Keegan Swenson dominated the 2023 Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB, smashing the course record by over 15 minutes. Sofia Gomez Villafane won the women’s event, both from Heber City, Utah.
The 2023 Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB race, owned and produced by Life Time (NYSE: LTH), witnessed history with defending champion Keegan Swenson’s dominating performance, in which he broke the course record by 15 minutes and four seconds. The new official course record time is 5:43:31 for the famed ‘Race Across the Sky’. Sofia Gomez Villafane finished in first place in the women’s race, leading most of the day
in a close battle with second place finisher Ruth Winder and third place Alexis Skarda.
On Saturday, a field of more than 1,750 riders descended on Leadville, with cyclists pedalin 105 miles and 12,000 feet of elevation gain, including tackling the challenging Columbine Pass, the high point of the race at 12,500 feet above sea level. Riders ranged in age from 18 to 80 years old, representing all 50 states and 25 countries, 59 of which were Leadville citizens proudly representing their hometown. Additionally, 70 Lead Challenge athletes toed the start line on Saturday.
“I was so short of the record (last year), so this year I just went all in, and if I blew up in the end, I blew up,” said Swenson.“I didn’t want to just get the record by a few seconds, I wanted to make it mine. I just put my head down and gave it everything I had on my way back from Columbine. The conditions were good, the course was fast and tacky, there was a little bit of wind and some rain, but the boys were rolling and everyone was down to ride.”
When asked about when he broke open his lead, which resulted in a solo finish 21-minutes faster than his nearest competitor, Swenson recalls, “About a third of the way up Columbine, I knew the pace I had to ride and that was it.”
Women’s Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB Race Results
Sofia Gomez Villafane Heber City, Utah 30 7:09:48
Ruth Winder Nederland, Colo. 30 7:11:12
Alexis Skarda Grand Junction, Colo. 33 7:19:03
Men’s Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB Race Results
Keegan Swenson Heber City, Utah 29 5:43:31
Alexey Vermeulen Pinckney, Mich. 28 6:08:01
John Gaston Aspen, Colo. 36 6:08:05
To view all race results from the Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB, visit: Athlinks. To see how the race day unfolded check out the women’s race on the Leadville Race Series Instagram and Twitter and the men’s race on the Life Time Grand Prix Instagram and Twitter.
“It was a truly phenomenal day from every possible angle. Our entire field not only committed,\ but brought their very best to the game. Not only was the course record broken…significantly, but we saw record-setting times across all paces and riders, including the most sub-nine hour riders to date,” said Tamira Jenlink, Race Director. “From the winner to the very last finisher,
everyone dug deep and finished in Leadville Strong style!”
Next up on the Life Time off-road athletic events calendar is the fifth event in the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda series, the Life Time Chequamegon MTB Festival presented by Trek on Sept. 16, followed by the sixth Grand Prix race, the Life Time The Rad Dirt Fest presented by Wahoo Fitness on Sept. 30 in Trinidad, Colo. The newest event in the Life Time portfolio, the Life Time Little Sugar MTB presented by Mazda, will take place in Bentonville, Ark. on Oct. 15, followed by the Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Mazda the following weekend, Oct. 22, the finale of the Life Time Grand Prix series. The final bike event on the
Leadville Race Series calendar is the Stages Cycling Austin Rattler MTB, which will take place on Nov. 4 in Texas.
Celebrating its fortieth anniversary, the legendary Leadville Trail 100 Run presented by La Sportiva will take place next weekend, Aug. 19-20, which is where it all started back in 1983. This year, 90 Foundation Athletes will raise money for the LifeTime Foundation during these two 100-mile races. All donations go towards a general fund to support grants and
programming delivered nationally and locally in Leadville.
