Sofía Gómez Villafañe and Keegan Swenson Lead the Life Time Grand Prix Series

The Life Time Grand Prix is underway for a second season, and the first event of the seven race series kicked off at Sea Otter Classic today. For over four hours, riders battled it out on a dry, dusty, rutted course in the Fuego XL. As temperatures rose on the course, it became a race of attrition. Last year's overall GP winner Keegan Swenson and second place woman Sofía Gómez Villafañe took the men's and women's race wins, respectively.

In the women's race, Gómez Villafañe was quick to point out the fact that there were quite a few last minute changes on the start line, including call-ups—something the riders weren't expecting. "It was wild from the start," she told announcers post-race.

Despite the confusion, she had a strong start, leading into the singletrack on the course. But while it was tempting to solo off the front, she knew that she had hours of racing left. "We had a nice group going, and we kept the first lap pretty conservative and started to put in some punches on the second lap," she said.

She made her move in the final climb, better known as 'the wall.' "I knew at some point, I wanted to do an attack," she said. "And I felt that last pitch was probably my best chance to go."

The move worked, but she admits it took a lot to get the win. Behind her, Alexis Skarda came in for second, with Vera Looser in third and last year's overall Grand Prix winner Haley Smith in fourth.

In the women's field, there was a keen sense of loss on the start line: Last year, Moriah 'Mo' Wilson was the race winner, followed by Gómez Villafañe and Skarda. Wilson was killed last May, but her presence is still felt at events like this one, and it's clear she is still remembered by all the athletes on the start line.

The men's race ended with a tighter finish, with Swenson coming into the finishing straight with Russ Finsterwald alongside of him. Swenson made a move with enough time to get a gap and celebrate his win, but Finsterwald wasn't far behind. The two had been with Chris Blevins, who came in for third, and Cole Patton, who finished fourth, for most of the race.

“I think there was a bit of pressure on myself to win this race, I mean I won it last year,” Swenson said at the finish. “It’s a good way to start off the series, start off with the lead, and that takes pressure off the next few races.”

"It was super fun and super hard," said Patton. "The course was was really a lot more technical than everyone was expecting. All the rain this winter meant there were a lot of ruts and erosion, so it was really advantageous to know the course. I came in pretty rode last week, so I felt like I was really competent on it. I didn't quite have the pop to follow the leaders at the end, but I was still able to hang in for fourth and I'm super proud of that."

Women's Top 5

1. Sofia Gomez Villafane

2. Alexis Skarda
   

3. Vera Looser

4. Haley Smith

5. Erin Huck

Men's Top 5

1. Keegan Swenson

2. Russell Finsterwald

3. Christopher Blevins

4. Cole Paton

5. Alex Wild

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