The Lifetime Grand Prix presented by Mazda will enter its second season in 2023.

The biggest changes are that the number of events in the series has increased from 6 to 7, and the number of participants invited has increased from 30 to 35 in the professional women's and men's categories.

The total prize money remains the same at $250,000, which will be split evenly between the top 10 women and men at the end of the series. However, athletes can lose overall points in up to two of the seven events, not just one. The organizers did not mention any changes to the point system, and a one-point system is currently in place for each event.

"Based on the solid momentum from last year and the very positive sentiment we heard from athletes and brand partners, we are very excited to host a representative group of athletes from diverse backgrounds this season," Kimo Seymour, President of Events and Media at Lifetime said.

." Over the last year, we have made tremendous progress in achieving our goal of bringing more fans to the sport of cycling in the country and advancing positive change in the state of professional and recreational cycling in the United States."

The 2023 race lineup will expand to a seventh event, dubbed the "Wild Card." The official event and dates will be announced on January 11.

The opening round of the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California, will be changed from an 80 km cross-country mountain bike race to a 100 km XC race, the Fuego XL.

In addition, the field size will be expanded to 35 pro women and 35 pro men, with entry fees paid by Life Time. Online registration will run from December 1-7, and Life Time will announce the invitees only on December 15, 2022.

Mountain bike pros Keegan Swenson and Haley Smith won the overall Pro Men's and Pro Women's series titles in their first year, respectively. In the men's race, Swenson dominated from start to finish, holding a 13-point lead over second-place finisher Alexey Vermeulen. Smith maintained a slight advantage after Big Sugar Gravel, beating Sofia Gomez Villafane by four points.

Organizers also noted that doping regulations will be expanded in 2023. Last year, anti-doping procedures were implemented in three of the Grand Prix events, and this year more events will be tested, including athletes outside the Grand Prix pro field, but no details have been released at this time.

Last year, the first three tournaments were live streamed with broadcast partner FloBikes, but were cancelled later in the season. There were no plans for live broadcasts in 2023, which Lifetime mentioned in Thursday's announcement.