Forest fires have led to the cancellation of Saturday's Crusher in the Tushar in Utah, cutting out the climb-heavy third round of the 2024 Life Time Grand Prix series.
The 69.9-mile high-altitude gravel race was set to host a field filled with top riders in the discipline, from the United States and beyond, to chase victory at the race and continue the battle for top placings in the Life Time series. The removal of the climb-heavy race from the series has cut the event to six rounds and as a result, organisers have said the final standings will now be calculated on the best four of the six races, rather than the top five.
The cancellation of the event, won by Keegan Swenson and Sofía Gómez Villafañe in 2023, was announced on social media and the race site on Monday evening, however, it had been flagged two days earlier that there was concern regarding the fires in the area and that riders should stay tuned for updates.
"It is with a heavy heart that we announce the cancellation of this year’s Crusher in the Tushar event, scheduled for July 13, due to the ongoing Silver King and Little Twist forest fires in the Piute County area, home to more than half of the Crusher course, as well as extreme fire risk from record-breaking hot and dry temperatures," said the Monday evening Instagram post from Crusher in the Tushar and Life Time Grand Prix.
Organisers of the race which begins in historic downtown Beaver added that there were a number of considerations that led to the decision, with the safety of the athletes, volunteers, partners and the community, as well as the proper use of emergency services, the top priority.
"We understand how disappointing this news is, and we appreciate your understanding and support during this challenging time," added organisers.
The next stop in the Life Time Grand Prix series will now be the Leadville Trail 100 MTB, which will take place in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado on August 10, stretching out the gap in racing from June 1.
"I'm super bummed that the Crusher in the Tushar is cancelled," Hannah Otto, who is running second overall in the Life Time Grand Prix Series, told Cyclingnews. "I definitely had some redemption scheduled in the Tushar mountains this weekend, but that will have to wait and instead we need to focus our attention on caring for that beautiful mountain range and the devastating fires threatening them."
"In terms of the Grand Prix, now eyes shift to my favourite event in the series: Leadville!"
The most recent event in the Life Time series – where 60 selected athletes race in off-road events across the United States for their share of a $300,000 prize purse –was Unbound Gravel and the Fuego XL 100K MTB at Sea Otter Classic having delivered the opener in April. The overall leaders after those two rounds are Haley Smith (Trek Driftless) and Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz).
The removal of Crusher in the Tushar in 2024 evens up the mix of gravel and mountain bike races in the 2024 off-road series, with Leadville Trail 100 MTB followed by Chequamegon MTB on September 14 and then two more gravel races – The Rad Dirt Fest on September 28 and the series finale of Big Sugar Gravel on October 19.
