Swenson all-but wraps the men’s series with his fourth victory of the season while De Crescenzo defends her Trinidad title in style
Swenson Takes Command at the Life Time Rad Dirt Fest
Keegan Swenson all-but wrapped up the 2024 men’s Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda by soloing to his fourth victory of the season at the Life Time Rad Dirt Fest, while Lauren De Crescenzo defended her women’s title in Trinidad after an incredible long-range attack.
Swenson – making his first appearance in the race – was a constant presence in the lead group as it gradually whittled down on the tough 110-mile gravel test, and after breaking clear with Peter Stetina and Griffin Easter in the final hour of action, the 30 year old left his rivals in the dust on the rolling section coming out of Trinidad Lake State Park before pressing home his advantage in typically devastating style, crossing the line with a one-minute-and-23-second winning margin.
Stetina and Easter Round Out the Men’s Podium
Stetina also dug deep to drop Easter in the closing stages, taking second place, three minutes and 23 seconds ahead of the Californian.
Lauren De Crescenzo’s Long-Range Attack Secures Victory
In the women’s race, De Crescenzo once again proved in a class of her own, breaking away near the Spanish Peaks Aid Station and then continuing to build her lead alone over the 80+ miles that followed.
For the second season in a row, the 34 year old didn’t put a foot wrong, wrapping up her victory with a mammoth eight minutes and 10 seconds to spare. The triumph is her third success at this race in total, having also won the 165-mile contest here back in 2021.
Villafane and Decker Complete the Women’s Podium
Sofia Gomez Villafane attacked on the final climb of the day to earn herself a hard-fought second place, with Cecily Decker securing her best result of the series so far in third, rolling home just 14 seconds behind Villafane.
Swenson and Villafane Lead Overall Standings
Those results mean Swenson has a perfect score of 105 in the overall standings, which has been calculated by taking into account the best three scores from the five races to date, although he also has 35 more points in the bank which he can cash in after the Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Mazda concludes the series on Saturday, October 19. He only needs to start that race to be guaranteed his third successive Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda victory.
Payson McElveen now sits in second place, 14 points behind Swenson, despite not finishing today, as his third-best result at Chequamegon has come into effect, with Matthew Beers moving up two places to third, on 89 points, after becoming the third highest-ranked Life Time Grand Prix male rider in Trinidad.
Villafane’s second place ensures she has also cemented her place at the top of the women’s leaderboard with a phenomenal haul of 103 points, 13 ahead of Paige Onweller (who finished this race in seventh). She is now just one point ahead of Alexis Skarda, who crossed the line in fourth position today.
Insights from the Life Time Rad Dirt Fest:
Men’s winner Keegan Swenson said:
Today was my first time competing here and the course was rad. My goal was to have a nice, solid ride. I wanted to put the pressure on and make it hard, but at the same time try and be smart because I knew if I had a podium here, and depending on where other guys finished, I could lock up the overall.
“On that last big push back into town, Pete [Stetina] and I worked really well together. He then made two late attacks but I was able to counter them and gain a few seconds on him, and that allowed me to roll in solo to the finish. I had a good day out and a good time racing the guys out there.
Women’s winner Lauren De Crescenzo said:
I always put pressure on myself to repeat any win I’ve had, but I didn’t plan to make that early attack today, and I don’t know what my coach is going to say about it. It came on a steep, sandy section at around the 30-mile mark and it just felt right. I said to myself ‘this is the time’, although I did quickly start to doubt myself, once I’d made it, as I had so far to go.
“Looking ahead to Big Sugar, I just want to score as many points as I can now. Last season I took the maximum amount by finishing second to Kasia Niewiadoma [who wasn’t in the 2023 Life Time Grand Prix], and I’d love to do the same again as I’m not where I want to be in the standings [which is 11th overall].
Kimo Seymour, Life Time Senior Vice President and President Media & Events, said:
The performances we saw from Keegan and Lauren today were outstanding and they were both more-than worthy winners. Keegan deserves special praise, as not only has he won here on his debut appearance; the victory means he’s also effectively secured his third straight overall title at the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda with one race remaining, and with a perfect score to match. It’s a remarkable achievement and he is a true champion.
“As for Lauren; to attack when she did showed real grit and determination, and her ride today was awesome. I want to congratulate Sofia too, as she also has a firm grip on the women’s title now after yet another super-consistent ride.
“The 2024 Life Time Rad Dirt Fest has more-than lived up to expectations and all eyes turn to the Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Mazda now, where there is still plenty to play for in the battle for our $300,000 prize purse.
