WTF is EOtterX?

Sea Otter Australia is full of firsts – first Sea Otter event in Oceania, first mountain bike specific expo and first ever Bosch EOtterX race.  

But what the flock is EOtterX?

E-biker and gravity racer Randall Huntington is the brains behind the new E-Otter X discipline, which aims to create immersive, tight racing with similarities to the full throttle events of Motorcross, Enduro and Trials. But instead of petrol-power, EOtterX takes place on an e-bike.

With similarities to legacy mountain bike discipline, 4X, EOtterX features heats of four riders starting off from the gun, navigating a host of features and multiple lines, in order to make it through to the next round. 

To make the most of the speed and power offered by e-bikes, the course can feature some wild climbs, high stacks of logs to boost over, and multiple loose, bunted corners for riders to navigate. The course itself is around 2minutes, meaning it’s all about tactical sprinting, elbows out and clever line choices. 

In the inaugural EOtterX race, recent world cup winner Luke Meier-Smith threw down against Pump Track World Champion and E-EDR expert Ryan Gilchrist, with affable giant/ cross country eliminator Paul Van Der Ploeg also toeing the start line.

In the women’s finals it was pure carnage, with Jessica Hoskin burping a tyre off the start allowing Caroline Buchanan and Sarsha Huntington a speedy getaway, however the former National Enduro champ used her watts and skills to her advantage, managing to get around the rest of the field and sprint to a win.