If you’re looking for some top-notch cycling entertainment, lifestyle brand Life Time recently dropped a series of documentaries showcasing the 2022 debut of its off-road racing circuit.
“Call of a Lifetime” chronicles the six races of the 2022 Life Time Grand Prix. Elite men and women cyclists competed for portions of a $250,000 prize purse from the Pacific Northwest to Wisconsin to Kansas. To earn prize money, they’d need to bring their A-game to at least five of the tour’s six events.
Each tour stop gets a half-hour documentary. The series was recently published on YouTube, amounting to three hours of competitive cycling. In a press release, Life Time organizers said the series aimed for an approach similar to Netflix’s series “Formula 1: Drive to Survive,” which takes a dramatic dive into F1 racing.
“Each episode will expose the highs, lows, drama, self-doubt, turmoil, and accomplishments of these cyclists, and what it takes emotionally and physically for these athletes to perform at the highest level over the grueling seven-month-long 2022 racing season,” Life Time wrote.
The docuseries’ trailer highlights the importance of the Grand Prix to off-road cyclists, who point out that road racing’s popularity often eclipses other cycling disciplines. That leads many observers and pro roadies to dismiss off-road riders.
But the races on the Life Time GP can kick just about anyone’s ass. Don’t believe me? Then watch World Champion road rider Peter Sagan get dismantled at 2022 UNBOUND Gravel on GearJunkie.
‘Call of a Lifetime’ Seeks Gender Balance
Documentaries cover each leg of the racing series, which includes:
- The Sea Otter Classic
- UNBOUND Gravel 200-mile race
- Crusher in Tushar 70-mile race
- Leadville Trail 100 MTB
- Chequamegon MTB 40-mile race
- Big Sugar Gravel 100-mile race
In the news release, Life Time organizers pointed to the Grand Prix’s gender parity, which pays male and female winners equally. The docuseries also attempts to reflect that attitude. It seeks to give equal screen time to both genders, sometimes focusing entire episodes on either just the men or just the women. The “bookends” of the series, the Sea Otter Classic and Big Sugar Gravel, cover both genders.
That’s a stark contrast with the Netflix documentary series covering the 2022 Tour de France. Though women cyclists famously competed in le Tour last year for the first time in three decades, the Netflix doc ignored them entirely.
The full playlist of “Call of a Lifetime” is available here.
