Sea Otter Classic


The 32nd Sea Otter Classic launched this past weekend with thousands of fans and racers gathering from all over the globe! Sea Otter has been one of the pinnacle venues to showcase new product launches within the MTB community along with some of the biggest racers’ names showing up to compete.

KHS Pro MTB rider Nate Kitchen on the downhill course at Sea Otter.
KHS Pro MTB rider Nate Kitchen on the downhill course at Sea Otter.

Enduro racing was up early on the event schedule with four demanding stages. Shane Leslie would round out the top five throughout the first three stages when he had a minor crash on the final stage resulting in a 17th place finish overall. It would be good to see Shane on pace to get up on the podium among that depth of field.

KHS Pro MTB rider Shane Leslie on the Endure course at Sea Otter.
KHS Pro MTB rider Shane Leslie on the Endure course at Sea Otter.

Friday would be followed up with Dual Slalom qualifying, Dual Slalom was one of the favored events for this venue being a head-to-head sport and spectator friendly. Our Jr. pro Nate Kitchen had a demanding day slotting him in the number one position! Kailey Skelton would qualify inside the top ten and unfortunately Steven Walton went down in his qualifying run and did not make the top 32. Saturday evening was the finals for Slalom with over 5000 spectators cheering from the side lines. Kailey would make it to the round of 8 but get eliminated due to a slide out in one of her runs. The track was very slick and loose with many riders struggling just to stay on their bikes. Nate Kitchen would have 5 total rounds to compete among his field. He would make great waves by winning all the way through to take the top spot!

KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton on the downhill course at Sea Otter.
KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton on the downhill course at Sea Otter.

Sunday morning came quick with DH finals starting off right away. All the athletes had a sandy physical track to compete on, with no room for errors. It would be Shane Leslie and Steven Walton rounding out a top 45 with Kailey Skelton grabbing a top 10 and Nate Kitchen continuing his dominance form to take another 1st place overall.

KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on the Dual Slalom course at Sea Otter.
KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on the Dual Slalom course at Sea Otter.

The team had a great effect on the MTB community by showing the KHS Bicycles brand and stamping our name once again in the history books. We enjoyed seeing all our sponsors, friends and family and want to thank everyone for the continued support!

KHS Pro MTB rider Nate Kitchen on the Dual Slalom course at Sea Otter.
KHS Pro MTB rider Nate Kitchen on the Dual Slalom course at Sea Otter.