Big Sugar Gravel: Kongstad and Hobbs Claim the Final Gravel Crowns of the Year

Tobias Kongstad and Stella Hobbs took wins at the 2026 Life Time Grand Prix after two fast-paced races over the rough-and-tumble Northwest Arkansas gravel.

Kongstad, who is the team manager and top male rider for the PAS Normal gravel team, took the win from a nine-man sprint after benefiting from the Life Time Grand Prix series battles between his rivals. Henry Nelson came close to stealing the show with a late solo breakaway, but he was caught in the final paved run-in back to Bentonville.

Martins Blums finished second in the sprint while Cole Paton finished third.

In the women’s race, Hobbs made a similar move to Nelson, but she managed to quickly pull out a gap of over a minute. While it was a big chase group behind, Hobbs managed to pull out enough of a gap to survive the charge from behind with time to spare.

Sofia Gomez Villafañe won the sprint for second ahead of Hayley Preen. Third was enough for Villafañe to wrap up another Life Time Grand Prix overall title, with Preen finishing second in the standings.

Big Sugar Gravel men’s results 

Big Sugar Gravel women’s results

Swenson wins the Life Time Grand Prix overall again, but this one went down to the wire

For around 30 minutes after the race finished, there was a good deal of uncertainty around who actually won the men’s race. Swenson had a mechanical very early in the race, and even though he had a hefty lead in the standings, he had to use his drop race last week at Little Sugar.

That meant he needed to grind his way through the last 90 miles of the race to salvage a result to hold off the charge that would come from Brendan Johnston and Matt Wilson, who had been gaining steam in the series as it went on.

In the end, with Wilson and Johnston racing for the win in the final sprint and Swenson in 24th, it was still left to be sorted as the riders mulled about in the Life Time Grand Prix finish tent.

Ultimately, it was heartbreak for Johnston and more success for Swenson, as the American took a one-point win over the Australian. For Johnston, who has been a stalwart on the Grand Prix since 2023, it was as near a miss as possible.

Matt Wilson, who was left off the initial selection and had to race his way into the series, was also close behind Swenson. With his sprint to fifth, the Kiwi was just three points back from Swenson.

Men’s 2026 Life Time Grand Prix final standings

Gomez Villafañe takes her fourth overall title

The drama of the men’s competition was not repeated with the women, and Sofia Gomez Villafañe managed the equipment and tactical challenges of Big Sugar to come away with her fourth consecutive Life Time Grand Prix title.

With a large point lead heading into the race, it was likely that Villafañe would lock things up, but as we saw with her husband Swenson in the men’s race, anything can happen on the gravel of Arkansas.

That said, Villafañe survived the race without mechanical trouble and stayed live for all the major moves. She wasn’t able to contain Hobbs when she went solo, but it was clear Villafañe had eyes on the bigger prize and played her hand in the sprint behind, winning the five-rider sprint for second. That result pushed her point total up to 137 points, a full 21 points ahead of the next best rider, Hayley Preen.

Preen, a South African who has become a Grand Prix staple, has had a consistent year, and Big Sugar was no different. Her second place in the group sprint was good enough for third on the day and put her in second overall, four points clear of Cecily Decker.

Decker has remained one of the top off-road riders in the US, even if she is still missing that one big win. A second consecutive top-three finish in the Grand Prix only adds to that standing.

Women’s 2026 Life Time Grand Prix final standings