On the final turn, Bradyn Lange passes four-time Sea Otter Classic champion to claim victory.

In the months leading up to the Life Time Sea Otter Classic, it looked like Keegan Swenson wasn’t going to have a chance to defend his four-in-a-row title.

Swenson injured his pelvis during training in February, putting his season in jeopardy. 

In recent weeks, however, he got the green light to compete in the Life Time Grand Prix gravel race, and once again, he lined up his Specialized to the starting line.

And once again, he was in the lead with the finish line only feet away after three laps and 90 miles through Fort Ord National Monument and Laguna Seca Recreation Area. 

But this time, he wasn’t the first one to cross the finish line. That was Bradyn Lange.

Lange and Swenson were neck-and-neck going into the final turn, when Lange made a move to go inside around the bend, slipping ahead of the four-time champion and pumping his pedals down the last stretch to cross the finish line only tenths of a second ahead.

“I didn’t even think about the sprint,” Lange says. “I thought he would blow up before the sprint. Neither of us wanted it to go to a sprint. We were side-by-side, and I was like, I need to enter that corner first. It was just full-on inside line and put my head down.”

In the final minutes of the race, Swenson powered past Lange up WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca’s famed Corkscrew, holding the lead up until the final seconds.

“I tried to get rid of him on the Corkscrew, but he was able to claw his way back,” Swenson told reporters.

Swenson admitted that he was “a little bit nervous” with his healing pelvis, although he noted his body felt good throughout the race.

“I wasn’t trying to go into that last turn and crash us both,” he said. “I was a little bit hesitant, and he went on the inside line and did what he had to do.”

On the women’s side, Sofia Gomez Villafane reclaimed her title, beating Lauren Stephens by two seconds.

The 2024 winner finished second in the 2025 race.

Stephens attempted to pass Gomez Villafane on the final downhill by taking an inside line, yet Gomez Villafane was quicker around the corner.

“It was a super fun race,” she said. “It was talented field of ladies. Super happy to come away with the win.”