Sea Otter Classic

Singletrack.com interviews Adam Craig at the 2010 Sea Otter Classic.

Singletrack.com interviews Amy Dombroski at the 2010 Sea Otter Classic.

Singletrack.com interviews Katerina Nash at the 2010 Sea Otter Classic.

Singletrack.com interviews Rebecca Rusch at the 2010 Sea Otter Classic.

SEA OTTER: The big-wheel specialists at Niner give the Jet 9 and Air 9 some upgrades.

SEA OTTER: Singletrack.com's Zach White roamed the Sea Otter expo to track down some trick new tech. Check out his collection of photos and information.

SEA OTTER: Schwalbe is now making some of its popular 26-inch treads for 29er lovers.

SEA OTTER: Giant is now in the big-wheel game with its new Anthem X 29er. Check out the video update.

SEA OTTER: Reigning U-23 world champ Burry Stander out-kicks Geoff Kabush for the win at the Sea Otter Classic cross-country race.

SEA OTTER: After winning the short-track race on Saturday at the Sea Otter Classic, Luna's Georgia Gould repeats in the cross-country.

SEA OTTER: Glimpses of Cannondale's revised Scalpel short-travel XC bike have been rare — until Singletrack.com's Zack Vestal was offered a look at Sea Otter. Plus look at what C-dale is doing with Shimano's Di2 electric shifting…

SEA OTTER: They're not ready for a splashy launch, but Sea Otter is often a time to get a peek at secret bikes like Felt's new four-inch XC rig — the Edict.

SEA OTTER: Todd Wells and Georgia Gould take impressive wins in the Pro XCT short-track race at the Sea Otter Classic.

SEA OTTER: Some choice bits of tech from the Otter expo. The ever-stylish line of accessories from Lezyne grows by a couple of pumps, German brand Focus unveiled a new 29er hardtail and DT Swiss is getting serious about forks.

SEA OTTER: Singletrack.com talks to some familiar faces — Mike Sinyard, Pua Sawicki and Christoph Sauser — out and about at the Classic's expo

SEA OTTER: Singletrack.com's Zach White reports from the Sea Otter Expo area with what's new, improved and just kinda cool.

SEA OTTER: Crank Brothers is venturing far beyond where the company, which started with an innovative tire lever, has ever been before.

The first batch of Sea Otter videos: Lene Byberg and Todd Wells interviews and the SRAM launch party.

The question was not "if," but "when" and "how" Shimano would go about creating a 10-speed mountain bike drivetrain. Now those questions have been answered. That's right — at the Sea Otter this week, Shimano finally revealed its 10-speed off-road drivetrain.

U.S. scene this week: Big time in Alabama, California & New York

SCB's new trail and all-mountain bikes sport a design that incorporates aspects of the company's VPP suspension — but only different.

Luna Chix Katerina Nash and Marla Streb offer some off-season training tips for the Sea Otter Classic in April.

The most notable addition to the 2010 Pro XCT is the Mellow Johnny's Classic, to be held Memorial Day weekend on Lance Armstrong's Texas ranch.

Collegiate categories added to the 19-mile mountain bike cross-country race during Sea Otter on April 17.

Press release

With these last few prototypes and new products, we thought we’d add a few items to those that struck our fancy at this year’s Sea Otter tech expo. We still have more new bikes, frames, parts, and accessories that were shown, so we plan to gradually get those stories, along with some pro mountain bikes, up on VeloNews.com over the course of the next few months. Niterider has a bright future

Rocky Mountain and Specialized both exhibited new hardtail and full-suspension 29ers during the April 16-19 Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca Raceway, while Niner frosted its extensive big-wheel cake with an array of sweet-looking rigid carbon forks.

Specialized: Straight to the podium

Team Jamis races Edge tubular mountain bike wheels at Sea Otter

This year’s Sea Otter Classic, like so many of its predecessors, served as a launching pad for companies looking to introduce new products. The event also maintained tradition by hosting a few funky one-off project bikes, and a few sneak peeks at products in the works. Here’s a quick look at some legitimately launched products, and a few that were mostly kept behind the curtain. Also, to get yourself in the mood, take a look at Brad Kaminski's 360-degree panoramic shot of the Sea Otter tech expo.

A one-off, 12-pound Trek

Weather always affects the racing at Sea Otter. Some years torrential rain changes the course; other years the heat and wind dish out beatings. This year organizers made the game-time decision to shorten the course due to heat. But one thing was for certain this year on the 90-degree day: Christoph Sauser and Georgia Gould were on fire.

Cross-country world champion Christoph Sauser seldom races in the United States, but he made the long trip from South Africa, site of the 2009 UCI World Cup kickoff, to tackle the short track and cross country at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California. That team sponsor Specialized Bicycles sits just up the road in Morgan Hill likely influenced his travel plans.

