Can Simon Survive America's Toughest Gravel Race Series?

Invitation only, the world’s best gravel riders compete for a $300,000 prize purse in Life Time Grand Prix - the toughest gravel racing series there is. So how did Simon manage to get an invite? Thanks to Pinarello and a mega-bike influenced by Tom Pidcock, he’s going to take on some of the top pros in the Sea Otter Classic event. But can he survive this brutal course?
00:00 Welcome to the Life Time Grand Prix: The world’s toughest gravel racing series
00:44 The Pinarello Dogma XC
02:03 Tips from pros Lachlan Morton and Danni Shrosbree
02:57 The Sea Otter Classic route and fuelling strategy
04:00 On the start line
09:36 What makes the Pinarello Dogma XC the perfect bike for this ride?
13:39 Finished! How hard is Life Time Grand Prix?
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[@gcn]

What race would you most like to take part in? Let us know 👇

[@biggertree7063]

Proper Keirin race in Japan.

[@yules_3000]

Unbound! Maybe send Hank there. He loves the punishment.

[@biggertree7063]

"On Saturday, August 17, 2024, riders will race to the summit of Mt. Washington in what's been called, "the toughest hillclimb in the US, if not the world", the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb (MWARBH). This race is hosted and benefits Tin Mountain Conservation Center." Send Ollie.

[@aadepaade]

You should try the Kaldoaivi Ultra Tour mtb in the Lapland in Finland. 130 km and 2k vertical in mostly open tundra. There is also an 200k road bike version of it.

[@glennpettersson9002]

Seven gravel race. So named for the seven climbs, it's a bucket list thing.

[@matthewrepucci3564]

I love that Si is giving in race commentary while is heart rate is going 180. Well Done Si!

[@gcn]

A true professional 🙌 Did you enjoy Si's race?

[@matthewrepucci3564]

@@gcn His race was great! I just felt bad that he seemed to be alone for most of it... You need to get a GCN squad out there!

[@GBScouts]

That poor guy finishing his first lap with the winner rolling past 😂

[@askmeaboutmattweiner]

I bet his intrusive thoughts were like "get your hands up and celebrate too" and ruin a bunch of pictures

[@dantuttle7516]

Don't feel too badly for him. The Elite Ladies went off 10 minutes after the Men and then the age groups started behind that every 5 minutes. It took nearly an hour to get everyone started. No telling how far back that rider started.

[@robbchastain3036]

@@askmeaboutmattweiner He could've become the next big cycling influencer. 😀

[@jimdubois445]

I literally watched I think that guy’s video of the race! Or someone who was just ahead because he mentioned it they were announcing Keegan as he was videoing. I forget who it was

[@garthTurningCranks]

I was behind him...got passed by 10 pro men, Started 25 minutes after them, but still managed to do my pit stop, go out and complete the 2nd lap. Additional bit that wasn't mentioned, is that the Fuego XL is also a Leadville Qualifier. Set a fast time at one of the 7 qualifiers to start further toward the front.

[@brianrainey2739]

This effort deserves a lot more than a 16m video. Great job Si! BTW, that is the prettiest modern day Pinarello I have ever laid eyes on! 🥰

[@a1white]

Back in the day this would have got the GCN+ treatment 😢

[@benjaminplant3734]

I could have watched this for at least an hour. Great content guys. Way better than chatting endlessly about tyre width

[@gcn]

We love to hear that you want more of this content 🙌 It was such a fun race 💨 Any other races we should check out?

[@brettbaker7049]

What would be sweet to see is a fan winning a chance to ride a fondo or other such event with a presenter.

[@Mediaslut]

⁠​⁠@@gcn For me, any of the Gran Fondo type races, gravel or road, as a series would be great. They are aspirational for a lot of us and strangely remain quite accessible.

[@ericcoxtcu8037]

So when you say the producers decided you should ride the Lifetime Grand Prix, does that mean you are going to hit all (or most) of the races? You and Connor at Unbound? You at 13K ft (~4000m) for Leadville? Man, that would make a great documentary! If only there were some sort of service that combined racing coverage with really cool cycling documentaries 🤔

[@gcn]

You'll have to find out! For now We're just riding this one but we have some epic gravel content coming soon

[@johnpsyclex147]

@@gcn ah now - LTGP is a series, not one race. Don't let him off that easily !

[@TheBRad704]

15:05 that post-race contemplation where you just sit there and stare at your bike and try to process what just happened. We've all been there and it's awesome.

[@LifeTimeGrandPrix]

Nice riding out there Simon! We were so happy to have you ripping the DH's, rolling the sharp uphills and we especially liked your technique of 'enjoying' the second lap for an extra 30mins - great idea!

