra within the second.”
Last yr Life Time experimented with quick stay broadcasts on social channels, together with the ultimate 15 miles of The Rad Dirt Fest in Colorado and the primary 20 miles at Big Sugar in Arkansas. It is a piece in progress, and Duffy harassed that the corporate wished to maintain producing content material with ‘no barrier of entry’, or maintaining the associated fee to look at free, which in flip helps add worth to the Life Time model and encourage all ranges of riders.
The rule to eradicate bar extensions for professional riders final yr will stay in place. Also persevering with for a second season will probably be random doping controls for the professional riders in any respect occasions.