The condensation of Sea Otter is here, fogging up Ridemonkey's windows; read on for Fraser Britton's take on the 20th incarnation of one of the biggest events in our sport, along with some beautiful photos.
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Words and Photos by Fraser Britton
The story of this years Sea Otter wasnt the racing, or the record attendance, or even the fact that it was in its 20th year; it was the weather. All of the horrendous weather predictions failed to materialize, and what attendees got instead was sunshine and blazing hot temperature by day, and clear, cool nights.
There was no driving rain, no hurricane force winds and no dust storms of years past. All in all, it was pretty much a perfect weekend for the biggest cycling event in North America.
Buhl - Both DH winners stayed low and pedalled.
The expo area was easily the biggest I have seen in the 10+ years I have been going to sea otter. There was new products launching, sample energy bars and drinks everywhere and some of the food vendors even took credit cards, miracle of miracles.
Racing itself was fast and furious at the Otter this year. Over 10 000 athletes competed in everything from the Cat 1 Road Criterium to the legendary MTB Slalom event and everything in between.
The gravity athletes got their weeks started with downhill practice on a course that really hasnt changed in quite a few years (since it was extended). At this point the track is hard as a rock, with deep ruts and sandy corners and what seems like the longest sprint most of the downhillers have ever competed in. Their weeks also ended on the DH track under the searing heat of midday sun.
Mick Hannah
Jared Graves took home the title for the 3rd time this year, once again aboard his short travel full suspension 4X bike. The Australian BMX Olympian had made a calculated gamble to ride his little bike again this year, knowing he would lose time in some of the middle sections.
Graves put the hammer down, unleashing a seemingly bottomless amount of horsepower as he sprinted the upper rhythm section, the rear wheel on his short travel bike barely leaving the ground. The win, in a time of 2:04.07, is only the 3rd time a rider has taken a victory here on anything but a downhill bike; all 3 wins belong to Graves.
All anyone saw of Graves all weekend...
I hit all my lines and hit it smooth and paced myself really good. I only had one small incident; I tagged a photographer about halfway down. He was hanging out under the tape and I went a bit wide in a turn and he didnt quite get out of the way fast enough but it was all good.
For the women it was Melissa Buhl taking home the victory, proving that this med school students 4X World Championship a few years ago wasnt a fluke.
I think where I got it was at the bottom as I was pretty sketch at the top. I made a couple of mistakes in the corners, but it was enough to take it. Winter training really paid off, the pedaling burned! I think anyone coming to Sea Otter better have packed some pistons if they think they are going to do well, its a lot of work out there.
The slalom here is as good as it gets, with tight racing action from bracket to bracket. Lanes were fairly close this year, with the blue lane having one slippery right corner about mid track that took out more than one contender. At the end of a long day of practice, qualifying and racing, it was Mick Hannah outsprinting Aaron Gwynn on the mens side of things for the win and multiple time World Cup and World Champion winner Jill Kintner beating out Rachel Atherton for the women. Fans lined the course almost the entire day to watch their DH and 4X heroes duke it out for $20 a run.
The pumptrack podium, right to left: Troy Brosnan, Mitch Ropelato, Brendan Fairclough.
All told, this years event was a great show for everyone involved, featuring most of the worlds best cyclists, in all disciplines. It was great to see everyone again, and to get the 2010 season off to a roaring start under sunny blue skies.
The only real let down was the typical Laguna Seca pedestrian disaster, with long walks to just about everything if it isnt in the main pit area. Good luck if you had to park a mile or so away in one of the overflow lots, which were full all week! The racing made it worth it however, while not the gnarliest of tracks for any of the events, the brevity of them always keeps racing tight and rivalries fueled up for the World Cup season ahead.
Special thanks to Sven and Anka Martin for giving us a place to crash on the long ride down, and to Fox Racing Shox for letting us ride the fantastic 2011 products along side the likes of Adam Craig, Darren Berrecloth, Cam McCaul and the Lunachicks for a few days preceding the event, and for putting us up during the race itself. Look for a full write up on these sick new forks and shocks soon!
