Traditionally Sea OtterA�kicks off the international season, this year the first World Cup has already been run but it still seems that the world of downhill really gets into gear around the time of Sea Otter. Now most of the Aussies start their overseas season ‘properly’ and won’t set foot back into the country for some six months!
If you don’t know the track at Sea Otter is different from other big international races, it features lots of jumps and corners but is very tame gravity wise. Hence a lot of riders will race on a shorter travel bike or bikes they won’tA�race onA�at other times throughout the year.A�This can be attributed to the fact Sea Otter is a stand alone event, it is more of an industry gatheringA�and gives manufactures the opportunityA�to show off their new wares. Racers never want to come second but the event doesn’t carry the pressure of World Cups and a lot of riders will race the infamous dual slalom, a real crowd pleaser.
This track was always going to favour riders who can really put down the horse power, luckily Australia has plenty of riders who can do so! It was Jared Graves who claimed his second Sea Otter in a row, beating out Mic Hannah by just over half a second. The rest of the Aussies however, struggled, the next Aussie was Sam Hill in 39th place!
Senior Men:
1. Jared Graves 02:02.51
2. Michael Hannah 02:03.05
3. Aaron Gwin 02:03.81
4. Brian Lopes 02:04.50
5. Neko Mulally 02:04.66
…
39. Sam Hill 02:12.62
42. Bryn Atkinson 02:12.77
45. Mitch Delfs 02:12.97
66. Troy Brosnan 02:15.57
Senior Women:
1. Jill Kintner 02:16.13
2. Melissa Buhl 02:17.82
3. Manon Carpenter 02:24.05
4. Miranda Miller 02:26.33
5. Holly Feniak 02:27.28
Photos: www.bicycleworld.tv