Under clear skies and sunshine after a night of rain, conditions were perfect for a spin in the Norcal hills.The 4 stage Enduro here in Monterey was a fairly 'classic' affair, with the first stage running on the infamous Otter DH track and the final stage on the Dual Slalom course in what must have been the shortest Enduro stage of all time. Stages 2 and 3 cruised through forests of Poison Oak, so an excursion off track was definitely not recommended.
Even with a crash, no one could touch Jared Graves today. Not a big surprise when 2 of the 4 stages are on courses that the Australian has won events on here at Otter in the past. 18 second lead in the overall with just over 10 minutes in race time. Pinned.
Whistler local and Juliana EWS racer Sarah Leishman looked strong at the top of stage one, but crashed on stage one and unfortunately wouldn't finish the day.
Hannah Barnes capitalizing on Kristine Contento-Angell's tossed chain on stage one.
Red, white and blue pan on stage one.
Marcello Guttierez made the trip here between World Cup rounds with his Giant teammates and looked comfortable on the upper jumps.
Kelli Emmett laser with laser focus on stage one.
The American Dream looking to avoid the poison oak on stage 2 of the Sea Otter enduro.
Enduro Jesus Marshall Eames throwing shapes on one of the "features" on stage one of the Enduro.
A long time ago Graves learned that the tuck is key on the Otter DH track, no matter what bike you are on.
Anneke Beerten rode her way into second place here today, 11 seconds behind eventual winner Teal Stetson-Lee.
Not a bad view on the transfer stage as riders pedalled their way out into the backcountry.
Rachel Throop sprints down the first stretch on stage 2. A slight uphill meant that it was a great way to get cross-eyed as you start your second run of the day.
Hannah Barnes, lit on stage two.
Teal Stetson Lea's XC fitness was a fine balance to her handling skills and was enough to power her to victory.
Canadian Micayla Gatto finished a very respectable eighth for the day.
Grubby Graves on target.
Marco Osborne pushing hard. Not as good a showing as last weekend at TDS, but just outside of the top ten was the tale of the tape today.
Sunshine and green grass means smiles for miles between stages.
Trump was here.
Curtis Keene's ride face is all smiles all the time.
Josh Carlson frothing on stage 3.
Kelli Emmett charging hard on stage 3-hard enough to claim third place overall.
The Colombian DH machine, Marcelo Gutierrez pinning it.
Graves en route to the podium on stage one.
Dillon Santos is a Salinas local and rode his way to a 5th place podium finish.
Anneke Beerten looking to make up time on the DS course in her search for gold.
Teammate Rachel Throop looking composed on the final stage.
Josh Carlson doubling his way down the Dual Slalom course for stage 4; quite possibly the shortest enduro stage ever run.
When is Yoann Barelli not having a good time?
Men's Pro Podium left to right: Yoann Barelli, 4th, Josh Carlson 2nd, Jared Graves 1st, Curtis Keene, 3rd, Dillon Santos 5th.
Women's Pro Podium left to right: Essence Barton 4th, Anneke Beerten 2nd, Teal Stetson-Lee 1st, Kelli Emmett 3rd, Rachel Throop 5th.
This isn't even a lack of editing skills; there are too many mistakes that just shouldn't be made that often. It only irks me because it is improper (language is important) and it's being done by professional journalists. I know this is mountain biking guys but come on!
Dear jwetzl and trails racer are you guys perfect, do you make mistakes? Unless your perfect you should not point out people's mistakes and rather look at your own imperfections. You too make errors, people come from different background and to point out someone's flaw is just wrong and shows your own ignorants/flaws
@Rider656: Yes we make mistakes, that's an obvious point. This IS their job though as a journalist and in my line of work if I make a mistake, I want people to let me know so I can learn from it. Is it wrong to want a high level of quality from the main source of mountain bike news I tune in to?
@Rider656: Actually, I can guarantee you that it's wrong because of MAC OSX auto correct. It does not like the term pedalled. It gets changed every. Single. Time.
@Happymtbfr: Very true. Very lame version of the XC as well but it's the terrain they have next to a space where they can pack a few hundred booths into a single controlled area so the likes of PB and other can spot new products.
It's always been the best weekend to ride other trails as others flock to ride AM bikes on cyclocross bike terrain at Sea Otter.
The way enduros are generally run, you have to pick a cutoff to be able to make it to the next stage before the top riders come through. At ews events, they break up the fields to make sure all of the fast men and women are above that cut.
Here they did not. Combined with the extremely short stages, it's impossible to get shots of everyone, unfortunately.
@evanwoodard: Maybe I saw you, I did too! I was more referring the lack of vert that most enduros have. It's expected, but you can't rely on gravity at Sea Otter. It was still a great time though!
@bikeboardorblade: I was on the powder blue Trek Remedy 7 with the 2016 fox air dh jersey and red and black Troy Lee Designs Ruckus pants I was hard to miss and I agree with the vert on the event. Do you know where we can find pictures of us riding.
peddled: to sell something
pedalled: past tense of pedal
p.s. You're
P.S. you want to make more friends? Don't criticize, especially in public.
dear apple: pedalled.
It's always been the best weekend to ride other trails as others flock to ride AM bikes on cyclocross bike terrain at Sea Otter.
And the athertons?