[@Mgrant8163]

Beautiful Pinarello mountain bike, just wow! I have a feeling that you need the $300,000 prize money to purchase one but it's still amazing. Great job Si, thanks for taking one for the team.

[@dantuttle7516]

5 hours is a good result considering that course. I raced the (much) shorter Fuego XC on Sunday in 60-69 Men. One lap and only 21 miles but up many of the same steep climbs. This was the hardest thing I've done in a couple decades, but I finished! Tinker Juarez (legend) won the age group in 1:32. I was a little more that double that a 3:16. I wasn't to worried about where I finished as long as I wasn't last. And that was an accomplishment.

[@qingyuhu]

Amazing race with amazing riders, this world level race and Si did damn well all things considered.

[@smithandshortdogs]

Good show old boy... as I get further and further past my prime I am continuously inspired by those of you still hanging on. To steal from the late great Toby Keith: "I'm not as good as I once was, but if you give me a chance I can be as good once, as I ever was." Hail! Aim High! Ala Cumba! Hook'em!

[@patrickroberts8702]

A great song!

[@A_AAA232]

awesome Si, well done, show those roadies that XC is where it's at! sweet bike, great effort

[@gcn]

We must admit... it was a fun day on the bike! These flat bars really aren't that bad 🤣

[@A_AAA232]

@@gcn flat bars for the win - just watch how those gravel bikes are gonna evolve into lightweight XC MTBs :) great content guys!

[@matthewbaynham6286]

Congratulations on finishing.

[@gcn]

An achievement in itself 🙌 Si looked good on the flat bars 👀

[@kurre_kallkvist]

When I did my first ever MTB race, I signed up for a 64km long three lap race... Heading out on that third lap, knowing what's ahead, having been lapped by the fast riders and being all alone on the trails was hard... I ended up finishing third from last and slept like a log for about 14h afterwards 😂

[@user-hh9cu2px9g]

As others have said, I hope Si will be doing the entire series. Also, Longer videos, please. Maybe show up at Gravel Locos, too. I’d almost pay to see that.

[@TheWarder500]

The GCN presenters will always be 1st place in my heart 🫡. Awesome job

[@gcn]

Aww thanks

[@dclark142002]

Astonishing ride. Great job putting in such a good effort...and so glad your body didnt get hurt. Keep riding, Si.

[@RomanoCortesJorge]

Kudos to all the cameramen (including Si) and post production team. Great job with this video. It all came together.

[@gcn]

We loved filming this one! Glad you enjoyed it 🙌

[@smakersify]

Wow, I was at Sea Otter, and I was wondering how this course went. All I can say is wow, thank you, GCN, for the great coverage, and Si, congratulations on finishing the race. Well done, sir.

[@gcn]

We loved out time at sea otter! 🦦 What an amazing event! This race with the icing on the cake 🎂

[@lochness_sasquatch]

Formidable video, really well done Si!! 🤜🤛

[@Lauriieton]

Eating up any crumb of Lachlan Morton content I can get ahold of, what a pleasure it must've been for you Si. He's the most famous guy ever from my hometown lmao. Great video.

[@gcn]

Such a cool guy! Cyclings coolest? 😎

[@brianwheeldon4643]

Thanks so much for this Si, fast, exciting and impressive riding mate. Welldone!

[@richcrompton6891]

Awesome job Si and an awesome bike to race the event on! Rolling back the years to your MTB days 😊 The only thing missing was the fluorescent clothing!

[@gcn]

Cool to see Si back on flat bars 🙌 Glad to hear you enjoyed it, We loved our time at Sea Otter 🦦

[@indoorandoutdoorendurance3889]

I've been listening to this lying down without watching it, trying to get some rest, and beginning around somewhere near the second half I began looking over at my tablet occasionally to see the video too. I saw some very beautiful scenery with the trail and all the green grasses and things up ahead. Those scenes were very nice to see! Thanks!

[@Zwiesel66]

It was definitely fun to watch the video, well done Si. I like the bike's paintwork 🥰

[@koreysmith3635]

Best vid I've ever seen on GCN...mostly cuz I'm a Yank and was happy to se you guys here. Love GCN!

[@gcn]

Hahahaha one of our favourites to film too 🙌

[@Pgrtb]

Great to seeing you enjoying the trails in our ‘backyard’ here in the Monterey Peninsula. Hope you got to enjoy some of the other activities in this great area also.

[@Morehills840]

This is what I like to see. Congratulations Si.

