2021 Sea Otter Classic XC

CAT1 30-39
The course was not easy to ride fast because of sandy loose corners. Had an early crash leaving rashes on the elbow and knee, but managed to finish the race.
0:00 Race start
3:50 Little rock garden
13:10 Front tire washed out. Gopro lens protector was cracked
13:41 Last half hour of the race
21:45 The wall climb
28:15 Long climb back
40:12 Into Laguna Seca track again

[@kcmunion3634]

Nice work and superb time. I am doing the Fuego XL ‘23 this coming week. Thank you for capturing the course as I won’t have time to pre-ride.

[@ranijoseph9498]

The course will be very different from what it looks like in this video

[@thermophileTL]

Tough washout - I was Cat 3 and one rider directly in front of me went down on that same section right after the hard left switchback. Good job finishing! Cool video with Virb overlay edit.

[@chetiz1807]

As a first timer doing the Cat 3 30-39, I was totally not expecting the steep incline and declines, and the sand pits all over the downhill section. 4:47 was gruesome, half of the racers in my cat walked their bike up midway. Surprised to see some of the Cat 1 guys (semi-pro) walking their bike up too. There was another section that was incredibly steep climb (not in the video). Good job finishing!

[@8584zender]

partly this was because SoC was so late in the season and the trails had been ridden to shit all summer. It is marginally better in the spring. still has some sketchy sections but not as widespread

[@bobmajew53]

Seems like a gravel bike would do good there but those sand traps are a sinker. Are dropbar MTBs in the racing cards?

[@rickmayo1961]

What camera and system did you use to get all the stats on screen. It was a fun race.

[@redcyclone3520]

It was recorded with Gopro8. Overlays were added using Garmin Virb Edit.

[@meganhannon9151]

Hey there, great video! How long was your total lap time?

[@redcyclone3520]

I did it around 1hr50min.

[@marcmaza2821]

Been wanting to try Xc race skip dh racing this year 😆 idk we’ll see you think enduro bike would be good? That’s all I’ve been pedaling on and jumping

[@redcyclone3520]

There are 40K and 8K XC courses for 2022. You can try the enduro bike for the 40K one. It's going to overkill but it will be a comfortable ride.

[@leonardwillingham9031]

Good job dude. What Category and age group did you race?

[@redcyclone3520]

It was Cat 1 30-39 :)

[@jolyzara]

Nice ride! What was the bike were you riding? Any thoughts on the race?

[@redcyclone3520]

@@jolyzara I was riding a 2021 Epic. The course wasn't too technical overall, but required good cornering skills to go fast.

[@8584zender]

would you be willing to share your setup besides the spesh Epic? tires? high post or dropper. 44:37 fin

[@redcyclone3520]

Sure. I used Aspen 2.4 front & rear, but I would want a more aggressive front tire if I do it again. Dropper post is the Divine SL 80mm version, which is enough for XC racing. Everything else is pretty standard.

[@8584zender]

@@redcyclone3520 thanks. in pre covid years i feel like the course was less technical and in spring, dirt was more compacted. i ran a HT with a high post x-king 2.4/ race king 2.4 f/r and it was plenty in 2016-2018. the course was won on the climbs back then but i'm thinking this course is truly xc.

[@justerinibrookes3973]

Sea Otter lol

[@8584zender]

yeah Monterey peninsula = sea otters