Life Time teases season two of ‘Call of a Lifetime’

After ruffling a few feathers with its first season, Life Time is bringing back Call of a Life Time for a second season. The web series covers the events of the Life Time Grand Prix, which also just wrapped up its second season, much as Netflix’ Unchained covered the Tour de France.

UPDATE: Call of a Life Time Season 2 goes live, Friday January 26 at 4 p.m. PST. The full season playlist is on Life Time’s YouTube. The first episode is below.

Life Time says the second season will take a different approach than the first season. Instead of alternating between men’s and women’s races all season, Call of a Life Time will focus on just four events in the series. Unbound Gravel and Leadville Trail 100, both iconic races before the Grand Prix, will get two dedicated episodes, one for the men’s and one for the women’s racing. Sea Otter Fuego XL and the finale at Big Sugar Gravel, the next biggest events, will each get their own episode, but with men and women covered at the same time.

When the event host, Life Time, is also the creator and broadcaster of the show, there’s always going to be a little bit of self-aggrandizing hype. Life Time really leans into that for this trailer with some bold claims.

The series is interesting, but calling itself the “biggest off-road racing series in the world” is a very questionable claim when the World Cup still exists and there are numerous other series that allow more than 35 riders (now 30 riders in 2024) on the startline. But Life Time does at least have a lot of cash for prizing for the few riders that are allowed to start. Also, saying that this is the “first time” American gravel racing is important is a stretch, as mixed-surface racing in the U.S. pre-dates the two-year-old series by a substantial margin. In fact, several of the biggest races in the series were well established before Life Time acquired them and bundled them together into a series.

But hey, those minor quibbles aside, it should be fun to watch. And Life Time Grand Prix is arguably bringing new eyes to gravel and endurance mountain biking, which is always good. Have a gander at the Season 2 trailer for Call of a Life Time and see what you think. The full season two will be available free online on January 26, 2024 and really, what else are you going to watch in January?

Call of a Life Time Season 2: Official Trailer

Here’s what Life Time says about the Call of a Life Time S2 trailer:

On January 26th, get ready for Season 2 of Call of A Life Time, a captivating six-part docuseries that captures the thrilling off-road exploits of 70 elite cyclists competing in the 2023 Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda. Join us for an unprecedented behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of off-road cycling.

Comprising of four gravel and three mountain biking events, the series showcases the fierce competition among the elite cyclists in the United States. Each episode unveils the emotional and physical challenges faced by these athletes throughout the grueling seven-month-long racing season, exposing their highs, lows, drama, self-doubt, turmoil, and triumphs.

The episodes take turns recounting the perspectives of both men and women participating in seven of the nation’s most renowned races, including iconic events like Life Time’s UNBOUND Gravel and the Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB. The grand finale, the Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Mazda, unfolded in Bentonville, Ark., in October, concluding the Grand Prix season. This final event revealed which athletes secured a portion of the $250,000 prize purse, evenly distributed between men and women up to the tenth position, based on a point system.

Embark on the journey with these elite yet underestimated cyclists as they sacrifice their well-being to confront excruciating pain, unyielding fear, and career-defining expectations, all for a shot at the largest prize purse in the history of off-road cycling.

Don’t miss the premiere of the full six-episode docuseries on January 26, 2024, exclusively on the Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel. 

*Originally published Dec. 20, 2023