Sea Otter Classic to Introduce a New Style of Exhibition Racing: “SRAM Dual Stunt”

Redesigned Thule Adventure Challenge Intensifies Competition

Slip and slide…right into the drink if your bike handling skills aren’t up to snuff

MONTEREY, Calif. (March 3, 2008) Competitive cycling will have a new name at this year’s Sea Otter Classic. SRAM “Dual Stunt” adapts a Dual Slalom race format to a flat course featuring wood and dirt obstacles. How it works: two racers compete side-by-side on identical 400-foot long courses scattered with notorious North Shore-style elements like wooden bridges and dirt jumps. The timed event pits competitors against each other where the maximum time differential can only reach 1.5 seconds. The slower racer either makes up the time and advances or concedes defeat - same as in Dual Slalom. The semi-invitational event kicks off on Friday, April 18 with qualifying rounds.

“This is a sport that originated in mountain biking and is specific to mountain biking,” said Jeff Lenosky, who will build the Dual Stunt course along with fellow racer Kyle Ebbett and Ray Petro of Ray’s Indoor MTB Park. “It really doesn’t favor one discipline over another - you can have a podium filled with a trials rider, a dirt jumper, freeriders, or a world champion downhiller, it’s really across the board. If you’re a good bike handler, then you could really excel at this discipline.”

Still unclear about Dual Stunt? Have a look here at an event that Lenosky designed, which is similar to Dual Stunt.

To race Dual Stunt, racers could compete on pretty much any kind of bike, according to Lenosky, but he adds that the ideal bike would be a freeride hardtail. To try it out, the Dual Stunt course will be open in between racing for practice sessions. 64 is the maximum number of racers allowed for the debut event. Contact Jeff Frost, director of athlete and sponsor services, at frosty@seaotterclassic.com for invitation information.

Dual Stunt continues on Saturday with elimination rounds and ends on Sunday, April 20 with finals.

As the name implies, the Thule Adventure Challenge will dispatch participants on an adventure around the Fort Ord trail system to challenge themselves in three elements: mountain biking, trail running and a special test to be announced soon at seaotterclassic.com.

Individuals or teams of three will step to the Start at 8 a.m. on Friday, April 18 to compete in a light navigation race that will see most teams finish with times between two and three hours. Race director, Todd Jackson, predicts the winning team to arrive sometime around 10 a.m.

“This year’s event will be very light navigation,” Jackson said. “Most events at Sea Otter have a marked course; some of this course won’t be marked, you’ll have to figure out where you’re going and you’ll have to pay attention to the written word a bit.”

The Adventure Challenge is suited to anybody interested in multisport - from beginner to novice up to advanced - who just wants to have some fun. The three-person team category provides an ideal opportunity to race with friends or, soloists can challenge their friends to a score-settling, head-to-head race for bragging rights. Back again for 2008, the “Warrior Cup” is a specially designed trophy awarded to the top military team. Gear requirements are minimal: a bike, helmet and running shoes should do the trick - a sense of humor and good spirits are optional.

What you need to know about the Thule Adventure Challenge:

Mountain Bike: Approximately 5-7 miles on the Fort Ord Public Lands BLM trail system. A mix of singletrack and fire road.

Trail Run/Foot Travel: Approximately 3 miles in and around the Fort Ord Public Lands BLM trail system.

Special Challenge: Elements will be announced here after March 3. These elements will require NO additional gear on your part and NO special training.

To register for the Thule Adventure Challenge, go here

About Sea Otter Classic, Inc.
The 18th Annual Sea Otter Classic will be held April 17-20, 2008 at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, California, USA. The four-day “Celebration of Sport” is considered the world’s largest cycling festival, hosting nearly 10,000 professional and amateur athletes and 50,000 fans. The Sea Otter Classic benefits the Davis Phinney Foundation, which supports Parkinson’s disease research and wellness, and IMBA California, which organizes advocacy and trailbuilding efforts statewide and strengthens California mountain bike clubs. More information can be found at www.seaotterclassic.com or by calling 800-218-8411.

source: Sea Otter Classic News Service

MONTEREY, Calif. With only months to go before BMX racing makes its much-anticipated debut at the Olympics, fans can get a live look at BMX racing at the Sea Otter Classic over the weekend of April 19-20. It comes as no surprise that the majority of Olympic hopefuls hail from California, since influential grassroots organizations like Golden State BMX exist to heighten competition. Produced through a partnership with Golden State BMX, Sea Otter’s BMX event will be a California State Series qualifier to help racers in their quest for a berth on the state team.

