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Daniel Ramsey Stuns Field in the SRAM Pro NRC Circuit Race Compton Cleans Up in Short Track, Peraud Surges Ahead of Trebon for the Win Jonnier, Hannah Beat the Best in Dual Slalom The XX Chromosome Marks the Spot Day 3 Video On Demand Featuring Circuit Race, "Green" Partners, Expo, Egg Hunt, and Dual Slalom Daniel Ramsey Stuns Field in the SRAM Pro NRC Circuit Race
By JACKSON WEBER Ramsey's Team Successful Living.com / Parkpre surprised rain drenched field, making their own race as opposed to letting the larger and supposedly stronger teams dictate things. In the words of third place rider, Frank Pipp, of Healthnet/Maxxis "Successful [Living.com] had, I don't know, like 20 guys in race." Every time a move went up the road, a Successful Living.com rider was there. Early on, Ramsey bridged to Andy Jaques-Mayne (California Giant/Specialized). Together, the two made use of a well-directed headwind and seemingly uncaring field to create a gap that ballooned to over 1:45 midway through the race. Around the time the gap reached its maximum, teams Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada and Healthnet/Maxxis moved to the front of the field in an effort to contain the break. The collective power of the two teams shattered the already depleted field leaving several groups of riders scattered about the course. Despite this, they were unable to bring Ramsey back into the fold. Instead, several riders managed to bridge up to Ramsey, including three more of his teammates, while a chase formed behind that included race favorite, Jelly Belly's Andrew Bajadali. With laps to go, the chase finally reached the breakaway and Ramsey made his move. Attacking through the start/finish the rest of the group seemed content that a rider who had been away since the fifth lap couldn't hold on until the end. They were dead wrong. Ramsey finished with more than two minutes ahead of second place and Succesful Living.com placed five riders in the top 10. "I knew I had to be the first guy to attack because I was off the front all day," said a drained Ramsey. "I just dug a little extra deep." Compton Cleans Up in Short Track, Peraud Surges Ahead of Trebon for the Win
By ROB JONES This made for perfect conditions for Katie Compton in the women's race. The Colorado Spring's rider is a member of the U.S. national cyclo-cross team, a discipline of cycling which emphasizes these short intense efforts. After a slow start from the back of the field, Compton worked her way to the front by the three-quarter mark of the first lap and then literally rode away from the cream of the mountain bike field to win by a substantial margin. Katerina Nash of the professional Luna team finished second, with Canadian Olympian Kiara Bisaro (Team Opus) in third. "It was perfect for me," Compton admitted. "It is half the time as a 'cross race with the same effort. But it was still a hard race because I started at the back and spent the first half lap moving up. It is hard to move up on the dirt because there aren't too many places to pass." The women benefited from a brief break in the rain, but just before the start of the men's race the sky opened up once again. U.S. national cyclo-cross champion Ryan Trebon, out of Ventura, California, immediately shot off the front of the pro men's race to establish a significant 15-second gap on the nearest chaser. Behind the Team Kona rider a group of four chasers established themselves, including Jean-Christophe Peraud of France. Peraud was biding his time, and with three laps to go he started to surge on the fading Trebon, passing his rival with two laps remaining in the race. The Frenchman, looking smooth and fast despite the mud, gradually pulled away from Trebon to take the 2007 Sea Otter Short Track title. Trebon hung on for second, while Canada's Max Plaxton (Rocky Mountain-Haywood) took third. "Trebon was very fast at the start, and my start was not so good, so I had to work my way up to the front of the chasers." said Peraud. "When I got up to the front (of the chasers) I could see that Trebon was slowing a bit and I was feeling very strong, so I was able to catch him." Jonnier, Hannah Beat the Best in Dual Slalom
By WENDY BOOHER "In the semifinal first round, my front wheel washed out and my cranks hit the ground which bucked me," said Hannah. "After that it was good and smooth riding - more out of luck than anything else when you're riding against all these high class riders." Regular race favorite, Cedric Gracia, surprised fans by getting ousted in earlier rounds due to a crash, which he blamed on jet lag and a photo shoot, which had him getting slapped repeatedly. The women's race saw Jonnier at business as usual where the Frenchwoman seems to feel most comfortable with forging gaping leads in early rounds. Jill Kintner answered Jonnier's commanding leads by shutting down those gaps and even beating Jonnier to the finish at least once. Both champs needed to avoid mistakes and go fast each time since a crisp $20 landed in the hands of the round winner on each pass. "Dual Slalom is different every year and it's nice every year," said Jonnier. "We were unlucky with the rain this morning but it made the course very 'grippy." Expect Mother Nature to agree with racers again tomorrow when the pro downhill event gets contested starting at 10 am. The XX Chromosome Marks the Spot BY STEPHEN KRCMAR
