2010 Sea Otter Classic

This past weekend was the 20th anniversary of the Sea Otter Classic. Held at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey since its inception, it has become the perfect venue for this huge celebration of the bicycle. All the usual racing was held: downhill, cross-country, super-D, road and their world famous dual slalom track. The weather could not have been any better, sunny skies and 70 degrees for the whole weekend. It made for a great turnout of racing and checking out new products.

We were on hand to show off all our 2010 product updates, including the Podium Pedal!






Photos by Jonathan Cofer

Founder Jimmy Amaral would have his work cut out for him in the stacked pro class. his Intense 951 has been completely re-vamped and made it the perfect bike for the course. Jimmy was throwing down fast times in practice and during his race run cleaned sections as fast as the top world cup pros. Unfortunately overshooting one of the jumps cost him some time.

Photo by Toren Stoudt

Co-founder Scott Orehek raced hard and had some great practice runs where he felt comfortable. Scott has been coming back into racing in a big way and the results certainly show. 11th place on the day.

Photo by Rick Rasmussen

Co-founder Tim Lukko went head-to-head against friend and co-worker Scott Orehek. Practicing together for several days, they swapped line choice and tire selection. In the end, it was Scott who won by a good margin!

Photo by Rick Rasmussen

Alex Amaral was on prime to win the Junior X category this year. The Sea Otter downhill has always been a test of fitness and carrying corner speed, all which Alex has. The bottom section was rougher than years past, with huge ruts forming from all the practice. Alex showed amazing speed in his race run and missed 1st place by only one second, dropping him down to 5th place. Impressive job!

Photo by Rick Rasmussen

Chris Lauber had practiced with Alex all week so they were both running about the same speed. Chris has been picking it up lately, riding a new bike and overall feeling good. A fast time and good result on the weekend.

Photo by Rick Rasmussen

Allen Stoddard made an impressive debut for his first big race back from breaking his wrist. A strong effort in the Pro class, and a good result.

Photo by Toren Stoudt

Mike Amaral was in attendance for race support.

Photo by Toren Stoudt

Take a ride down the Sea Otter downhill course with Jimmy Amaral.

Thanks to sicklines.com

Alex Amaral was the fastest amateur on the dual slalom course. An extremely tight race left him barely making it to the next round where for sure he would have reigned number one. Alex will be a threat at next year's slalom race in the pro category.


Alex on his way to fastest lap.


Team Giant/Northstar:

Check out the race recap from Jordan Lopez:

2010 Sea Otter Downhill

Sun was out, wind was mild and the course had traction…you are now entering the Twilight Zone. For those of you who have raced at the illustrious Sea Otter Classic over its 20 years of existence know that there can be torrential rain, 18″ deep mud, howling winds and dust storms all in one day. This year’s weather was a vast deviation from the Sea Otter norm…I actually got a sun burn during practice.

After my horrible race run last year, crashing 30 seconds into my run, my start time this year was a mere 37min 30sec off 10:00am. And with this year’s PRO Downhill Category consisting of 138 riders from all over the world, the competition was heavy to say the least

I felt good about my lines and having practiced with my Teammate (Jon Wilson) throughout the weekend I knew that I had a good chance of finishing with a half-way decent time. As my run started my focus for the race was to be smooth and to complete the run with no major mishaps or crashes. Like all race runs, I had a few small bobbles/blown corners, places where I could have pedaled harder and one major hole which almost stopped me in my tracks I could have avoided. My finishing time for my race run was 2:21:00 and with this time I was placed into a 3-way tie for 78th place. Overall I am pleased with my run, I did all that I set out to do and I lived to fight another day. Like all racers I look back on my run with a hint of frustration with the little things, but on the whole it was a learning experience and I am better/stronger racer for it.





2010 Sea Otter – Pro Men Super D Race Recap:

Weather was was beautiful today at the 2010 Sea Otter classic with a light wind and temps in the mid 60’s.
The Pro men group consisted of over 30 racers with several Cross Country World Cup racers and 2 previous Cross Country World Champions.
With this race being a “Les Monds” style race, the whole group started at one time. I had a descent start in being one of the first guys to my bike and in the top ten to the first corner. As I got to the top of the hill climb my legs & lungs were burning and I was mid pack. Then as I started the dissent, the real fun began. I was able to pick off 4 of my fellow racers and I finished the race in 6:23. I was only 12 seconds behind the race winner, Carl Decker, who is a World Cup XC Pro. I ended up finishing the race in 19th place I am very excited with a top 20 finish.

