Brodie b Team hits 3 pro podiums in Santa Barbara

The Brodie b Team rolled through the Firestone Santa Ynez Classic outside of Santa Barbara with three pro podium spots this past weekend. The event which was a NORBA National for XC riders was somehow limited to a USAC points stop for downhill. The race still attracted a deep International field being only a week and a hundred miles before the first NORBA gravity event in Fontana, CA. Brodie women’s pro’s Joanna Petterson and Jackie Harmony pushed each other for 1st and 2nd place, while newcomer Ian Odom raced a talented men’s pro field to a 3rd place podium.
In a two-run format over a relatively short but fast and feature laden course, Jackie Harmony pinned a couple tenths of a second lead over teammate Joanna Petterson after the first run. The two ladies also held a couple second gap over the rest of the field heading into the second run. But in the second run, Jackie squirled out of a high speed berm and narrowly avoided a crash. “I felt the front wheel doing the same thing it did when I crashed in the DS finals at Sea Otter. I just said to myself ‘no way, this is not going to happen again.’ I pushed back with everything I had. I kept the bike up, but over-corrected off the trail. I fought hard to get it back again, but I went off the trail again on the other side, my butt scrubbed the tire, it was just ugly. I kept the bike rolling, but lost all of my speed. I gave it everything to get going again, but I was way over geared for the normally a high speed exit. I still thought I could win though, so I pedaled even harder through the bottom of the course.”


The brief mistake cost enough time to let Joanna blaze a flawless run that was 4 seconds faster than any women’s first run and claim the top spot on the podium. “The Zealot was perfect for the course. It’s amazingly stiff laterally for a 6” bike, so it really held through the high speed chicanes and berms and its light enough that I could still push hard through the long pedal to the finish line. The trip to the podium was the reigning NORBA 4X champions first of the season after a long year of rehab from ankle surgery.


On the men’s side, Ian Odom, continued to turn some heads and shock some folks rocketing a first run time that put him in the hotseat atop the leader board while quite a few top NORBA riders pedaled by unable to match his time. The young pro had been somewhat forgotten about over the past few seasons until signing on with Brodie. Ian was the NORBA series champion in Jr. Expert, but survived a near fatal crash that put him in a coma in his first year in pro. Since then, he’s had a string of bad luck with sponsors programs folding mid-season or not committing the budget to get him to enough races to be a contender. Over the winter though, the Brodie crew lent him a stock Damien demo bike so he could ditch the Franken-bike he’d assembled from spare parts. He managed to race that demo bike to the podium multiple times in the Southridge Winter Series against some of the biggest names in the sport.

Ian’s second run at the Firestone proved his first was no fluke making a combined time that was within a tenth of a second of 2nd place. What was probably most noteworthy to the folks who know Odom is the fact that his impressive showing was not on a course that’s normally suited for his skills. The Santa Barbara course catered to physically fit spinners, while Odom is more known for his ability to dissect rough terrain or fearlessly find alternate lines through the air by gapping big sections of the course.

The b Team’s next stop is the Fontana NORBA National. Expectations for the team are high there as on top of Ian Odom’s multiple podiums in the Southridge Winter Series at the same venue, Joanna Petterson was that series’ former champion, and both she and Jackie Harmony were on the podium at the NORBA race there last season.

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About Joanna Petterson-
Joanna is the reining NORBA 4X and DS champion. Born in South Africa, she spends her off season training in Hawaii. Outside of racing 4X and DH, she’s passionate about riding XC, road, cruisers, or anything else. Off the pedals (which is rare) she surfs and snowboards. Her goals in life are to “buy my dad his farm and be the world champion of course.” Her sponsors include: Brodie bikes, Hayes brakes, Maxxis tires, Industry Nine wheels, SDG saddles, SIC components, Crank Brothers pedals, FLY Racing gear, THE helmets, Harlot apparel, Lake shoes, and Utopia Optics.

About Jackie Harmony-
Jackie and her husband Dante Harmony live the life most people dream of by traveling the world together riding bikes and racing pro. Last season, Jackie’s second as a pro, she finished 4th overall in the NORBA points standings and earned a trip to the World Championships to represent USA. Born in British Columbia, Jackie hangs her helmet beside her backyard pump track in Tucson, AZ. Her sponsor’s include: Brodie bikes, Magura brakes, Kenda tires, Industry 9 wheels, SIC components, and 661.

About Ian Odom-
After cheating death in crash induced coma and helping his grandmother who had raised him fight cancer this past winter, Ian is on a renewed mission to gain championship form. The former NORBA Jr. Expert Series Champion is vowed and determined to turn his improved training regimen into pro podium results. The Big Bear, Ca racer, who dirt jumps and has the skills and bravado to compete in slopestyle is also a sponsored free skier in the winter. Ian’s bike sponsors include Brodie bikes, Hayes brakes, Sun-Ringle wheels, SIC components, Electric Eyewear, and Van’s / Protec gear.