Fix a woman's flat and she'll ride until she gets another. Sell her the tools to fix-it, throw in some know-how, and you've helped create a cyclist and moved a step closer to gaining a customer for life. "Our philosophy is helping women cyclists, especially new women cyclists, feel comfortable with the hard good aspect of cycling," said Jen Charrette, Head Betty at Betty Bike Gear. Its first product was a flat repair kit that includes a CO2 inflator, cartridge, tire levers, glue-less patches - and here's where it differs from others - a waterproof, tear-proof set of instructions. Women's specific companies like Betty Bike Gear are pursuing a huge market. The National Sporting Goods Association estimate that women and cycling present a $2.7 billion market potential, 6.7 percent of which is spent on sporting goods/footwear/apparel. Sheila Moon has seen the growth of the women's market firsthand. When she started her eponymous clothing line four years ago there were only a handful of women's specific clothing lines and her friends in the industry said she was crazy to start another. Then the market exploded. Her sales have doubled annually since then, she now has four sales reps in addition to herself, and she projects hitting one million dollars in sales next year. The cyclocross racer who regularly attends centuries and races to speak with females about her clothing has been hearing that same thing lately, "finally pretty clothing for women to ride in," Moon said. Video News Release VNR: Men's NRC Circuit Road Race www.seaotterclassic.com/index.cfm/media_video.htm Almost 150 top pro cyclists and more than ten top continental teams battling on the track. Northern California racer Andy Jacques-Maynes and Daniel Ramsey of Team SuccessfulLiving.com lead the breakaway early. Ramsey pulled away midway through the race and amazingly held off the rest of the field for the impressive 1 minute 54 second win at the Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca Recreation Area. B-ROLL and SOUND BITES: Sound: Andy Jacuqes Maynes/Early Breakaway Leader ### VNR - Dual Slalom - Men/Women Background Information: A dual-slalom classic! Men's and women's finals make for wild finish at the 2007 Sea Otter. Men's and women's fields of 32 in single-elimination format, battle for time downhill in one of the toughest specialties in pro cycling. Men's B-ROLL and SOUND BITES: Shots: Sound: Jared Graves/Dual Slalom Runner-Up Background Information: Women Dual Slalom Top two women's seeds battle for Dual Slalom title… B-ROLL and SOUND BITES: Shots:
Sound: ### VNR #1: BMX Background Information: The Sea Otter Classic continues in the hills and trails of Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA. This morning (Saturday) racers wound their way through the BMX course. Professional riders will be looking to earn points here for an Olympic berth when BMX makes its debut in the 2008 Olympic games. Younger riders enjoy it just as much. One of them is 5-year-old Dezi Green. He's been racing since the day his parents took off the training wheels at age three. Now, he's winning races and is even ranked nationally. His dad, Richard, is a champion BMX racer, too. The Sea Otter Classic wraps up Sunday April 15th at the Laguna Seca Recreation area in Monterey, California. B-ROLL and SOUND BITES: Establishing shot of Sea Otter Classic SOTs: Font: Dezi Green, age 5, BMX Champion "You peddle, pump, jump or peddle to the finish." "I got first on the west coast." Font: Richard Green, Dezi's dad "Because it's a great atmosphere, it's good people. We all travel together as a family and all meet each other meet at different venues every weekend and race. It's just a lot of fun, man. It's just a lot of fun." ### VNR #2: Green Partners Saturday April 14, 2007 Background Information: The Sea Otter Classic is already North America's largest gathering of cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts, so it's pretty "green" to begin with. But the festival and its partners are taking the eco-friendly concept even further. Once again, the Sea Otter Classic will buy enough clean wind energy credits to offset all CO2 emissions from the festival. One sponsor's employees (Clif Bar) even rode their bikes to the festival - a two day, 115-mile journey from the company headquarters in Berkeley. Toyota is offering preferred parking to 3-person carpools or anyone driving a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle. When the Sea Otter Classic winds up Sunday, organizers will work to reseed the trails and tracks of the Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Monterey, CA. B-ROLL and SOUND BITES: Shots Sound Font: Mark Ulbrich, Toyota "Preferred parking is a great thing we're doing for Toyota out here. We're actually giving shuttle rides down here for people for the Sea Otter Classic. We've to the F-J Team that's right across the way, that's helping a lot of the cyclists out. Transportation throughout the event today we're doing." Font: Peter Berridge, marketing manager, Clif Bar "Half of the staff here from Cliff Bar this year at the Sea Otter rode all the way from the company's headquarters in Berkeley. Ii took us two days to get down here and on topt of that, my entire staff is commuting from the hotel to the Sea Otter each day by bike." ### VNR : #3 Expo/Egg Hunt / Dual Slalom Background Information: Whether it's in the dirt or on the pavement, there's something for everyone at the 17th annual Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA. Saturday's weather wasn't the best for cycling. The women's pro circuit race was called early for safety reasons, due to a torrential rainfall. Others got in a few runs in on the mountain bike Dual Slalom course. When not riding, cyclists can find the latest bike gear and clothing at the Laguna Seca marketplace and expo. Finding Easter eggs was the focus for the younger crowd. The Sea Otter Classic wraps up Sunday April 15th at the Laguna Seca Recreation area in Monterey, California. B-ROLL and SOUND BITES: Shots: SOTs: Font: the Byer family "I like the jumpy house ... (giggles)" Full Results and background online at www.seaotterclassic.com About Sea Otter Classic, Inc. ### Online version of this release can be viewed here: www.boohermedia.com/SOC/2007/07SOC_Day3.htm CONTACT: Pamela Heisey
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