Sofía Gómez Villafañe and Matthew Beers Claim Victory at Life Time Big Sugar Gravel Presented by Kenetik

October 18, 2025

Cameron Jones Triumphs, Beating Rivals in a Bunch Sprint to Secure the 2025 Life Time Grand Prix Title

Highlights

• Inclement weather ignited a dynamic 50-mile Life Time Big Sugar Gravel race
• Matthew Beers solos to the line to take the men’s race win in Bentonville
• Men’s series competition came down to the line, with Cameron Jones securing the overall win after a  dominant sprint
• Sofía Gómez Villafañe secures Bentonville sweep, claiming Little Sugar MTB, Big Sugar Gravel and the Life Time Grand Prix overall victories
• Top five overall series finishers auto-qualify for the 2026 Life Time Grand Prix
• Ruth Holcomb and Griffin Hoppin claim inaugural Life Time Grand Prix U23 titles and earn spots on the 2026 athlete roster

Bentonville, Ark. (October 18, 2025) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Sofía Gómez Villafañe and Matthew Beers claim victory at the Life Time Big Sugar Gravel, while Cameron Jones secures the overall 2025 Life Time Grand Prix title in an electric mass sprint to the finish line. Gómez Villafañe locked up the women’s overall title at Life Time Little Sugar MTB, provided she started today’s race.

Forecasted inclement weather shortened the season finale to 50 miles but provided dynamic races across the men’s and women’s Life Time Big Sugar Gravel fields.

Matthew Beers instigated an early breakaway alongside Matthew Wilson and Riley Amos (who is not part of the Life Time Grand Prix roster, but represents Team USA MTB) before going solo in the closing miles to secure his first win of the 2025 Life Time Grand Prix series. Wilson suffered a mechanical in the closing miles, taking him out of contention, while Griffin Easter joined forces with Amos to eventually edge him out on the line for second place. Julien Gagne claimed fourth ahead of the peloton of riders closing in behind.

Keegan Swenson, Cameron Jones, Simon Pellaud and Torbjørn Andre Røed marked each other closely all day, with the overall series being decided by their finishing order, but it was Jones who was victorious, taking the bunch sprint for fifth place.

Meanwhile, in the Women’s race, attacks were launched left and right but were ultimately neutralized until the final kilometers, which saw Gómez Villafañe and Lauren Stephens (who is the USA national gravel champion, but not part of the Life Time Grand Prix) launch decisive moves to go clear of the group. Lauren De Crescenzo and Melisa Rollins also attempted to follow the two leaders but were caught by the peloton.

Gómez Villafañe distanced her rival and took the win solo while Stephens held off the chasing peloton for second place. Stella Hobbs brought home the remainder of the bunch, taking third on the line ahead of Alexis Skarda and Courtney Sherwell for fourth and fifth, respectively.

Alexandra Charles and Jonas Woodruff secured wins in the women’s and men’s U23 categories at the Life Time Big Sugar Gravel. The full U23 results can be found HERE.

2025 Life Time Grand Prix 

The overall was all to play for at the Life Time Big Sugar Gravel, with first through fourth just two points apart, but it was Cameron Jones, originally a Wild Card rider, who claimed the overall victory by outsprinting his rivals at Big Sugar Gravel.

Click HERE for the full men’s overall standings

Sofía Gómez Villafañe secured her third consecutive overall title at Life Time Little Sugar MTB last weekend, while Cecily Decker edged out Melisa Rollins for second place today.

Click HERE for the full women’s overall standings

New for 2026, the top five riders placed in the 2025 overall Life Time Grand Prix standings will auto-qualify for next year’s series, as well as the winners of the U23 category.

Reactions from the Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Kenetik

Matthew Beers, Life Time Big Sugar Gravel winner, said: 
“I’m really good at this type of effort coming from the Mountain Biking side, so I knew I just had to go full gas, commit 100% and put my head down.

“I’ve been wanting to win one of these for so long now, and I’ve come second a few times. It was a shortened version, so it was a different dynamic of racing, so I’m glad I finally got a Life Time Grand Prix victory.”

Cameron Jones, 2025 Life Time Grand Prix Series winner, said: 
“Today was exciting, I wasn’t concerned when they shortened the course as the 50-mile suits me just as well [as the 100-mile]. We pulled most attacks back today just by marking each other in the bunch. It was a long sprint, but I managed to hold onto it as there was a lot on the line!

“I’ve proven my point that I belong in the Life Time Grand Prix and couldn’t have done any better.  It’s been an awesome year, and I’m sure I’ll be back for it again next year.”

Keegan Swenson, 2025 Life Time Grand Prix Series fourth place, said
“Today was a tricky and tactical race; I had no choice but to give it all I had, but I knew I was going to be up against it. It’s been a great year, but some of my races didn’t go as I wanted; but that’s cycling.”

Sofía Gómez Villafañe, Women’s 2025 Life Time Grand Prix winner, said: 
“I thrive in chaos, and with the uncertainty today, with the weather, I knew it was going to deliver some really exciting racing. I reconed the 50-mile course with Matthew Beers yesterday, which might have been a smart tactic, as I knew where the pinch points were.

“I’m super excited to wrap up the Life Time Grand Prix title and win Little and Big with a clean sweep in Bentonville. It’s such a good note to end on, and no crashes, which is great.”

Cecily Decker, Women’s 2025 Life Time Grand Prix Series second place, said: 
“It was full gas from the start, I felt pretty good and was happy where I was, but midway through the day, I felt like it was going to end in a bunch sprint. Melisa and I were really tight on points, so I’m really happy to have got it just at the end.

“I’ve had an amazing year,  I’m just super grateful for how it all ended, and today, no matter what happened, I think I can look back and just be really, really happy with the year I’ve had.

“I’ll definitely be coming back to the Life Time Grand Prix next year as it’s everything I love about cycling.  I love to come back to the same place year after year, so it really suits me too.”

Michelle Duffy, VP Marketing, Life Time Events, said:
“The weather kept us on our toes right up to the wire today, which is why we decided to cut down the 100-mile distance to keep everyone safe, but that didn’t dampen the atmosphere in Bentonville with electric finishes in both women’s and men’s races.

“This year marked the successful debut of our U23 competition and Wild Card categories, and it’s been incredible to share the action unfold with fans worldwide with our live broadcast across UNBOUND Gravel, Leadville Trail 100, and Big Sugar has also been incredible.”

Extended highlights will be available within 48 hours and “On the Attack” will be available later this week on the official Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel.

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About Life Time

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