The Sea Otter Classic is in the top three for cycling events in North America based on participation, vendor and spectator attendance and caliber of riding talent in one place. To do well in Monterey you need to have a special day…
Over the twenty years of competing in various disciplines I can only think of less than a handful of times that I had a really special day.
I’ve had moments in the sun with some memorable wins but nothing this rewarding. It’s rare when all the pieces fit together. Having a race of this caliber, with a stacked field who many I respect dearly, being fit enough not only to survive a 38-mile race but also to feel good during it, and not to have a mechanical in the process!
Todd Booth atop the Sea Otter Classic podium this weekend. (Photo by Roxanne Moore)
The Cat 1 40-44 XC field was full of talent. With the current National Champ Dario Fredrick, Norcal fast men Chuck Ross, Steve Heaton , and Brain Rouse. Nevada’s “Mr consistent” Mike Hileman. Specialized rider Ben Capron and the list goes on…. I frequently race against many of these riders but fall short. On a good day I may out kick one of these motors, but never all of them in a single day.
The weather for the weekend was perfect…sunny, little wind and in the 70’s. The Sea Otter is notorious for extreme weather..freezing rains, howling winds or desert like heat like in 2009. The course for the Cat 1 racers was two 19-mile loops that incorporated every part of mountain biking. Fire-roads, sandy sketchy descents, swooping fast single-track, rocky climbs as well as descents. In general, most Cat 1 XC races are 21-27 miles in length. Sea Otter makes for smart racing. Meaning to hydrate often and eat if possible.
The race start on the Laguna Secca Speedway track and heads for a few fire-road rolling climbs which tend to break the group of forty plus riders up before the fun winding single-track sections. In our race, someone forgot to tell the first fifteen riders that it’s close to a 3 hour race….they gunned it hard over the first quarter of the course. I lost sight of them within the first two miles. Lying in 13thish?, my thoughts turned to “ride your own race”. I hooked on to Mike Hilman who had the same thoughts of “this is a long race what’s the rush?” I began to feel good and broke from Mike in search of anyone else in our class. Without the legs marked, knowing who you come across is tough. I did start to get a sense that I was catching and passing riders in my class. At the end of the first loop on the last climb out of the valley I spotted my brother Ryan who was racing in the class ahead of me. He had a 5 minute start on us, so I knew he was either feeling really bad or I was picking up the pace. Side note: he beat my time last year so this felt great! Ryan led me into the 2nd lap. My goal starting the race was to drink four bottles of Accelerade and at least half an energy bar. With a bar and two bottles down I was on pace. I road onto ex-pro, Brian Rouse’s wheel on the steep single-track ascent on mile 30. He and I traded places for the next 6 miles. We came across Chuck Ross on the road climb and he looked spent. The battle at the front took a toll on everyone’s energy levels. He mentioned to us that we were now in 2nd and3rd place. With a long 2 mile climb out and Brian not looking tired I was glad at that point to get a top five placing.
To my surprise, we came across Dario Fredrick at the base of the climb. He was happy and surprised to see us. I was still feeling good so I took the charge up the fire-road climb with a slight headwind. PS: I not a very smart roadie. I road as hard a pace as I could, knowing that one of these guys was going to attack me anytime now. Brian faded off the pace, which gave me a little confidence boost. Dario was right there in my slipstream. Knowing that he was a very talented pro road racer, I was waiting for him to attack and pull away. In 2008, I was in 2nd the entire race and had two riders catch me on the same climb to the finish. I ended up disappointed in 4th. Don’t get me wrong, top ten at this race is a huge accomplishment, but to race for 30 plus miles alone, thinking you have it in the bag and get caught in the last two miles was a real bummer. The organizers changed the finish of the race this year. The last half a mile looped around the hill above the venue with some short punchy ascents and slippery grassy descents. No more easy ride to the finish! At the top of the last climb I noticed Dario faded about 20? from me. I knew I still had aways to go. I punched it like a scared rabbit. The course winded back onto itself, so you could watch where your competition was. Around the final turn I knew I had done it. I raced a race that I was really proud of. I took my pulls at the front, competed against many of the best riders in the nation, pulled off one of the fastest times, came out on top at one of the biggest events in the country, and had my friends and family at the finish line to witness it. What a weekend!
Team Platinum Performance had other great performances as well. Great job team!!!!
Platinum results:
Todd Booth– 1st Cat 1 40-44 XC
6Th Cat 5 Road Circuit Race
Bobby Langin Sr — 1st Cat 1 50-54 XC
Jon Miller — 1st 55-59 Cat 1 55-59 XC
Gary Douville — 2nd Cat 1 35-39 XC
5Th Cat 1/2 35+ Road Race
Amanda Schaper — 3rd Cat 1 wm 19-29 XC
John Biron — 3rd Cat 1 50-54 XC
2nd Cat 5 Road Circuit Race
Ron Takeda— 2nd 1/2 45+ Crit Race
Reny Takeda — 6th Jr Boys 11-12
Mark Luke — 7th Cat 2 50-54 XC
9th Cat 4 Road Race
7th Cat 4 Road Circuit Race
Steve Silva — 10th Cat 1 50-54 XC
Bob Nisbet — 10th Cat 1 45-49 XC
Adam Poytress — 11th Cat 1 30-34 XC
Roger Moore — 12th Cat 1 40-44 XC
Brian Cook — 20th Cat 1,2 Road Race
Steve Bertrand — 20th Cat 1 50-54 XC
Andy Osburn — 26th Cat 1 45-49 XC
