Haley Smith heads into the fourth stop of the Life Time Grand Prix off-road series tied for second place in the overall standings for women with Sarah Sturm, both just eight points back of leader Sofia Gomez Villafane. The same trio took top honours at last year’s Grand Prix, Smith winning the inaugural title.
The task at hand Saturday is to compete and complete Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB in Colorado, where the start line begins at 10,000 feet above sea level. This year Smith’s preparation for another podium in Leadville took a huge turn, a 7,000-kilometre cross-Atlantic excursion to Scotland to compete at the UCI Cycling World Championships. She finished 15th on the 100km, muddy, mixed-surface Marathon Mountain Bike course last weekend.
