Sam Hill and Melissa Buhl have won the Sea Otter slalom. The men's race was incredible with more than a few bar to bar battles right to the finish.
Sam Hill (AUS - Monster Energy Specialized) and Melissa Buhl (USA - KHS) took on all comers under blazing hot California sunshine to take home the 2009 Sea Otter Classic Dual Slalom titles.
Once upon a time slalom was a common site at gravity events, but as of late it is a rare breed of event that racers get extremely excited for. The course here at Sea Otter hasn't changed much in recent years, but the extremely dry conditions in Monterey as of late turned the usually well manicured and tacky track into a drifty, dusty affair that saw more than one big name go down in a gigantic cloud of dust. Cedric Gracia (FRA), Greg Minnaar (RSA) and a handful of others became victims of the moon dust, sliding in out in the upper corners.
Hill managed to keep it the rubber side down and out sprinted the USA's Cody Warren (Specialized/Decline) in fantastic first heat. Warren went down in the second run, giving the Australian an easy ride to the line. "I'm good friends with Cody and wanted to see him win, of course, I wanted to win as well. I felt strong in the corners, the slippery conditions were good for me. I felt more comfortable and stronger."
Buhl went gate to gate off the front and took on all comers, never having to fight back all day. In the finals she went up against ex-world champion and olympic bronze medallist Jill Kintner (USA - Intense) and put a full bike length on her by the first corner. " I had a good day the course changed so much from this morning. It really got dusty and blown out. By the end of the day there were entire berms missing on the blue course! You really had to play it safe and work smart here. Anytime you get in the gate against Jill, you have to feel good about winning against her. She's a great racer and has really accomplished a lot."
Eye of the tiger? Look close and you will spot some shiny new chrome blackbox brakes that have only shown up on Sam and Brendog's bikes so far.
Sam Hill (AUS - Monster Energy Specialized) and Melissa Buhl (USA - KHS) took on all comers under blazing hot California sunshine to take home the 2009 Sea Otter Classic Dual Slalom titles.
Once upon a time slalom was a common site at gravity events, but as of late it is a rare breed of event that racers get extremely excited for. The course here at Sea Otter hasn't changed much in recent years, but the extremely dry conditions in Monterey as of late turned the usually well manicured and tacky track into a drifty, dusty affair that saw more than one big name go down in a gigantic cloud of dust. Cedric Gracia (FRA), Greg Minnaar (RSA) and a handful of others became victims of the moon dust, sliding in out in the upper corners.
Hill managed to keep it the rubber side down and out sprinted the USA's Cody Warren (Specialized/Decline) in fantastic first heat. Warren went down in the second run, giving the Australian an easy ride to the line. "I'm good friends with Cody and wanted to see him win, of course, I wanted to win as well. I felt strong in the corners, the slippery conditions were good for me. I felt more comfortable and stronger."
Buhl went gate to gate off the front and took on all comers, never having to fight back all day. In the finals she went up against ex-world champion and olympic bronze medallist Jill Kintner (USA - Intense) and put a full bike length on her by the first corner. " I had a good day the course changed so much from this morning. It really got dusty and blown out. By the end of the day there were entire berms missing on the blue course! You really had to play it safe and work smart here. Anytime you get in the gate against Jill, you have to feel good about winning against her. She's a great racer and has really accomplished a lot."
Eye of the tiger? Look close and you will spot some shiny new chrome blackbox brakes that have only shown up on Sam and Brendog's bikes so far.