[@rachelharvey71]

Quality presenting as always great effort Si, love that you can’t go steady when there’s competition around 😁

[@colinking3477]

Fabulous trails. Great effort.

[@suspicious_white_van]

Great job, Si. Sometimes just being able to compete is a win.

[@alanhill7965]

This another one of those videos that I will be watching again and again thanks for the hard work Simon !

[@gcn]

Let us know how many times you watch it 🙌

[@alanhill7965]

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen the St Alfred’s way video of Simons that’s an all time favourite !

[@mommamooney]

The videography was first class! Well done, Si

[@jragonwriter6316]

Killer video, man! I know I'm nowhere near your level of performance, but with this video I could still imagine what it would be like as an amateur to enter a pro gravel race like this. Thanks!

[@peterknight9873]

Thank you for the good memory of pain… Thoroughly enjoyed the race. I did the Sea Otter classic in 2000…. Yes it’s a killer…

[@j3j326]

Nice and 4K video is Even better!

[@bennetthasty7886]

Omg 😳 I’m the biggest Lifetime fan and Si’s doing it I’m so excited - Si I’ll see you next month at Unbound !!!❤🎉

[@kaltonian]

Looked amazing si, and what a privilege to be given the pinarello to ride on this epic course

[@gabrielbonnell6430]

These are the videos I’ve been waiting for!!!!!😎

[@lsmoothw]

Classic Si! Great video!

[@Dwyane1st]

Missed a couple videos but finally you guys are going 4k! Nice

[@RobinT346]

Love the lifetime GP and Sea Otter always looks brutal. Bloody well done in finishing

[@milesrodger3724]

This video was beyond great!!! More racing!

[@gcn]

Which race is next? 🏁

[@nalissa77]

Amazing effort!

[@SilverShamrock71]

Well done, love the thousand yard stare at the end

[@Moose_Rooster]

Killer effort, Si. Nice work.

[@gcn]

Big effort on this film, that includes the film crew 💪

[@fabiofabio9074]

Oh man, I felt your pain while sitting on my chair! Well done! Bravo!!

[@Pep8691]

Well done on taking it on and finishing Si!! And you win the windscreen sunglasses award of the race at least.

[@marcuspartridge11]

Good job!! And nice to see you visiting California! Come back soon!

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

Loved this, Si you're the man! Editing and commentary was top notch, hope they give you another dogma to play with at home 😂

[@gcn]

He would love nothing more than a bit more time with that bike 🤣 Dream machine for sure!

[@ianwigmore2675]

Excellent content, Simon and the GCN team keep it up! allows us to live Vicariously through your efforts!

[@gcn]

Live Vicariously and get inspired we hope 😉

[@jaredjames7990]

Wow thanks for the insight on one of the biggest gravel races in the world, Si is the man and the bike was beautiful. Can't imagine how riding such a futuristic and top of the line bike like yours would improve the race and overall experience of gravel riding. Such a great location and GCN team did a great job on capturing the race for us all to enjoy. Thanks SI always enjoy your videos and content, keep up your great work and look forward to seeing you in your next challenge.

[@gcn]

Thanks for such kind words Jared! We loved our time at Sea Otter, always a fun vibe at this show 🙌 What should our next challenge be? 👀

[@jaredjames7990]

@@gcn love to watch the GCN team race up a steep mountain, to see who is the fastest. Also like the circuit challenge, where you have different stations. Change a flat tire, run a mile, swim a few laps or do a little weight training? I enjoy seeing the beautiful locations, scenery and the challenge of riding and new places. Keep up your great content and doing something worth watching. Love you guys.

[@patrickroberts8702]

Well done Si, you really are game for anything

[@seandurkin2016]

Loving your fanboy attitude while lining up at the start!! You got the best seat in the house for the first 20 mins.

[@gcn]

So cool to rub shoulders with the greats 🙌 Even if it was just for 5 mins

[@melibaut]

This race is looks awesome and love that bike! Congrats Si 🎉

[@gcn]

Si smashed it! Such a fun race too 💨

[@Big_Renfrew]

Great ride. Really enjoyed it.

[@XavierHipolito]

This is beautiful content!

[@nickbrownbill3413]

Stuff like this is my favourite GCN content by miles. I'm an out and out roadie who frankly never enjoys gravel rides, let alone MTB, and yet watching Si push himself to his limit in incredible scenery never fails to inspire me. Admittedly to go out for a road ride but still.

[@ZOB4]

Nice job Si! I can see why this is part of the gravel series though - everything looked liked buffed out, hard-packed dirt. Not exactly mountain bike territory.

[@jamespurchase4035]

Well done Si. Great ride.

