February 16/06 9:37 am - Sea Otter 2006

Posted by Editor on 02/16/06
 

Sea Otter Classic 2006
Courtesy Organizers

Each year the Sea Otter Classic garners worldwide media attention and draws the top Olympic, pro, and amateur athletes from over 30 countries for intense competition in front of audiences of 50,000+. "Despite being one of the first events of the year, Sea Otter is the climax of the season in its size and complexity," said Sea Otter spokesperson, Marla Streb (Luna Women's Mt. Bike Team/Red Bull). This year the multi-sport, four-day 'Celebration of Cycling' begins on April 6 at Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Monterey, CA.

"From beginners to pro athletes we've always done our best keep Sea Otter fresh by providing cyclists with new and innovative events. This year is no different," said Frank Yohannan, president of the Sea Otter Classic. "We continue to draw the best pro athletes by providing challenging venues designed by world-class course designers. Our focus is on supporting younger athletes so they can live their dreams while engaging in an active lifestyle."

Below is a sampling of what's new at Sea Otter this year:

BMX Demo's, Ryan Leech shows his stuff
Ryan Leech from Norco Performance Bicycles, undoubtedly one of the world's best Mountain Bike Trials Show performers, will be on hand along with several other talented BMXers from GT-Mngoose to show their tricks for audiences at Sea Otter's BMX Demo's.

Mountain Bike Cross Country Course, a change in course and direction
Sea Otter's Stage Race is the only North American event to be awarded a *S1 ranking by the UCI this year. Sea Otter's Director of Athlete Services, Jeff Frost talks about the new course, "we're excited to work with the Bureau of Land Management to develop this exciting new cross -country race loop. This loop offers so much that Sea Otter traditionalists have come to love and offers many new exciting challenges - uphill technical singletrack, more passing from the start of the race, and a downhill to the finish!"

Pro Circuit Race gets longer, and tougher
The Pro Circuit race continues to attract top pro road racers to the famed Laguna Seca Raceway. "This year's Pro Road race is a classic circuit race and is already known as one of the tougher circuits in the US," explains Kendra Wenzel, Sea Otter's Pro Circuit Race Coordinator. "Now, with its added length, the race will become known definitively as one of the toughest. The men will race 70 miles on the Laguna Seca Raceway, 31 trips of the steep 300 foot backside climb and the women will prove their toughness by racing 50 miles with 22 trips up the famed climb and corkscrew, nearly doubling the length of editions of the race only several years ago."

Newly designed Mountain Cross Course
Glen Jacobs, internationally acclaimed Australian designer will showcase the best mountain bike athletes in the world on his newly designed Mountain Cross course.

SRAM Invitational Dirt Jump Contest, extended from two to four days
A spectator favorite, Sea Otter now offers four full days of Dirt Jumping excitement. The world's best Dirt Jumpers will be on hand to take on the Sea Otter's Dirt Jump built by Rob Giustina from On-Course Events.

Sea Otter's 'Path to Sustainability'
The Sea Otter Classic is committed to reducing its ecological footprint on the Laguna Seca Recreation Area and the adjacent Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property. In conjunction with CLIF Bar, Sea Otter will begin building an environmental sustainability program and give incentives to competitors, spectators, sponsors and vendors to do their part to reduce their impact at the event.

Event-goers can expect to find all the traditional activities they've come to know and love at Sea Otter including competition for cyclists of all age groups and skill levels in a wide range of professional and amateur categories; the largest outdoor consumer tradeshow located in the Sea Otter Village where 250+ vendors will showcase the latest trends and technologies in road cycling, mountain biking and recreational products; a plethora of family-fun activities including a kids carnival with all things bouncy, a bike rodeo and the Sea Otter Egg Hunt (now on Saturday and Sunday); the highly competitive Pro Gravity Omnium; and, of course, informal post-race tailgating celebrations in Sea Otter's massive tent city of 5,000+ campers.

The preferred method of transportation at Sea Otter is on a bike. Spectators are encouraged to bring bikes along so they don't miss any of the action going on in other parts the Laguna Seca Recreational Area.

Maps of the race courses are provided by MotionBased Technologies and Google World and are located at www.seaotterclassic.com.

*The only events to receive more points than an S1 event are World Championship and World Cup events. UCI points are critical in determining start spots at the UCI World Championships and the Olympics.