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The Sea Otter JournalApril 6-9, 2006
For the benefit of those of you who have never been to Sea Otter, it is the opening race of the year and showcases pretty much every discipline of the sport from Downhill and Dual Slalom, to Dirt jumping and Road Criterium. It is an event packed week that is both a marketplace for consumers, and a festival for spectators and competitors. Held just outside the rather small town of Monterey at the famous Laguna Seca raceway on the west coast of the United States, it is one of those events that brings almost the entire race community together for a week of the year, and often is the forecast of what is to come showcasing new talent in rider and product. The 2006 Sea Otter classic was always destined to be something different from those of the past years, with record rainfall leading up to the race, landslides, road closures and similar rain related mishaps it was always going to be an interesting race. For the Morewood team it begun with the Morewood rig getting bogged down in the mud fulled pit area, and thankfully could only get better from there... Thursday: Day 1The morning began with the excitement of getting to ride the shiny new team bikes that had just been hauled across the US to the event. The day began with the Pro Downhill practice, final changes were made to setup, tires checked, suspension tuned and brakes, still not bed in, were aligned for the first practice runs down the downhill course. Most of the team riders opted for their Ndiza ST (Mountaincross) bikes for the initial downhill run, knowing the course from previous years as being fairly flat with no real need for large amounts of suspension, all thought that the four inches of travel that the Ndiza ST offers would be sufficient. The downhill course was a mixture of boggy swamps and mud pits, as were most of the race courses that surrounded the Laguna Seca Raceway. This was very unfortunate for the racers who were obviously prevented from taking full advantage of the hard work put in by the race organisers and course builders. Racing is racing however, and the general attitude taken by the riders was to make the most of what they had, and enjoy the courses all the same. Later in the day was the Pro Mountaincross practice, which of course meant spraying off the bikes that were now caked in mud from the hour of Downhill practice earlier in the day. The Mountaincross course, much like the Downhill was also slowed down incredibly by the large amounts of mud and puddles, but once again riders made the most of what they were given and the practice progressed rather smoothly with no major crashes. Friday: Day 2The morning was once again saw the Pro Downhill practice take place, and after a little bit of sunshine from the afternoon before everyone was hoping that the course had dried out a little, and become a little faster, this unfortunately was not the case. The broad smiles on the riders faces as they returned however said it all, despite the bad weather, rain, mud, and not the most challenging course, they were doing what they loved most: riding. That afternoon the excitement level was turned up a notch as everyone moved across to the Mountaincross track for the final pro practice which was followed by the pro qualifying. The Mountaincross course, which would have been awesome in the dry but was made slow with the boggy turns and puddled up lips, all this did however was close the gap between the big names and the slower riders making the competition even tougher. Qualifying went well, all of the Morewood riders although not Mountaincross specialists qualified calling for a small celebration at the Morewood camp later that evening. Saturday: Day 3This was the day of Dual Slalom, the morning was Pro Practice, mid day was qualifying which was followed by racing, so once again everyone made their way across to the hill where the course was set out. This was to be the most interesting sight I would see all week. The slalom course took place on a rather steep hill on the far side of the Laguna Seca Raceway and for some reason the rain gods had decided that this was the hill where the brute of their force would be laid out. Perhaps it was to make the racing interesting which it did, as the Super Cross Country, Short Track, Cross country as well as the Dual Slalom all used the same hill, or perhaps it was just to see the spectators form human toboggans slip sliding their way up and down the course in an attempt to take in the racing that was playing out before them. Who knows, but it sure made it fun to watch. Cole B and Jo P both qualified for their respective categories in the Slalom, and racing was soon underway. Cole was the first Morewood rider up, and unfortunately for him he was up against none other than reigning Downhill World Champion Fabian Barel. His first run down the blue course was not his best and Fabian took the win and the advantage going into the next run. Cole's run down the red course however had the Morewood crew and most of the spectators chewing at their fingernails as he closely contested the top section of the slalom staying right alongside Fabian until the lower section of the course and Fabians superiority took charge eliminating Cole in the process. However a bright white smile could be seen on Cole's face shining through the mud that encrusted it, he had just competed against the reigning Downhill World Champ and although was eliminated walked away with both the experience of racing, and the knowledge that he did not disappoint and that was enough for him. Jo's race unfortunately went much the same, she was pit against Fionn Griffiths and despite a sterling effort was unable to match the incredible power of the Norco rider and was eliminated early in the race day. Sunday: Day 4A slightly tired and worn out Morewood crew returned on Sunday for another race fulled day holding both the Pro Downhill as well as the Mountaincross racing. The downhill course although slightly drier and faster than earlier in the week was still very much a mud pit, and saw the fitter, stronger riders show they had what it takes to power their way through the course. Jarred Graves proved once again that the Southern hemishpere is where the talent is at at the moment edging out Fabian Barel to take the Pro Men's win, while Tracey Mosely took the win in the Pro Women's race ahead of Anneke Beerten. Sea Otter is all about the gravity ominium however; calculated by adding riders points in each gravity event (Slalom, Mountaincross and Downhill) producing the ultimate "gravity" rider of the week. This requires skill in all of the three disciplines, consistency, endurance, and of course results. Cole with his strong performances in all of the events finished with enough points to edge into 20th position in the overall pro men's ominium, with Cedric Gracia taking the overall title, and Jo with her three combined performances finishing in a super impressive 9th in the pro women's ominium with Anneke Beerten taking the honors. So how did the rest of the Morewood crew finish?
Pro Men: With these impressive results and performances by the Morewood riders it is clear that the season ahead is going to be yet another successful one for the Morewood factory team, and hopefully will see both the riders and the team rise to success as they compete at the NORBA and other US calendar races through the year. A big shout out to all who were there and made the Sea Otter possible from the course builders to the marshals, it was a great week of racing. Big thanks to all of the Morewood sponsors, Manitou, Cane Creek, Sun Ringle, Hayes, Maxxis, Dainese, Crank Bro's and of course Morewood. Congrats to all of the Morewood riders who I have not mentioned, and a big congrats to fellow South African Burry Stander who had a great Pro day view at SOC, raise that SA flag!
Cheers, |
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