Sea Otter Dual Slalom – Getting Amped!
Sea Otter Classic Dual Slalom. We’re getting pumped up for this weekend’s Dual Slalom event! The Sea Otter Dual Slalom race is truly a MTB spectacle and if you’re anywhere near the area it’s a must see. (even me, who can’t stand crowds, I have a great time at Slalom)
I spoke with Alchemy Factory Racing’s Anneke Beerten about Slalom earlier this week:
Q: Dual Slalom is always a fan favorite at Sea Otter. Is it as much fun to race as it is to watch? Would you consider a strong dual slalom run is based more on power (big gate starts, important to pump the track aggressively, spin big power out of corners) or a finesse (clean line selection, keeping momentum, etc)?
A: “It is def as much fun to race as it is to watch! For me it all about getting the right feeling and flow with the bike and the course on that day. It helps that I have a bmx back ground and the gates and jumps come natural to me. But a big part to be fast in slalom is to corner fast and fearless aka breakless 🙂 You have to trust the tires and lean in to the corner and carry speed out of them. Looking forward to race it again, Sea Otter World Camps Slalom!!” Anneke Beerten
I dug out some of my favorite photos of the Dual Slalom from 2014 (won by the other half of this year’s Alchemy Factory Racing Cody Kelley).
Enjoy a quick flip through:
It’s fun to see the layout of the course during practice.
Morning practice is a great time to watch rider’s fine tune their line selections. Pumping it, Doubling it, Tripling it… Kevin Aiello doing Kevin Aiello things.
BikeCo Pro Rider Brian Lopes proving, as usual, smooth is fast…
Cody Kelley on his way to a W
Looking for the most rowdy section? Go towards “The Corner” – you’ll know it by the American flags! Cody and Brian tearing down the course in a semi-final matchup.
Have a camera? Bring a camera – they’ll be plenty of them!
Groms with cameras too…
The crowd at the end of the course watches Brian take 3rd place overall in 2014. Slalom is a blast to watch, as unlike most MTB events you can see almost all of the course from just about anywhere on the hill.
Cody puts some style on the W over the last table top.