Sea Otter Classic is a bicycling and outdoor life sports festival and trade show held on the former Fort Ord in Monterey, California since 1990. The classic is named in honor of the sea otter, an indigenous mammal which flourishes on the neighboring Pacific Coast.
The Sea Otter Classic offers international racing, beginner through professional and includes mountain biking events, such as cross country (XC), downhill (DH), dual slalom (DS), Dual Stunt, Super Downhill (SuperD), and short track (SXTC). The elite professional mountain bike races are sanctioned by USA Cycling.
The event was co-founded by brothers Ron and Rick Sutton, and Frank Yohannan. In addition to mountain bike races Sea Otter offers road bicycle racing and a Gran Fondo.
Velonews wrote of the event,
From humble origins in 1991, when just 450 attendees populated the event, to 2008, when almost 10,000 participants and 50,000 spectators packed the venue for the four-day festival, Sea Otter has become a fixture on the spring calendar. While the event began as a bicycle race, and continues to feature road and mountain bike races, the consumer expo has become a primary draw. These days, the Sea Otter Classic has become a de-facto spring trade show and consumer fair, where industry insiders launch new products, tease future releases, and use the opportunity to interact directly with a captive spectator audience.[1]
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