A new off-road racing series was announced Monday. The Lifetime Grand Prix has a total prize purse of $250,000, paid out equally to a select field of 20 elite men and 20 elite women.

The Unbound Gravel, Crusher in the Tushar, and Big Sugar Gravel gravel races will be combined with three mountain bike events to create the new series. According to the organizers, the six 2022 events will continue to run separately and will each offer a prize purse in addition to the $250,000 total prize money for the Grand Prix.

The six races are part of 30 events owned by lifestyle brand Lifetime, starting with a new marathon mountain bike race scheduled for April at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California, with a distance of 75 miles The event will begin. The series will conclude in October with the second annual Big Sugar Gravel in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Applications for the series, which is limited to 20 women and 20 men, will be accepted from today through December 6.

According to a press release issued by Lifetime organizers, riders will be selected based on a variety of criteria, including race resume, results, and feedback from applicants who "contribute to the advancement of cycling in the United States through their activities."

"Lifetime is proud to be part of the changing landscape of professional and recreational cycling in the United States. After years of declining participation, we are experiencing a growth swell in both amateur and professional field sizes, especially in gravel and mountain bike events.

"Through the Lifetime Grand Prix, we are excited to offer professional cyclists the opportunity to fulfill their potential in the country and for cycling fans to engage with these athletes.

A point system will determine individual rankings in each men's and women's category, with a final tally after the Big Sugar based on the best five scores. This system, organizers said, will give riders the flexibility to skip events as needed without incurring penalties. The rider with the most points in the top five events at the end of the series will be declared the winner, with cash prizes awarded to the top 10 riders in each category.

Several Lifetime Grand Prix events will be interchanged in future editions, and a new list of events will be created.

The Sea Otter Classic is a recent acquisition by Lifetime, which purchased this 30-year-old combined event in August. The four-day cycling festival has hosted various downhill and cross-country mountain bike races in the past, in addition to road and gravel competitions, and a marathon mountain bike race at Monterey's Laguna Seca Recreation Area will be added to the schedule.

The Chequamegon Mountain Bike Race, acquired by Lifetime in 2011, has been held in northwest Wisconsin since 1983 and is the longest running of the events comprising the inaugural series.

Lifetime, which owns fitness centers across the U.S., has hosted the Verizon New York City Triathlon, Chicago Triathlon, Leadville Marathon & Heavy Half, Life Time Miami Marathon, and other running and triathlon events.

The company has added a variety of cycling events to its portfolio over the past decade; in 2019, after acquiring Unbound Gravel, it launched Big Sugar Gravel as a ground-up event, the first of which took place in 2021.