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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 shall 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 girls comprised of their invitation-only area of 60 riders. Life Time’s Michelle Duffy, the senior advertising director for occasions and retail advertising, instructed Cyclingnews that athletes had been a part of the choice course of on which modifications must be carried out for 2024, and which of them wanted extra time to germinate.
“As we’re coming into yr three, we have positively found out a number of the issues we needed to vary. And that’s mirrored in a few of our new rule modifications, factors changes, etcetera. After which we have additionally found out what we need to maintain 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 case you podium, you are mainly bonused in factors. Final yr, there have been some inconsistencies, some occasions had been high three and a few occasions had been 5 for the rostrum, so this yr, a podium shall be high 5,” she stated. First by means of fifth shall be separated by two-point spreads, whereas sixth by means of thirtieth will rating on a sliding one-point scale.
“In case you are the highest finisher at an occasion like Unbound Gravel or Leadville, try to be rewarded for that. After which secondly, let’s get the dynamics going somewhat bit in direction of the tip of the racing there, understanding that there are extra factors on the road.”
The adjustment in time gaps for all pro-division in the beginning is a giant change, for which the elite girls 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 tip 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 had been prolonged an invitation to return in 2024. The factors for choice within the invitation-only area, in any other case, thought of off-the-bike actions corresponding 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, embrace 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 tips on how 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 lots of of those athletes, to assist them determine tips on how to optimize what they’re enduring all yr.”
Along with a aggressive area, Duffy stated Life Time was trying to transfer to create a “fandom” for the game with extra real-time storytelling. Whereas dwell streaming remains to be a problem for the distant areas which host many of the races, she stated that factor was nonetheless being thought of, however not a slam dunk. Stay broadcasts had been tried on the first three occasions of the 2022 Grand Prix however had been later discontinued on account of an absence of assets.
“Making an attempt to livestream in yr one was aggressive. Our focus for this yr just isn’t happening the dwell stream rabbit gap simply but, principally as a result of if it failed, then we did not ship a great 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 among 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 might 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.”
Final yr Life Time experimented with brief dwell 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 careworn that the corporate needed to maintain producing content material with ‘no barrier of entry’, or conserving the associated fee to observe 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. Additionally persevering with for a second season shall be random doping controls for the professional riders in any respect occasions.