[@FatboyAussie]

Hats off to you Si. Massive effort. Beautiful looking bike.

[@gcn]

Great bike, great race! Great day out 🙌

[@rcaballero3375]

Well done Si! I see you made sure you are well hydrated.

[@budlacombe]

Well done. A vid worth watching

[@gcn]

A vid worth liking? 👍

[@tonylacoursiere2566]

Love it Si. We'll done 👏👏👏

[@mesquita_3035]

That’s awesome to see u in a mtb, love it💪

[@gcn]

Si did ace didn't he!?

[@MaximilianRoof]

Respect for not giving up.

[@hereticyogiexpectationsups4037]

That was awesome!

[@stevebrown7281]

I have been in a few bike races with you Simon in the last 10 years CX & MTB and your pretty solid always at or near the front shows the level of that US Gravel series👊

[@redauwg911]

$13,000 US😱

[@ak2n218]

Great ride Si!!

[@nickfitzpatrick5302]

This, like Dan’s journey with his own health, feels like ‘old school’ GCN craic and content is back and it’s great to see. Fantastic riding Si and nice work vid makers. Superb content!! @Si, are you riding the series or just this one?

[@charliemiller444]

Great Job, Well done and next lets see you having a weekend off

[@alstuart8801]

marvellous stuff

[@edb8120]

epic ride and great scenery. Send Ollie next time

[@Moonplant432]

Ouch! Well done!

[@petermyers4409]

Looking forward to seeing you take on Leadville Si!

[@michaelw7438]

Great ride Simon👏👏👏

[@JT-oo7sd]

Really enjoying these programmes from GCN. Please show more.

[@gcn]

We'll keep them coming, you keep watching 🙌

[@DJE_Quads]

So great that Si did this race…I just did Paris to Ancaster for the first time and loved it! Manon did it a couple years ago and the video about it was great. If Si isn’t up for Unbound, maybe P2A is the next step? Manon did it in a dry year, but I’d love to see Si give it a go. Love the GCN shout outs to us Canadians, but such a great event probably deserves another go!

[@waltchui]

So much talent filming and racing. I did this last week too. Si finished a solid two hours ahead of me

[@jessicamccarthy6429]

This was awesome! Is Si doing all the races in the series? Would love to see GCN do more gravel races the videos always come out awesome!

[@BenKlassen1]

Way to go!

[@pinkunmorph3649]

Simon I think you should pull a team together from GCN and GMBN and take part in the Strathpuffer 24 hour race in Scotland. Have to say that looked like a an awesome route to be riding when you aren’t in a race. Good job

[@joshuaedwards15]

Great effort. 👏👍👏👍

[@MrYorrik]

Great effort, Si, and loved your commentary. Plus, wonderful to see that gorgeous Pinarello MTB. Some might wonder if Pinarello is a “proper” brand for an MTB, but if it’s good enough for PFP, Pidcock, and Si, then it gets my vote ;)

[@user-en6yd6vr3y]

Well done -- both in terms of racing and production. Actually more entertaining than the "official" Lifetime GP video. What to do next? Well, Unbound, of course.

[@MrSmid888]

Top effort 🎉

[@seagulls4life12]

That dogma is a thing of beauty

[@aghorn]

Kudos to Si for undertaking that mother of a challenge, riding amongst the best of the world, and finishing with IMO a great time! A bump in salary is in order. I previously saw Lifetime’s video of the race. So it was cool to see that Si was in it too. Guess it’s Unbound for you next, the Grand Prix’s next race. 😮

[@donaldyoung8866]

Great effort Si

[@michaellynch1132]

Roasting, 20c... I love it. That is a nice spring day here. I live a bit north of there and in the summer it regularly breaks 40 and on the absolute hottest days it starts to approach 50. 47c is a realistic temperature in August.

[@angelosaid1503]

More of this content!

[@kevinegan6311]

Great effort Simon....very impressive.

[@fwschnaar3179]

Congrats Si …. Brutally Hard Race 👍🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️

[@MrEL28]

Well done, Si!

[@gcn]

Smashed it 🙌

[@thereeder5rs]

Now it's time one of the true Gravel races in the series!

[@amandanorth6526]

Great effort, Si! Love the racing content

[@chrisridesbicycles]

Well done Si. Get that other Ex-MTB-Roadie from the GCN Show back in shape and do the Cape Epic.

[@alexanderwooldridgesmith6629]

What a lovely ride. I think I might wait until there is not a race on to go round though.

[@magicknight8412]

Nice one Si, that was great! What a bike , shame they spoil the aero handlebar with a gert big number on the front !