Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz Bicycles-SRAM) can win his third overall title in the Lifetime Grand Prix presented by Mazda Off-Road Series with a victory at Saturday's “Rad Dirt Fest” in Trinidad, Colo. Lifetime Grand Prix presented by Mazda Off-Road Series. But 113 miles and 10,613 feet of climbing are unknown territory for this American rider, and some male riders are looking to extend the $300,000 prize pool to the Big Sugar Gravel in late October.

“This is my first time in Trinidad. It's similar to Steamboat [SBT GRVL], but with more turns and fewer long straights. After a pre-ride on the course on Thursday, the three-time SBT GRVL winner said, “It's a nice difference from the gravel in the Midwest where I've been the last few races.”

“I think the race will be pretty explosive. It might be a big group in the first half of the race, but I think it's going to be a smaller group as we go along. It won't be a sprint finish like the last few races. There are some short, steep climbs in the last few kilometers, so it might be a group of one or two at the finish.”

A packed late-summer schedule has kept Swenson away from racing in southern Colorado for the past two years, and in 2022 he was a late addition to Team USA for the UCI Road World Championships, heading to Australia; in 2023 he traveled to Italy for the UCI Gravel World Championships, where he finished sixth overall and became the top U.S. rider.

Despite missing the Rad Dirt Fest, he won the overall Lifetime Grand Prix both years. This year should be much the same.

“Calendar-wise, the season was similar to last year. Valley of Tears was a great race. Leadville was great too. It was fun to get back out there and defend my title and try to go fast,” he said with a small smile. From Steamboat to Gravel Nut to Chequamegon, and now here we are. There is less pressure in Big Sugar.

Swenson won most of the races he entered this season, including his fourth win at Leadville, but was unable to repeat as national champion, and instead Brennan Wertz (Modiac Cycles) took the stars and stripes jersey. Wertz will head to the Gravel World Championships next week, but Swenson said he plans to watch the race broadcast, as he declined a wildcard invitation to travel to Belgium between Grand Prix races.

“I haven't seen the start list. I know there will be World Tour riders and gravel riders competing. If I can watch the race in the U.S., I would like to see what the race is like. (The course) is very similar to the One Day Classic in Belgium.”

Swenson, a former gravel national champion, currently leads the Lifetime Grand Prix standings, having won three MTB events, the Fuego XL 100K MTB at the Sea Otter Classic, the Leadville Trail 100 MTB, and the Chequamegon MTB Festival, 29 riders in the lead.

Swenson hopes to coast over the white rocks of northern Arkansas in the sixth and final round to win the $300,000 first-place prize. But first, McElveen is also one of the top contenders to win at The Lad.

“Technically, that is why Keegan has to go to Trinidad. There are 20 players who could be in the top three [in the Grand Prix]. Overall third-place finisher Payson McElveen (Allied Cycle Works-Red Bull) assessed, “It's still very exciting.”

“The points are getting interesting. After Chequamegon, my aspirations for this race changed. Unfortunately, I developed COVID right after the race and was trying to get back to health. I'm in a great position to try for second place overall, but I need to tighten up my defenses.

For the first time at Rad Dirt Fest, the elite field will be divided into five-minute intervals at the start of the race. The men's field, including Swenson, McElveen, defending champion Alexey Vermeulen (Factor-ENVE), and Cole Paton (Giant), will start at 9:00 MDT on the remote and rugged Spanish Peaks hill.

The women's field includes former RAD winner Lauren De Crescenzo (Factor/The Feed/Maxxis/Castelli/PERC) and two top Grand Prix contenders, Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized) and Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless) are expected to participate.

“Rad is a very pure gravel event. There is a lot of pedaling and not a lot of sitting on the downhill. So I think it will come down to pure power and being able to climb well. Plus, the elevation is high on this course. So the riders need to cope well with the altitude and pace themselves accordingly,” Onweller said of the course.

“In addition, this is the first year that the women's start is separate in Rado; last year it was mixed. So I feel that there will be a larger group of women up to the key points, which will mix things up to make the race more dynamic.”

There will be no live streaming, but the race will be broadcast on the Life Time Grand Prix social channels.