Melisa Rollins is itching to get back on the gravel after weeks away from competition.
In late February, the Utah cyclist took a hard tumble in a race in Australia, breaking her left wrist, and, after dealing with pain in her right wrist, later learned that she had fractured it.
“It’s not exactly the most ideal way to start my season,” she said. “I haven’t been faced with this type of setback before.”
But in the last couple of weeks, Rollins said she has turned a corner, and on April 10, she’ll make her grand return from injury during the Life Time Grand Prix gravel race at the Life Time Sea Otter Classic.
Rollins admits she didn’t have “the best result” at the Sea Otter Classic in 2024, finishing 10th among the women and 89th overall in the Grand Prix race. But this year, she’s made some accommodations to her training setup in light of her injury.
“I have been able to train quite a lot, because luckily my legs still work,” she said.
Rollins joined a handful of athletes in a virtual press conference on April 2 in advance of the Sea Otter Classic, which returns April 10-13 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Fort Ord National Monument.
New this year, the gravel race is the kick-off for the Life Time Grand Prix, a series of six races across the country, where riders will vie for a $380,000 prize, split between the women and the men.
President of Life Time Events Kimo Seymour said the course is similar to the Fuego XL cross country race from 2024, but with more gravel elements. Barloy Canyon Road, a steep incline near the end of the 30-mile route, may technically be paved, but is in such poor condition that “it’s practically gravel, it’s so rough,” he said.
This year, the Grand Prix is on a different day than the age groups, so the Elite-registered riders are separated from the rest of the competitors.
“They’ll have the course for themselves,” Seymour said. “Hopefully it’ll make for a more dynamic race.”
British athlete Annabel Fisher, who’s now based in Switzerland, is a professional skier who will be making her Grand Prix debut at Sea Otter Classic. Even though she’s had a successful career as a cyclist—in 2024 she won the Octopus Gravel in Switzerland and two third places in the UCI Gravel World Series—she admitted she’s “pretty terrified” about Sea Otter.
“My debut at Life Time is going to be a shock to the system,” she said. “I’m really excited to do it.”
On the men’s side, three-time defending Grand Prix champion Keegan Swenson of Utah hopes for a fourth consecutive victory at the Sea Otter Classic.
Looking at the gravel course this year, Swenson said it’s similar to 2024’s cross country course, namely the “decisive” last climb on Lookout Ridge Road.
“I expect it to be a little more tactical, a little more faster than the mountain bike race,” he said.
Swenson and Matthew Beers, a top Grand Prix competitor from South Africa who finished third in the 2024 Fuego XL, have been training together in recent weeks.
Beers was asked if those training sessions have revealed a weakness in Swenson that he could exploit come Sea Otter Classic time.
“Maybe if his back hurts, maybe I can get him,” Beers said.
But he quickly laughed it off.
“That’s just a joke,” he said. “Keegan and I, we’re good mates. It’s quite cool to have a good friendship with the top guy.
“He normally kicks my ass.”
The full schedule of the Life Time Sea Otter Classic can be found on its website.