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10/11/2008
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Sea Otter 5 - Racing, Jumping and Goodies
Words and photos unless noted Cam McRae
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Interbike - and Las Vegas in general - is more about back room deals.
Riders looking for new sponsors might shake hands on the show floor but once
the dealing begins there are ample opportunities for privacy. At Sea Otter
it's all out in the open and while I was talking to Dain Zaffke at WTB Jordie
Lunn and Ryder Kasprick rolled up looking for tires to give them an edge during
the Furry Flury jump comp. Jordie left with a saddle but the tires
he sought were in short supply. Sometimes deals involve paragraphs of
specifics and sometimes they are a little more casual. The impression
I got was that Jordie runs WTB tires and saddles and that Ryder was in search
of better rubber wherever he could find it. The required traction was
more important to these lads than making a deal for product and cash.
Jordie Lunn sorting out his new Jamis hardtail. It looks
too pimp to be a dirt jumper
While talking to Dain I also learned that WTB has been duking it out in this
business for 25 years. In the beginning Mark Slate, Charlie Cunningham,
Steve Potts and Lance Wyeth started building parts they needed to ride their
bikes in Marin. WTB still operates from the the birthplace of the mountain
bike and on top of building parts they have been a leader in trail advocacy.
The Prowler XT (above) has a similiar tread pattern to its big
brother the Prowler MX but is lighter and narrower at 860g and 2.3".
I have been a fan of WTB saddles for some time. The
Pure V model is light, durable and comfy and it even protects your twig
and berries with a deep channel (the Speed
She has a channel for feminine comfort). It's also the saddle you'll
find on Wade Simmons bike. I haven't until this point been as impressed
with WTB tires for our wet and rooty zone. Three years as the tire sponsor
of the Whistler Mountain Bike park has taught them a thing or two and they have
two new tires aimed at our market; the Prowler
MX and the Dissent.
For the current model year WTB has added three models to its
successful LaserDisc Rim line - the 540g/27mm wide Trail, a Trail 29er (only
55g heavier) and the LaserDisc FR at 570g/30mm. The I-Beam vertical member
was pioneered by WTB. These rims also come built up with WTB LaserDisc
hubs with 20mm front hubs available.
The WTB Jaxon V saddle for dirt jumpers.
Did I mention that Sea Otter is full of colourful characters?
This gent was rolling around on a Risse
Lassen frame (thanks Henrik!) with a Risse Bigfoot fork - not to be confused
with Rock Shox now discontinued Big
Foot Singlecrown. His hat from the town of Weed makes it the perfect accessory
for this ensemble. This bro knows how to roll.
The Sea Otter DH has to be one of the most competitive in the world. There
are literally thousands of riders competing for the crown and the short course
means you have to be perfect to post a good result. Slipping a pedal could
cost you 10 positions in the standings. Nathan Rennie was the champ on the
mens' side this year posting a time of 2:13. He put three seconds into both
Jared Graves (second at 2:16) and Steve Peat in third with the same time.
The top Canadian was Cove/SRAM rider Andrew Mitchell in 33rd place with a 2:24.
On the womens' side Rachel Atherton nudged Fionn Griffiths aside by less than
twe seconds for the win. Melissa Buhl was third while North Vancouver's
Micayla Gatto managed a stunning 8th place! Nice work Micayla!
Even if it's just a split second, watching world class downhillers
work a section is amazing. Peaty is flying low here doing his best to
outrun his shadow.
Dan Barham
nailed this amazing shot of Nathan Rennie. Check out the intensity in
his eyes. Apparently that's what it takes to win. Rennie was spinning
on flat pedals - an affirmation for many of us here on the Shore.
Rocky Mountain's Rob Jauch was checking out the Sea Otter scene
when he wasn't lofting the huge jumps. Rob spent the winter hitting a
new dirt jump spot near where he lives in Germany, and growing hair.
I was so amazed by this Flow Rider nailing this tightrope of
a skinny that I forgot to properly expose this shot. This year Magura
is title sponsor of the Flow Show.
More Flow Show flair. The crowd was loving it.
Things weren't looking good for the dual Slalom race. It rained close to
an inch in an hour and several companys' booths were literally destroyed by the
cold wind and rain. I got stuck out in it and soaked to the bone so I went
back to my hotel room to do some work. Where I come from once it starts
to rain it usually goes all day. Not so at Sea Otter and there were even
some sunny breaks after the deluge. The track was by all accounts fast and
tacky and the event went ahead as planned. Mick Hannah (husband of Hannah
Hannah) took the final over Jared Graves. Steve Peat bested Bryn Atkinson
for third while Brian Lopes had to settle for fifth. I didn't hear of any
Sean Palmer sightings this year. On the women's side it was Sabrina Jonnier
followed by Jill Kintner, Rachel Atherton, Melissa Buhl and Fionn Griffiths in
that order.
Kiwi Justin Leov (left) neck and neck with Cedric Gracia.
Justin came out on top. Photo ~ Dan
Barham Click to enlarge
Brian Lopes horizoning a poor racer. Photo ~ Dan
Barham Click to enlarge
My tendency to miss anything cool at Sea Otter continued with the Furry Flury
jump comp. This was scheduled to go off at 3:00 on Sunday. Because
of the gusty winds an executive decision was made to move it ahead a couple of
hours so that by the time I got there at 2:45 the whole thing was done.
Nice one. Fortunately my new Italian friends Carlo and Sauro were there
shooting and they were kind enough to flow me some shots. Grazie amici!
They are involved in an Italian freeride webzine called orme.tv.
They have some really cool stuff going on in terms of design and layout.
Lance McDermott front flipping a very large jump. This
was enough for the win. Harookz photo courtesy Adiridas
Click to enlarge
The wind slowed down some riders but others were pulling out much of their best
stuff. In the end it was Lance McDermott on the top of the podium.
He back flipped the step down, back flipped the first jump and then tossed a forward
roll on the second big ass jump to earn a wad of 12 hunnies. Kyle Strait took
second followed by Jamie Goldman, Someone else (I
can't find a result for fourth!), Greg Watts and Cam McCaul.
Jordie Lunn trying his 3 flip/inverted 7 - I don't believe he
rode one to rubber. Photo ~ Carlo Alberto Venturelli courtesy Orme.tv
Click to enlarge
Lance fanning out his phat stack of dead presidents. Photo ~
Carlo Alberto Venturelli courtesy Orme.tv
Andreu Lacondeguy got tossed by a gust of wind and over-rotated
a three. He's out for a couple of months with torn ligaments. Photo ~
Carlo Alberto Venturelli courtesy Orme.tv
It was great to see forty year old new dad Randy Spangler mixing
it up with the young punks. Photo ~ Carlo Alberto Venturelli courtesy Orme.tv
Click to enlarge
That's a wrap for Sea Otter in 2007. I have more about my
trip including the Post Office jumps in Aptos, new product from Fox and a tour
of the Giro facility in Santa Cruz. I'll be putting that together shortly.
What do
you think?
Cam McRae
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