LIFE TIME GRAND PRIX, BIG TIRES, AND NEW AMBITIONS - ALEXEY VERMEULEN TALKS 2025
The Life Time Grand Prix first launched in 2022 with the goal of increasing cycling fandom in the United States and showcasing some of the most unique off-road events throughout the country.
Since launch, it has been a resounding success and has brought world attention to American pro-racing. It’s not just a preeminent pro race series in the US, but arguably the biggest multi-discipline series in the world.
It features three gravel races: Sea Otter, Unbound 200, Big Sugar, and three MTB races: Chequamegon, Leadville 100, and Little Sugar.
With the Unbound 200 and Leadville 100, you have two of the hardest one-day race events in the world. They couldn’t be more different either: Leadville has the challenges of altitude and mountain biking whereas Unbound is two hundred miles in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Each round brings something to the table.
The series' biggest pull? There's $250,000 of prize money at stake.
While Alexey can look back fondly at 2024, it was a year spent supporting others. He skipped Unbound for his brother’s wedding and supported his girlfriend through her Olympic Games. That being said, Alexey still brought home the win at Big Sugar.
“Heading into 2025, I have a big fire burning to be competitive from start to finish and make an impact at the biggest races in the nation and the Lifetime Grand Prix Overall.” - Alexey
The Life Time Grand Prix Changes: Is Keegan Beatable?
Keegan Swenson is the winning-most rider in the Life Time era of American racing. He’s won back-to-back-to-back overall titles, and twelve rounds in total. It has been total domination.
But, could 2025 be the year that the tide changes?
There are some big changes to the LTGP calendar for next season, and they all couldplay towards a new winner being crowned come October. The series opener, Sea Otter, has only ever been won by Keegan. It’s no longer an MTB race though, and is now a gravel race. Similarly, the Keegan stronghold race of Crusher in the Tushar is no longer in the Grand Prix either.
"The change in calendar is big. It’s no longer a consistent season but more sporadic. Its opened up time to do other events, or if people are smart, it’s given time to take a rest and come back strong for the final push. This year my schedule is built around being as fast as I can in the moments that I think Keegan is beatable.”
Life Time’s changing of the calendar is for the better. In the past altitude races ruled the roost, these days it’s a little more mixed. We’re Team Alexey, but as the premier series of off-road with the largest prize purse, the LTGP talent pool is deep.
2025: The year of Grav-aerodynamics?
Tires:
You can’t wave a mud stick in Kansas without someone talking about tires, but there’s a fair warning here: not all amateurs should set bikes up like the pros.
“When setting my bike up, it’s to win a race. I don’t think amateurs will encounter a lot of the problems that I will. Running a MTB tire, or anything over 50mm on the front is only because I’m worried about not seeing something when we’re in a line at 25mph. If you hit something at that speed, it can be race-over
Amateurs typically tend to be a little more spread out, not racing right on the wheel and not riding at as fast of speeds. It allows inserts and faster tires to do just as well. In 2024, I either ran their Kenda Rush which is their fastest XC tire, or the Fortitude, which is effectively a semi-slick.”
Tires are getting wider, but as Alexey says, you need to choose your equipment based on your riding style. At times, pros are willing to take more risks with equipment because their end goal is winning. If your aim is to finish the event, maybe take a more cautious approach.
Aerodynamics:
We’ve seen crazy aerodynamic developments on the road in the last decade, and they’ve been trickling their way into gravel too. From aero-hydration packs to Lachlan Morton winning Unbound in an aero-helmet, we’re in the modern era of gravel.
“We’re going to take aero to the next level in 2025. There will be more aero wheels and bikes as gravel settles into the trend of bigger tires, but this will be prevalent in MTB too. The average speed in two of the three MTB races in the Grand Prix is 17-18mph, that’s where aero comes into play.”
Nutrition:
The amount of carbohydrates that riders eat is often pointed to as one of this generation's biggest improvements. Hunger flats, or bonks, seem to be a thing of the past as everyone is pushing the upper limit of what their body can tolerate.
Having a dialed nutrition strategy, even something as simple as eating X grams of carbohydrates per hour can be a game-changer for big events. The more carbohydrates in your system, the better the body performs - within reason. Of course, everyone is unique and we advise testing what works for you before race day.
“I think we’re going to see new ways of feeding nutrition. Riders are going to find more ways to save time. The sport has come around to what it takes to train and race at the highest level, and that means eating a lot. I think we’re going to see some big jumps in how nutrition companies allow us to carry and metabolize our fuel.”
The Calendar: Willie vs Alexey
It’s important to know where Alexey is going to be racing, but there’s one question on all of our minds: WWWB - where will Willie be?
For those of you who don’t know, Sir Willie the Wiener is a long-haired miniature dachshund that belongs to Alexey’s girlfriend. Willie has become a personality of his own and is famous for riding on Alexey’s back while training.
He’s known as the ‘Chief Bark Officer’ at Strava, and come to any race expo, you’ll see just how much of a celebrity he is.
To avoid disappointment, here’s the Alexey and Willie race attendance chart:
