Last year’s Leadville 100 mountain bike race saw two out of three of the top finishers in the men’s and women’s races on drop-bar mountain bikes. This year, drop bars are banned. On Friday, Lifetime announced the 2026 Grand Prix race calendar, and along with it a rule change banning drop bars from the high-profile Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race.
“For rider safety and course compatibility, drop-style handlebars (road or gravel bars with drops) are no longer permitted for the Life Time Leadville Trail 100 MTB and Life Time Little Sugar MTB,” according to the rules.
Dedicated gravel races within the series — Sea Otter Classic Gravel, UNBOUND Gravel, and Big Sugar Gravel — will obviously still allow drop bars in 2026.
The rule change comes on the heels of new drop-bar mountain bike releases from Pinarello and Pivot. With professional riders like Keegan Swenson dominating the Leadville 100 on drop bars, interest in drop-bar mountain bikes has been building over the past season or two. The move by Lifetime could dampen that enthusiasm.
At first glance, it would seem Lifetime is setting a clear line between their mountain bike and gravel events. However, a sixth event in the Grand Prix series — the Chequamegon MTB Festival — will allow drop-bar bikes in 2026.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) already bans drop bars from World Cup and World Championship cross-country mountain bike racing.
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