Sea Otter’s Sunday Schedule Stacked

It’s been a couple of days since the end of Sea Otter Australia, and there’s no doubt a few riders are still feeling weary after a huge festival of racing and checking out the expo. Here’s our race recap from the Sunday events.

Maxxis Effervelo Gravel Event

For those with a predilection for drop bars – or perhaps those that wanted to offset Saturday’s enduro racing with something a little less gnarly, the Maxxis Effervelo Event featured something for everyone. 

With 48km, 55km and 83km event options, the racing rolled out from the Sea Otter Australia event hub in Bateman’s bay, before turning off through the gravel roads of the Mogo Trail network and exploring the Mogo and Bolaro State Forests. 

With searing temperatures a few days earlier, riders were treated to mild rain on the start, making for a less dusty gravel adventure. 

While it was a timed event – the Maxxis Effervelo Gravel event was a fondo, meaning there were no official winners. We think if you completed an event then you did very well!

Fox Superflow

Following on from a big day of racing at Saturday’s Fox Superflow, Sunday’s race saw a whole new cohort of riders competing for the fastest time of the day. 

At the end of the weekend, it was recent World Cup Downhill winner Luke Meier-Smith taking out the top step in the Elite Men’s category in a time of 6:04:2 ahead of cross-country stalwart Cameron Ivory in 6:33:4. Eddie Willis was close behind in 6:37:5.

In the Elite Women’s race it was Katy Wolley ahead of Natacha Grieve. Other notable riders included Ryan Gilchrist – former E-EDR series winner – winning the Electroflow category. 

The racing even included an Adaptive category, meaning even more people could get out and put down hot laps between the bunting.

Full results here.

Smith Optics Enduro

While the Fox Superflow is all about lapping with your mates, the Smith Optics Enduro adds a little bit of pace and pressure into the equation. On the second day of racing, riders lined up with weary legs after a 30+km race day the day prior, and 5 stages to tackle on day 2. 

In the Elite men’s race, Tom Locke of Yeti took home gold nearly a minute ahead of Morgan Fitzgerald and Jarrad Davis. The women’s race saw former Enduro National Champ Jess Hoskin snatch her second win at Sea Otter – also taking out the EOtterX race. Jess Williams rode strongly to second in the Elite Category.

Australia’s largest mountain bike character, Paul Van Der Ploeg, proved he’s not just a pretty face who can generate a great vox pop, taking out the Electroflow category. 

Van Der Ploeg noted that the trails were fast and pedally, and remarked that the awkward rocks on ‘Nemesis’ made the trail “look like it was built by the local bike shops.” 

They claimed a wheel of the bike giant, who was hustling at the event centre to find a replacement prior to Sunday’s race – thankfully sorted out before his start time for the Sunday stages.

Full results here.