Anthony, Wild & McBride Take Overall Wins at the Leadville Stage Race
The Stages Cycling Leadville Stage Race, owned and produced by Life Time as part of the Leadville Race Series, took place July 29-31. Phew, this race is a mouthful. Stages, Life Time, and anyone else that’s reading: please give us money to be The Stages Cyclry Website Produced by Life Time.
The race has a new format for 2022, possibly, one that spreads out the Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB course over three days in a stage race format. And it was a success: the weekend brought about 250 riders representing 38 states and three countries to Leadville, Colo., with athletes ranging from 17 to 75 years of age.
The Leadville Stage Race course covers the entirety of the 100 MTB course, which will take place Aug. 13 this year, but broken up over three days. A sub 11-hour finish time is required to be considered an official Stage Race Finisher.
- Stage One (Friday): riders rode over 4,000 feet of elevation gain over the course of 40-miles, finishing at the Twin Lakes Dam.
- Stage Two (Saturday): a 22-mile out-and-back up to the course high point of 12,513 feet at Columbine, with nearly 4,000 feet of elevation gain over the course of the day.
- Stage Three (Sunday): a 43-mile ride back to Lake County Rodeo Grounds with over 4,800 feet of elevation gain.
“The Leadville Stage Race was the perfect opportunity to preview the upcoming Leadville 100 MTB course, battle with some fellow Life Time Grand Prix competitors, Kristen Legan and Rach McBride, and enjoy the inspiring community that is Leadville,” said Crystal Anthony. “I was happy to take the win on all three stages and overall for the women, while making new friends on the course and at the delicious post-race dinners!”
On the men’s side, Alex Wild sealed the deal for the overall win. Wild noted, “I’m happy to wrap up the Leadville Stage Race with three stage wins and the overall. I always enjoy using this race as preparation for the Leadville 100, to not only get to see the course at pace but to soak up all the atmosphere and community this race provides. It is so cool to see everyone challenging themselves and hear their stories. See you in two weeks, Leadville.”
Rach McBride took the overall win in the non-binary category, with a cumulative time of 7:53:20. McBride will be returning to Leadville for the Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB in two weeks’ time where they will compete as part of the Life Time Grand Prix series, touting a $250,000 prize purse.
Stages Cycling Leadville Stage Race Results:
Women’s Division:
- Crystal Anthony, 42, of Bentonville, Ark. with a time of 7:25:12
- Kristen Legan, 37, of Black Hawk, Colo. with a time of 7:37:25
- Rachel Beck, 43, of Woody Creek, Colo. with a time of 8:02:24
Men’s Division:
- Alex Wild, 30, of San Jose, Cali. with a time of 6:07:47
- Nicholas Jenkins, 23, of Colorado Springs, Colo. with a time of 6:36:45
- Max Miller, 22, of Sandy, Utah with a time of 6:38:27
Non-Binary Division:
- Rach McBride, 44, of Vancouver, BC with a time of 7:53:20
The next bike event on the Life Time off-road event calendar is the Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB on Aug. 13, which serves as the fourth event in the Life Time Grand Prix series presented by Mazda. There are two bike events on September 17, the 40-mile Chequamegon MTB Festival presented by Trek in northwest Wisconsin, which will be the fifth event in the Life Time Grand Prix Series presented by Mazda, as well as the Stages Cycling Barn Burner in Flagstaff, Ariz. In its second year, The Rad Dirt Fest will take place in Trinidad, Colo. on Oct. 8 followed by the final bike event on the off-road event calendar, Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Mazda on Oct. 22.