There may have been a sense of having been here before for Matthew Wilson (Scott Sports USA-Shimano) as he was out front in prime position for a top result in the final stages of the race at the Life Time Leadville Trail 100 MTB on Saturday. The rider from New Zealand had, after all, looked every bit a sure thing for the podium in Bentonville at Big Sugar last year, when he was out front with Matt Beers (Specialized Off-Road), only for a sliced sidewall to curtail his run.
On Saturday in Colorado, however, the Life Time Grand Prix podium result that he had been searching for finally came when the 24-year-old delivered a Leadville debut to remember. He took off from the four rider break with Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-Road) in the last three miles of the 102-mile race. This time Wilson stayed in the race for victory right to the line, coming second to six-time winner Swenson in a sprint finish.