I had a great time and I am very excited for my Teammate Nate Byrom who finished in 7th today in the same race.
Now I look forward to supporting my friends tomorrow in the Dual Slalom and getting some more runs in on the DH course.


Team Geronimo:

As busy as Sea Otter is, it almost felt like a vacation for Team Geronimo after the previous weeks! We got to all be together for the first time, except for Cody Eichhorn in Australia, who is still recovering from his elbow surgery.

Team Geronimo/Banshee Bikes had a prime pit location, right in the middle of the team/vendor area, and our banners and flags were flying. Graeme designed and constructed three bike racks that kept our stunning machines on display for the entire event. Our pit space was home to the Canadian Banshee team, Trident Sales Manager Dalen Stanley, and a number of other luminaries, including Banshee Engineer Keith Scott, who was ready to answer questions about the products. The trailer, tent and accoutrements seemed to keep everyone comfortable and well-situated.



On Thursday afternoon, decked in their finest Wrex gear and accompanied by their shiny new steeds, Team Geronimo formed a highly-visible posse and set out to visit all of the team’s sponsors. As we made our way around the main area, team photographer Devon Balet noticed that we were the object of everyone’s attention, gaining stares and nods of approval and awe. It was the perfect time to make these visits – enough fans to please, but no so many that photo shoots were difficult. We were able to get photos with our sponsors in front of their booths, and we were all very happy to be able to meet each other in person after a long season of putting Team Geronimo together. In the end, I believe that we are the only team to do such a parade, and judging by the responses we got, it will become an annual event.

The team also did another photo shoot on the last run of downhill practice on Saturday afternoon. Geoff Pitts (PDE Photography) and Andrew Bohan (Laboratory 17) staged a great shoot at the bottom of the downhill run, and it turned out to be quite a spectacle. As all the other Pro riders arrived at the bottom and spent time waiting for the shuttle truck, they got to watch as Team Geronimo had way too much fun and got some great shots. Many top level Pros hitched a ride with our team shuttle truck whenever space allowed, so we got to hear many comments. It is clear to many people (or so we were told) – riders and management alike – that TG is a tight, happy team and that our positive karma follows us like the tail on a comet.





Results at Sea Otter were as good as could be expected from riders with almost no time to get intimate with their equipment, and going up against the likes of Steve Peat. Brian Buell – 46, Graeme Pitts – 64, Michael Buell – 81 and Brandon Turman – 115 (crash). Both Brian Buell and Pitts decided to run the small bikes, which were agile and capable on this pedal-ly course, Michael Buell took the opportunity to get to know his big bike in prep for the upcoming Port Angeles race; likewise, Turman chose his Legend Mk II as he adds downhill racing to the other specialties in which he is a known talent – dirt jumping and slope-style.



Another point of interest is that we heard that the team was the most Pro looking team on the course during downhill practice. Our kits stood out as extraordinary, and as a result of the team demonstrating their skill while doing runs ensemble, we had a presence unequaled by any other team in attendance.


Thanks so much to all our family, friends, athletes and fans who made it out to Sea Otter this year to support the brand. It means everything to us. Until next year!

Point One Racing Athletes:

TURPEN, EVAN 02:14.5
BUELL, BRIAN 02:15.8
WILSON, JON 02:17.4
PITTS, GRAEME 02:18.1
AMARAL, ALEX 02:19.9
HAUER, JOHN 02:20.2
LOPEZ, JORDAN 02:21.0
BUELL, MICHAEL 02:21.4
HOUTZAGER, MAX 02:23.6
STODDARD, ALLEN 02:24.0
KEMP, LOGAN 02:24.9
AMARAL, JIMMY 02:26.7 (crash)
LAUBER, CHRIS 02:28.0
TURMAN, BRANDON 02:33.0 (crash)
OREHEK, SCOTT 02:36.7
MAURER, JOSH 02:39.9 (crash)
LUKKO, TIM 03:00.7

Full results can be found here.