Round 1 of the Life Time Grand Prix off-road cycling series is over, and Durango’s Cobe Freeburn sent a message to the off-road community that he’s ready to compete with the best.
Freeburn and a large group of Durango riders competed against a world-class field in the Sea Otter Classic on Thursday in Monterey, California. The elite gravel races were the first round of the Life Time Grand Prix, and many Durango riders didn’t have the race they wanted after 90 miles and 4+ hours in the saddle.
The 24-year-old Freeburn, however, bounced back from a tough 2025 Sea Otter to finish sixth in the elite men’s gravel race, finishing as the top Durangoan in his first start as part of the LTGP.
“I’m super proud of that,” Freeburn said. “I didn’t really know what to expect. Last year, I raced pretty poorly, so I wasn’t sure how I’d be. I kind of figured I was in a better place than last year not being sick … but I didn’t expect to be that far up … If I could do top 10, top 15, that’d be a really solid way to start. To be in the front group was pretty crazy.”
Freeburn finished sixth overall and fifth best of the men’s LTGP riders in four hours, 16 minutes and 52 seconds after three laps on the 30-mile course that starts and ends on the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He was less than two minutes of winner Bradyn Lange in 4:15:03, Keegan Swenson in second in 4:15:03 and Alexy Vermeulen in third in 4:15:14.
Now riding for Trek Driftless, Freeburn had a great start to his 2026 season, winning the Mid-South Gravel Race in March, which gave him confidence, translating to Sea Otter.
Sea Otter can be a draining experience for riders with all the sponsorship responsibilities that go with one of the biggest gravel races of the year with riders from around the world. Freeburn said he did a good job planning out his schedule so he didn’t have many commitments until after the race.
Freeburn went with a pretty light and fast setup for Sea Otter. He took a risk with narrow tires. Freeburn is a heavier rider, so he wanted the lightest setup for the notable lookout climb and that he could still get around the course with.
“It's really hard because it’s a lot of climbing, a lot of the climbing is pretty steep and … it's just all up and down, which seems to suit me pretty well,” Freeburn said. “A lot of corners and a lot of changeable conditions … it’s pretty loose gravel, so it's kind of slippery corners. That suits me pretty well. It's similar to Durango in that sense, where it's a little bit of a controlled slide everywhere.”
The start of the Sea Otter men’s race was pretty hectic with 137 riders climbing up part of the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca before getting into the off-road part of the course. Freeburn didn’t have the best start, struggling to clip into his pedals. He almost ran into the slow-moving media car after that, but he didn’t panic, despite being stuck behind some people in the first downhill. He caught up to the leaders on the first main climb.
Even after getting a stick stuck in his cassette, Freeburn managed to stay at the front as the lead group dwindled to seven on the final lap. It wasn’t until the lookout climb on the final lap that Freeburn and former Fort Lewis College rider Cole Paton were dropped.
After that, it was Freeburn and Paton battling for sixth. Both riders had to navigate a tricky finish with a sandy corner before 180-degree turn leading to the finish. Freeburn did enough to win the sprint finish in front of the fans for sixth.
“I just knew leading into the corner before the finish straight was super important, because there was no getting around anyone unless you're a much better sprinter. So I just made sure to lead into the corner first and then punch out of it really hard.”
Freeburn is taking a lot of momentum into The Traka gravel race in Girona, Spain, from April 29 to May 3.
Durango’s Lauren Aggeler didn’t show her lack of gravel experience, finishing as the top Durango woman in the women’s elite gravel race on Thursday in 23rd in 5:20:46. More importantly for Aggeler, she finished second in the women’s U-23 category. Former FLC cyclists Sofia Gomez Villafane won the women’s elite race in 5:10:39, with Lauren Stephens in second in 5:10:41 and Nele Johanna Laing.
Not too far behind Aggeler was Durango resident Maude Farrell in 30th in 5:23:53. Farrell’s race was very consistent as she was in between 30th and 39th in all 12 splits throughout the race. Durango resident Michaela Thompson finished 33rd as she’s trying to earn a wild card spot to the Life Time Grand Prix. She was the fifth-best wild card rider in the women’s field, and four wild cards are selected after the second round of the LTGP.
“The women’s racing has grown and changed so much … Every pre-race and split second race decision is everything,” Thompson wrote on Instagram. “As soon as I lined up at the start line I knew it was going to be like no other Sea Otter I’ve done … A dynamic course and dynamic group made for an intense race.”
Ellen Campbell finished 45th in 5:44:51 as the next Durango female. Campbell is also going for a wild card spot, and she was the 11th-best wild card in the elite women’s race. Campbell didn’t get higher than 35th at any of the 12 splits.
“The Sea Otter Classic delivered one heck of a tactical, stacked gravel race (which honestly felt like a road race at times), and I for sure got my butt kicked,” Campbell wrote on Instagram. “Definitely proud of some moments out there but honestly I’m finding myself scratching my head at that one. Not really sure where it went wrong.”
Durango’s Ruth Holcomb and Durango resident Ruby Ryan didn’t finish the women’s elite gravel race. Holcomb was dealing with a lingering illness.
Back on the men’s side, Durango’s Henry Nelson finished 37th in 4:35:55. Payson McElveen finished 58th in 4:45:15, Animas High School’s Jake Sandau finished 83rd in 4:54:42 and FLC’s Isaac Allred finished 112th in 5:37:38.
Many Durango riders are heading to The Traka next. The second round of the LTGP is Unbound Gravel in Emporia, Kansas, on May 30.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
