The Life Time Grand Prix off-road sequence begins anew for a 3rd season this Friday at Fuego XL 100k, and organizers will introduce guidelines and factors modifications which can be standardized throughout all seven occasions.
Changes in mass begins and an alteration within the factors system are the 2 most important modifications for the sequence, the opening spherical on show in Monterey, California, for the endurance cross-country mountain bike race at Life Time Sea Otter Basic.
Life Time owns and operates the US-based Life Time Grand Prix sequence 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 area of 60 riders. Life Time’s Michelle Duffy, the senior advertising and marketing director for occasions and retail advertising and marketing, informed Cyclingnews that athletes have been a part of the choice course of on which modifications needs to be carried out for 2024, and which of them wanted extra time to germinate.
“As we’re coming into yr three, we have undoubtedly found out among the issues we wished to alter. And that’s mirrored in a few of our new rule modifications, factors changes, etcetera. After which we have additionally found out what we wish to hold constant, which incorporates the schedule of occasions, for instance,” Duffy stated in an interview with Cyclingnews.
“For scoring, we have moved to a mannequin the place in the event you podium, you are mainly bonused in factors. Final 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 can be high 5,” she stated. First by fifth can be separated by two-point spreads, whereas sixth by thirtieth will rating on a sliding one-point scale.
“In case you are the highest finisher at an occasion like Unbound Gravel or Leadville, you ought to be rewarded for that. After which secondly, let’s get the dynamics going a bit of bit in direction of the top of the racing there, realizing that there are extra factors on the road.”
The adjustment in time gaps for all pro-division at the beginning 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 novice 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 course in direction of the top of the yr. An occasion like Leadville, the place we have by no means seen something like that, is an even bigger change. After which, we have adjusted the time gaps to make it possible for the women and men have extra cushion. For the ladies, [it’s] extra cushion between their begin time and the novice males.”
The choice course of for the 60 spots within the area takes place every fall. New for this yr, any high 15 finishers within the 2023 sequence who reapplied have been prolonged an invitation to return in 2024. The standards for choice within the invitation-only area, in any other case, thought of off-the-bike actions comparable to storytelling and fan engagement to assist develop the game of biking.
Duffy stated the most important ‘worth propositions’ for this yr, which Life Time is delivering to its elite area, embody rider assets 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 classes that we supplied to the Life Time Grand Prix athletes. The primary 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 best way to develop a model for your self,” she defined about new assets.
“I believe now we have an obligation because the producer of this sequence, in a format that is new to the US and plenty of of those athletes, to assist them work out the best way to optimize what they’re enduring all yr.”
Along with a aggressive area, Duffy stated Life Time was seeking to transfer to create a “fandom” for the game with extra real-time storytelling. Whereas stay streaming continues to be a problem for the distant areas which host a lot of the races, she stated that ingredient was nonetheless being thought of, however not a slam dunk. Stay broadcasts have been tried on the first three occasions of the 2022 Grand Prix however have been later discontinued as a result of an absence of assets.
“Attempting to livestream in yr one was aggressive. Our focus for this yr shouldn’t be happening the stay stream rabbit gap simply but, principally as a result of if it failed, then we did not ship an excellent expertise. However as an alternative, rising the mannequin that we examined at Leadville after which Massive Sugar, which is a ‘Life broadcast’, race highlights video that comes out 24 to 48 hours following the race,” she defined.
“One in all our targets is to create extra Fandom of the game. It is a disservice to the sequence, 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 occurring in actual time. So we’re shifting our content material format to be extra within the second.”
Final yr Life Time experimented with brief stay broadcasts on social channels, together with the ultimate 15 miles of The Rad Grime Fest in Colorado and the primary 20 miles at Massive Sugar in Arkansas. It’s a work in progress, and Duffy burdened that the corporate wished to maintain producing content material with ‘no barrier of entry’, or preserving 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 get rid of bar extensions for professional riders final yr will stay in place. Additionally persevering with for a second season can be random doping controls for the professional riders in any respect occasions.
