By JACKSON WEBER

Melissa Buhl notches her first downhill win at Sea Otter
photo: brightroom.com

Enjoying this morning's crisp and mild weather, Melissa Buhl (KHS) and Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) won the pro women’s and men’s downhill races in front of world-class, star-studded fields at Sunday’s Sea Otter Classic. Racers from around the world flocked to the Sea Otter downhill course for a chance to compete against the best the world has to offer and, with riders like current UCI Downhill World Champions Sabrina Jonnier (Maxxis) and Sam Hill (Monster Energy/Iron Horse), they certainly got what they came for.

The Sea Otter downhill course is a unique one, described by one rider as “very pedaly (sic) and smooth.”  It is non-technical, not very steep, and, with Sea Otter’s unusually dry weather, the course is very dusty.  Unlike most gravity races, rider fitness played a large factor in the day's racing, as the course required “a lot of quick, bursty (sic) sprints” to keep the speed high.  In fact, the course was so smooth and required so much pedaling that many riders were leaving their normal, heavy, long-travel downhill bikes in favor of lighter, all-mountain bikes hoping for the little advantage that could lead to to the top of the podium.

The women’s race saw Yeti’s Abigail Hippley set an early standard of 2:35.4, which stood for most of the morning until the big names took to the course at the end of race.  Then in rapid succession, Jonnier, Buhl, Fionn Griffiths (Norco World Cycling) and Rachel Atherton (Animal Començal) all went under 2:30.  When the dust cleared, it was Buhl who found herself atop the podium.

“I’ve trained hard for Sea Otter every year,” bubbled Buhl at the finish.  “This is the first time I’ve ever won it.”

The men’s race looked to be a throw down amongst the big guns that were present – and they didn’t disappoint.  Dan Atherton (Animal Començal) of the famed Atherton family of downhillers crossed the line early on with a 2:13.9 that set bar high enough that only a few top riders could come close.  However in the end, a recovered Greg Minnaar, coming off his win in yesterday’s Dual Slalom, was the one that proved that fastest, with a blazing 2:11.2, while other pre-race favorites, Sam Hill and Gee Atherton (Animal Començal)  suffered various mechanical mishaps on course, which took them out of contention. 

“I didn’t feel like I was doing all that well up there,” explained Minnaar.  “My legs are tired from yesterday but I think everyone was the same, a lot of the guys raced yesterday.”  Minnaar, excited with his victories this weekend, continued “If someone told me I was going to double up here this weekend, I never would’ve believed them.”