No matter the weather, thousands flock to Sea Otter and take it all in
4-17-07 // Online Exclusive: A Soggy Day At The Races
The pro short track quickly turned into muddy mayhem.
Alan L. Davis
The pro short-track race, normally one of the spectator highlights of the weekend, is delayed for 45 minutes because of the deluge. By the time the women start at 1:15, the rain has slowed, but not stopped. The crowd, huddled under hoods and umbrellas, is much smaller than usual. As the race announcer calls out their names, the 45 women peel off their rain jackets and roll up to the start line. After the start, their clean, colorful kits are immediately soaked and soiled with grit.
Three-time world champion Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain-Haywood) takes the holeshot and briefly leads the race, a timed event held on a short, twisting circuit that looks like cyclocross without the barriers. After starting in the back of the field, Katie Compton (Spike), the current U.S. ’cross champion, hammers her way to the front and catches Sydor before the end of the first lap. Compton, not a regular presence on the mountain bike circuit, rides off the front alone and trounces everyone for the win.
The rain picks up again during the men’s race, which is won by Jean-Christophe Peraud (Orbea), the French teammate of current world champion Julien Absalon. The crowd seems disappointed by Peraud’s win, which snuffed out a long solo breakaway by the lanky, 6-foot-5 American Ryan Trebon (Kona).
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When the short track races end, some of the spectators turn their attention to the nearby dual slalom. Some walk toward their campsites, others head for their cars and a trip back to the hotel. Most of the people here are either racing or supporting a friend or family member in a race, but some just show up for the scene. The Macias family—father Manuel and sons Chris and Luge—drove six hours from Los Angeles to camp and check out their first mountain bike event. They rode some trails and watched some downhill racing. At the end of the day, soaked and cold from the raw conditions, they return to their campsite. Manuel uses the heater in his car to dry a pair of thermal underwear, while Chris grills three fat, juicy steaks on an open flame.
“I’ve got a friend that’s been mountain biking for years,” says Luge. “He told us about Sea Otter, so we came here to watch. I didn’t come prepared for the rain, though—I got pretty drenched.”
By early evening the rain has moved on, but a stiff, icy wind is enough to drive most people away. The pro dual slalom race is sparsely attended. Race announcers try hard to coax enthusiasm from the brave souls who weather the elements, but it’s a losing cause.
As Australian Mick Hannah (Cannondale) and Frenchwoman Sabrina Jonnier (Monster Energy-Iron Horse) outlast their competitors to win the men’s and women’s dual slalom titles at around 6:30 p.m., the sun peeks out from the clouds. Amateur road racers are still on the Laguna Seca course, battling the cold and wind in the fading sunlight. Campers sit around fires, drinking beer and reliving their day’s rain-soaked adventures. Some are cleaning their bikes, preparing for another race tomorrow.
The slalom event places racers in head-to-head competition on two parallel courses filled with burms, jumps and speed.
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