Team Bissell again put its number to use in the Sea Otter circuit, stacking the two key moves of the day with riders. Andy Jacques-Maynes and Jeremy Vennell rode the last few laps together with Colavita’s Luis Amaran, with Jacques-Maynes attacking over the last climb and holding his gap to the finish. Astana’s Levi Leipheimer rode comfortably in the group behind. With the three-time Tour of California champion riding the front of the chase, that group eventually whittled down to a small front group of about 10.

Halfway through the short track, it was a three-way race for the podium. And all three men were riding for Specialized: Todd Wells, Burry Stander and world champion Christoph Sauser. Sauser burped his tire and did not finish, but Wells charged on for the win, with Stander taking second and Giant’s Carl Decker outsprinting Jeremiah Bishop (Monavie-Cannondale) for third. Kona’s Ryan Trebon and Subaru-Gary Fisher’s Sam Schultz and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski were also in the hunt.

Riding alone the last three laps, Catharine Pendrel (Luna) looked like she had the Sea Otter short track sewn up, but Emily Batty (Trek) had other plans. Chasing just behind with Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Gary Fisher), Batty jumped with half a lap to go on a paved climb, and held her lead to the finish. “I just felt like I had so much energy,” Batty said. “It will be a good opener for (the cross-country race) tomorrow.” Norway’s Lene Byberg (Specialized) leapt past Irmiger and Pendrel to finish second, with Pendrel rounding out the podium.

SRAM takes advantage of Sea Otter’s captive audience of domestic and international press every year with a big product launch. This year the brand showed 2010 mountain products from its RockShox, Avid, SRAM and Truvativ lines.

Suspension

Raffling for a worthy cause is smart fundraising, according to Ibis co-owner and front man Scot Nicol. If the product is cool, the cause is solid and the tickets aren’t too expensive, then you can raise some good money. For example: Last year Ibis donated a Silk SL road bike to fatcyclist.com to support the webmaster’s fight against cancer. That bike brought in $37,500 for the LAF foundation through the Livestrong Challenge avenue.

The latest and possibly most significant tech development being revealed here at the Sea Otter classic in Monterey is a completely free, inexhaustible, universally available energy source: the sun. In contrast to Thursday’s windy chill, exhibitors and spectators alike were treated to possibly the warmest day on the Laguna Seca infield in recent memory. Actual dust was found coating some of the otherwise shiny and new bike parts on display. Giant

On Friday, SRAM released its new Force group, which features redesigned brakes, new graphics and the addition of a BB30 crank. The company also displayed its latest version of Zipp 303 wheels, which first hit the road on the cobbles of the 2009 Paris-Roubaix. SRAM Force With the inclusion of the new BB30 crank and bottom bracket, a Force group now weighs 1,957 grams (the standard group with a GXP crankset weighs 2,097 grams).

Astana's Levi Leipheimer glided up the finishing climb to victory at the Sea Otter Classic road race Friday, finishing just ahead of the three Bissell men with whom he was in a long breakaway. Leipheimer's Santa Rosa training buddy, Paul Mach, took second with his Bissell teammate Morgan Schmitt rounding out the podium. Ben Jacques-Maynes, the fourth man in the break, came in just behind.

What does a prototype Ford F-150 SVT Raptor off-road truck have in common with Adam Craig’s Giant Anthem X Advanced SL? Aside from race-tuned motors, onboard navigation systems, and hydraulic brakes, they both share suspension technology from FOX Racing Shox.

When you come to Sea Otter with a sharp eye, you’ll bound see all sorts of cool stuff, whether it’s new team equipment or an in-the-works prototype. We saw wheels from Easton, a new bike from legend John Tomac and some natural wax lube designed by a MIT grad student — among other things.

The range of bikes and components on display at a typical Sea Otter Classic never fails to impress, and this 2009 edition is no exception. Although oriented more toward mountain riders than road, the products on display cross all categories. Here is the first sampling of goodies from the infield of Laguna Seca, as component and bike brands roll out the red carpet for riders, spectators and media. Ritchey

Three-time Amgen Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer will contest the road and circuit races this Friday and Saturday at the Sea Otter Classic, event officials confirmed Thursday night. Leipheimer lives in Santa Rosa, California, 170 miles from Sea Otter’s home at Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterey. Leipheimer has raced Sea Otter before. In 2006 when riding for Gerolsteiner, the Montana native played a decisive role as a one-man team in the circuit race on the 2.6-mile loop. That year Jelly Belly’s Matty Rice took the win ahead of Health Net’s Karl Menzies.

Team Bissell steamrolled the Sea Otter Classic criterium Thursday, attacking the field en masse until they had three men clear. Morgan Schmitt was given the win after riding essentially a three-man team time trial with Ben Jacques-Maynes and Kirk O’Bee. With the field split into two groups behind them on an out-and-back course, Bissell’s three leaders decided the podium on the road. Jacques-Maynes, one of Bissell’s marquee riders who has already found success this year, let Schmitt know who got the top step.

