Sea Otter Recap

The Sea Otter Classic was an awesome experience for the AZ Devo Team.  Sea Otter is like an outdoor Interbike and a huge bike race jammed into 4 days. There is so much going on that it can be a little overwhelming.

This event brought out the top talent in the US and the Cat 1 Jr 17-18 XC race had a deep field of over 30 racers.  AZ Devo riders claimed 3 of the top 10 positions with Tyler Coplea in 5^th, Ryan Geiger in 7^th and Cypress Gorry in 10^th.

Here is our rider’s race recaps…

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The Sea Otter Classic is one of the biggest races if not the biggest race in the US. This year I was able to experience the craziness that is Sea Otter. I left home for the race on Tuesday being my race was on Friday. This was a big change from my racing I have been doing in the Pro XCT’s which have been on Sunday. I was super excited for this race all year and finally it was time to shine. I rode the course on Wednesday and was able to figure out what I needed to do to kill it when race time comes. This race was not going to be like the US Cups events at all. Instead of a 6-8 mile lap being done three times, this was one long 20 mile lap which had tons or fire road. There wasn’t too much single track and when there was, there was absolutely no passing. I figured my nutrition was going to be two bottles of HEED and two Hammer Apple-Cinnamon gels that would keep me going for the whole race.

I started front row which didn’t really matter because the first part of the lap was on the race track and no one wanted to pull. So, it turned into a parade lap until about 200 yard to the first dirt section and then it became an all-out sprint. For the first quarter of the race, I had a hard time finding my legs. Once I got on top of the super steep climb about three miles in (aka the wall), something clicked and I was ready to fly. I saw my teammate Ryan only 30 or 40 sec ahead of me and I knew I needed to catch him so we could work together on this course. Drafting was a huge factor in the race. If you were all alone… you were done.  I caught up to Ryan about 6 miles in and worked together for a little while giving each other a much needed break. At this point, groups of three of four of us were fighting for 4^th place. One of the kids attacked and was making me have to give everything I had to cover it.

Near the end of the race, there is about two or three miles of all fire road with some super gnarly climbs. I was able to stay with fourth all the way to the last climb. We had a great battle going, but on the last part he launched an attack.  I was worried about covering it because I didn’t know how far we had till the end. I was afraid if I cover it and found out we had another 2 miles I would of been screwed. Of course, the final descent was on top of the hill and I just let go of the breaks and hoped for the best. I finished the race in 5th and was super stoked. There were over 30 kids in the race and it was super rare to have such a large field.

My Trek 9.9 Elite SSL was stellar for the course I loved how snappy I was able to be up the steep climbs were other kids were losing a ton of time. Another huge factor in the race was Oakley Radars with Photochromic lenses which worked amazing. On this course, we would be in the shade of trees at one point, then looking right into the sun at another. With the Photochromic lenses changing constantly, I always see great in the sunlight or shade. After the race, I was able to check out all the cool vendors. Hammer Nutrition is the biggest reason why I am not on the side of the trail cramping after crazy races like this one.  They have everything a racer needs to keep them going in their race.  From the Leadville 100, to a fun weekend ride with your bros, Hammer has the right nutrition for you. Defiantly check out Hammers new Perpetuem Solids. They are made to keep you going after that 2 1/2- 3 hour mark. All you do is pop it in your mouth and let the fuel take you from there.

Over all I had an amazing time at my first year in Sea Otter!! I can wait for next year already. Now, it’s time to kick some butt at the Whiskey off road race with my teammates from AZ Devo.

~ Tyler Coplea

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Another awesome weekend out with the AZ Devo squad, this time at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA. Showed up a couple of days early to pre-ride the course and visit some sponsors with the rest of the team. Felt great to get out of the snow and feel some California sunshine. I had a great race, and finally felt the fitness coming around. The competition was as good as it gets and it felt amazing to be mixing it up with the top guys, knowing that riding outside more will lead to getting even faster by nationals! The pace started out pretty chill for the first mile on the track but as soon as the group saw dirt… it was on! It was a battle for position and luckily I ended up towards the front. I hit it hard and settled in to the maximum pace I knew I could hold for the distance. Other than getting caught up in some singlespeeders, I had a pretty flawless race. The next morning, I woke up bright and early for the road race. I was pretty tired from the previous day’s effort but, gave it what I had. The race was one of the hardest road races I have ever done, some good climbs and the power of some of the best juniors in the country.  I didn’t feel my best but, I ended up in the top twenty and was stoked with that. I was fueled by my Hammer Nutrition HEED which kept me cramp free and energized for both races. I am once again amazed with our team support; we have great sponsors and team management who help us with everything we need.

~ Ryan Geiger

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The day of Sea Otter came and I was finally feeling like I was over the lingering cold I had been suffering from for the past week.  Beginning my warm-up I felt really good and was super excited for the race.  I planned on getting to the start line a couple minutes earlier than usual, but once I got there and had to settle in for a third row start I realized it wasn’t quite soon enough.  Thankfully as the race started on the raceway I could move up before we  hit the dirt.  However, this was surprisingly easy as the whole group was only going about twelve miles an hour.  As the group approached the spot where we got off the raceway everyone began to sprint, but I had no snap in my legs and lost a bunch of places before the first dirt corner.  Even though I was moving up a little through the field I felt like my brakes were rubbing; just plain sluggish.  About twenty minutes later I began to feel much better and started to move up through riders much faster.  Nearing the end of the race I was still feeling decent while riding right by a couple others from my class.  I got away for a little bit, but was reeled back in.  As the finish approached a couple attacks were made that I couldn’t hang with.  Riding in to a tenth place finish, I was fairly pleased with the result given the circumstances.  And there’s always room to improve before the end of the season.

~ Cypress Gorry

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Up next for AZ Devo is the Whiskey Off Road in Prescott, AZ.  We will have a full squad of riders there racing in both the 25 & 50 proof events.  Travis Glysson racing in his 1st ever Pro race after getting his upgrade!

Check out Hammer Nutrition’s latest newsletter packed with great info on performance health and also a nice mention in there for AZ Devo.