The Sea Otter Classic is one of my favorite events. I did this race two years ago in the 13-14 category and was excited to race this year in cat 1 15-18 with a 20 mile course. At the start I was ready and calm. And with the whistle we were off! We started with a mile of road, I relaxed and found a place to draft. Once we reached the dirt I took off and got third onto the fire road. 1st and 2nd had a nice pace but it was a little too fast for me in a 20 mile race. I let them get a small gap. Then we reached the first switchback downhill and I caught 2nd. I held onto her tail and as we reached the next uphill I took the pass. Next I reached some little technical downs which I flew through. I came over the top of a hill and saw 1st at the bottom of a pure sandy downhill. I let go of the brakes and slid right down, almost hitting 1st as she went around the turn. She gained another gap, but not too large. As I got onto the last fire road climb to the finish a saw her and she was pretty close. I stood up and hammered, I pushed myself and was slowly reeling her in, but she crested the top before I could catch her. I reached the downhill and went as fast as I could. Then at the finish I stood and finished with 30 seconds behind 1st. It was a great race. I want to thank my sponsors: Santa Cruz, Crank-brothers, Maxxis, and Scrub for helping make 2nd possible.
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July 2021
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