Nearly 20 years ago some 350 mountain bikers congregated to race cross-country and dual slalom at the Laguna Seca Challenge. The events of that 1991 weekend eventually grew into the Sea Otter Classic, which this year will host multiple thousands of racers competing in the widest range of disciplines of any event in North America.

The Sea Otter Classic, which runs this Thursday through Sunday, is now in its 19th year. From humble origins in 1991, when just 450 attendees populated the event, to 2008, when almost 10,000 participants and 50,000 spectators packed the venue for the four-day festival, Sea Otter has become a fixture on the spring calendar.

The Sea Otter Classic, a four-day celebration of sport, will host one of the most important races on the U.S. mountain biking calendar this year. With the highest cash purse, and as one of very few UCI-sanctioned races in the U.S., the Sea Otter cross-country race will be essential to elite athletes looking for points to earn them participation at the Olympics.

Cycling enthusiasts ready to add their favorite festival to the 2009 calendar can now find details about the Sea Otter Classic, a four-day Celebration of Sport, on its official website at www.seaotterclassic.com.

Rather than sitting on their hands after a couple of years of furious product development, SRAM engineers have been hard at work coming up with more new stuff for road, mountain and triathlon bikes.

Avid Elixir

Miguel Martinez (Look) and Kelli Emmett (Giant) sliced through the wind on Sunday to win their respective cross-country races at the Sea Otter Classic. France's Martinez, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist, escaped a strong eight-rider group on the second lap at Laguna Seca Raceway in California. Short-track victor Sam Schultz (Subaru-Gary Fisher) took silver with Sid Taberlay (TIS) third. “In France, the Sea Otter Classic is a very prestigious race. To win here makes me very happy,” Martinez said.

Fox has a slew of improvements to its product line for 2009, but two stand apart: A remote lockout for the F80, 100, 120 RL forks and a new thru-axle standard called 15QR, which is an option for all of its 32mm stanchion forks.

Technical writer Lennard Zinn is canvassing Sea Otter for tidbits — today he comes back with (among other things), three different ways on one team to devise a 2X9 system on a cross country bike.

It might surprise you to find out just what it takes to build a one-off bike. Travis Brown can sure tell you. The Trek test rider and product developer lost one after last year’s early fall single-speed world championships. Trek built Brown a custom polished one of a kind 69er single speed for the event in September. After a pre-ride, derby and race, Brown UPS’d his bike back to the U.S. and the men in brown promptly lost it.

Powerful gusting winds didn’t sway 19-year-old Tiffany Cromwell (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) or Michael Grabinger (Successful Living), who took NRC victories on the Laguna Seca Raceway Saturday at the Sea Otter Classic. The men’s and women’s events played out very differently. Cromwell rode solo off the front of a break for the final few laps. Grabinger, however, made it into an unusual four-man breakaway with two teammates and David Clinger (Rock Racing). The men lapped the field — twice — before Successful Living lined up a leadout in the stiff crosswind.

As the Sea Otter Classic swings into full force in addition to people pouring in for the festival and the races kicking into gear, there proved to be no shortage of new stuff to see. The weather is holding, which is always a question in April on the Monterey Peninsula, so without further ado let us dive right into it.

Dotsie Bausch (Colavita/Sutter Home) and Ruth Clemence (Simple Green) outkicked the women's pro field with two laps to go in the road race before battling each other in a power struggle all the way to the finish. The 20-women field stayed tightly packed for most of the race until a restless Clemence made a move, bringing Bausch with her. "I tried to attack on a hill to break things up and we just stayed away," Clemence said.

Giant Bicycles gets to add one more Super D win to go with the two it picked up last year in the debut event at the Sea Otter Classic. Carl Decker succeeded in overpowering former World Cup downhill pro Jurgen Beneke (Marin/Mercury Rev) on a short climb near the top and managed to stay away from Beneke for the remainder of the three-mile race. "I wanted to be up over the top before Jurgen, who is very strong in the downhill," said Decker.

Trek development rider Travis Brown was at the Trek team truck at the Sea Otter Classic sporting a never-before-seen set of white and red Bontrager mountain bike shoes. The shoes have a large RXL logo on the middle strap that threw many for a loop. "People keep asking me if they’re from Polo Sport," said Brown. Ralph Lauren was a common sight at Sea Otter in previous years with his now dissolved RLX Polo Sport mountain bike team.

A Swiss investment group, along with some of the company's managers, is buying Pedro's USA back from Swix Sport USA, the ski company that has owned Pedro's for the last decade. Sport adventures International S.A., based in Lausanne, Switzerland, teamed with managers to buy the company. Long-time Pedro's executive Chris Zigmont will become the company's new CEO.

With the world’s best racers descending upon Houffalize, Belgium, for the World Cup opener, the Sea Otter Classic needed to supplement this year’s world class downhill races with something extra to keep the event growing. For the Sea Otter, now in its 18th year, the answer was to bolster the festival and promote the tradeshow aspect of the event. It’s a trend that has been building for the last few years as more and more manufacturers are using the Sea Otter as a launching point for new product coming down the pike.