“BMX started in California so it does have a lot of history there,” Mike Day (GT/Red Bull) said. “It’s the easiest place to ride, it’s got the best weather and you can train year round. Sea Otter is known as such a big event so bringing back BMX, it’s just another way to get everyone together to race.”

Day is one of the United States’ top BMX racers who will take aim at a podium finish in Beijing. He is currently ranked fourth in the nation.

To keep things interesting for racers who competed in last year’s BMX debut event, a new course designer, Eric Bress, has been brought in to build this year’s course.

“I can’t say if the course will be the same,” said Mary Garcia, co-commissioner of NBL California. “There are certain parameters, like a downhill start and it will be in the same location as last year.”

A typical BMX racecourse will feature step-ups, tabletops, double jumps, berms, hairpin turns, and straightaways. No two tracks are alike although they can have similar obstacles.

Racers start from a dead standstill poised atop their bikes with the front wheel inserted into a starting gate that holds eight racers. Once the gate is dropped, racers sprint to gain the greatest position heading into the first turn or jump. Depending on the total number of racers, competitors will likely race several times in one day to qualify for each successive heat. Each race lasts no more than a couple minutes.

Construction of the new course will begin the last week in March.

What you need to know about racing BMX at the Sea Otter Classic:

Located at Turn 5 of the Laguna Seca raceway, BMX racers will enjoy a sweet race venue featuring a custom, NBL-designed competition track. The Sea Otter BMX is a preview of BMX racing as an Olympic sport. There are two races - one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Both days features the open wheel category to encourage mountain bikers to try BMX - or in some cases return to their BMX racing roots. Both the Saturday and Sunday races are part of the NBL Golden State BMX Championship Series. All 2008 NBL classes will be run - 2008 classes can be seen at www.nbl.org For more information, go here

For those who have never experienced a BMX race, don’t blink or you’ll miss it! Here are a few key terms to know about BMX:
BMX: Bicycle Motocross- bicycle racing.
Chunk: as in sprocket chunk, a stall in the sprocket and chain area.
Holeshot: in a BMX race, getting the lead right out of the starting gate.
NBL: National Bicycle League. The sanctioning organization for BMX in the US. Affiliated with USA Cycling.
Rollers: small dirt mounds on a race track meant to be rolled over at high speed.
Tabletop: a type of double dirt jump where the area between the takeoff on the first jump and the landing on the second is filled in with dirt.

Get ready to be impressed as racers start from a dead standstill and explode out of the gates with a power more closely related to drag racing. Try to pick out the best gate and the best lines, ask questions and prepare yourself for the Games because BMX will be the one to watch in Beijing!

The Sea Otter Classic BMX events will take place throughout the day on Saturday, April 19 starting at 9 am and continue on Sunday, April 20 from 9 am until 4 pm. For a racing schedule and more information, visit: www.seaotterclassic.com

If you still haven’t signed up for a media credential, sooner is better since there is a limited number of credentials available to qualified media. To apply for media credentials, visit: http://www.seaotterclassic.com/index.cfm/media_credentials.htm

About Sea Otter Classic, Inc.
The 18th Annual Sea Otter Classic will be held April 17-20, 2008 at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, California, USA. The four-day “Celebration of Sport” is considered the world’s largest cycling festival, hosting nearly 10,000 professional and amateur athletes and 50,000 fans. The Sea Otter Classic benefits the Davis Phinney Foundation, which supports Parkinson’s disease research and wellness, and IMBA California, which organizes advocacy and trailbuilding efforts statewide and strengthens California mountain bike clubs. More information can be found at www.seaotterclassic.com or by calling 800-218-8411.

source: Sea Otter Classic News Service