April 19, 2008 (Laguna Seca, Monterey, CA) – Lea Davison (USA) Trek/VW continued her winning form from yesterday in a a very tight race with Canada’s Melanie McQuaid (BMC/Nature’s Path) who finished second and Kelli Emmett (USA) Giant in third.

The action began with another nasty day as temperatures dropped below yesterday’s chill fest, and the wind was no one’s amigo as it whipped in every direction creating huge dusty whirlwinds. While the top three traded places for much of the race, it seemed that McQuaid was tiring as she dropped back to third after leading for a lap. But her strategy paid off in the end as she reclaimed second while fellow Canuck Emily Batty (Trek Store Toronto) placed fourth not far behind Emmett.

While the leaders battled it out in the final two laps, the rest of the field began to dissolve as Canada’s Jean Anne McKirdy (Rocky Mountain), second in yesterday’s Super D, embedded herself in the second group and kept her cool, finally breaking away alone to finish a respectable 11th.

In the final lap, both Davison and Emmitt kept close to each other as McQuaid held back, but as they flew over the last hill en route to the finish line 300 meters below, Davison pulled away from Emmitt. Suddenly it was a race for second, but Emmitt didn’t see McQuaid who hit the pedals hard for the last 40 meters sweeping past her right at the finish line to grab second place. “I felt pretty good out there even without the win, it was an exciting race,” said McQuaid.

Canadian Danelle Kabush (Luna), was fighting the wind and finished 18th with a time of 0:34:02, while Mary Ellen Ash (Easton/SugarCRM/Specialized) came in 27th with a time of 0:34:11.

The same group will meet on Sunday at 1 pm for the XC Pro women’s finals, stay tuned for another showdown!

Men’s Race

In the biggest upset so far of the weekend, Sam Schultz (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher, wooed a crowd expecting the usual suspects like Carl Decker (USA) Giant and MTB World Champion Miguel Martinez (Fra) Look to take over the field. The race started out on the same track as last year without the quagmire of mud-masked riders, instead replacing mud with continuous dust bowls conjuring up a Paris-Dakkar race which played a huge part in separating the field after the first three laps.

Schultz, who just turned 22 managed to hold his against the likes of yesterday’s Super D and today’s crowd favorite, Decker, who came in 6th. The race soon became a two-man show as Schultz and Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona traded places drafting up and down the 3.5km/2.2-mile course for the majority of the race. Trebon, whose height and experience would seem to tilt the race to him, was waiting for the right moment to pounce on the “green” newcomer Schultz, who has never raced here.

But when that moment came on the last lap as they ascended the first hill, the feisty Schultz showed courage and guts, suddenly ramming through a headwind and gaining three bike lengths up hill – stunning the crowd and Trebon – who gave up the battle coasting in behind for second.

Schultz’s toothy grin underlined his win. “This has been amazing, it’s my first Sea Otter and pro race, and I have to say, even though I’m not competing at the World Cup with my team, this has been a good trade off!”

“Tactically, it was pretty straightforward, but I was surprised at Schultz’ speed,” said Trebon.

Miguel Martinez, World Champion and favourite for today, took a different tack. “I was in good form, but as this is my first Sea Otter, I decided to see how this race would unfold, and thought it best after staying in third for much of the race, to hold back for my favourite race (x-country) tomorrow. It was fun, and as I live on the Cote d’Azur, think of this like the Roq D’Azur race with so many exhibits and types of races, though we have almost 15,000 riders who compete, so I like the size of this one.”

Chris Sheppard (Can) Santa Cruz was Canada’s top finisher in 7th followed by Adam Morka (Can) 3 Rox Cycling in 9th after Martinez, with a huge grin and a larger kiss from his girlfriend Batty, who was 4th in the women’s short track. “This (the kiss) is reward enough,” exclaimed an elated Morka, who spends his time training in the Southwestern USA with Batty.

Eric Batty (Can) Trek Bicycle Store Team in 13th was pulled with four laps to go (only top 12 count). Vancouver’s Stefan Widmer (Rocky Mountain) flew in at 0:34:03 placing 16th, while fellow Canuck Mike Garrigan (Jetpower) finished 44th with a time of 0:34:32.

Results

Elite Men

1. Sam Schultz (USA) Subaru/ Gary Fisher 28.06
2. Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona 0.09
3. Cody Peterson (Scott) 0.30
4. Ross Schnell (Trek/ VW) 0.39
5. Andy Schultz (Titus/ Kona) 0.47
6. Carl Decker (Giant) 0.54
7. Chris Sheppard (Can) Santa Cruz 0.55
8. Miguel Martinez (Fra) Look 1.09
9. Adam Morka (Can) 3 Rox Cycling 1.23
10. Mike Phillips 1.49
11. Charles Pendry 1.58
12. Ken Onodera 2.03
13. Eric Batty (Can) Trek Bicycle Store Team 5:54
16. Stefan Widmer (Can) 5:57
44. Mike Garrigan (Can) Jetpower 6:26

Elite Women

1. Lea Davison (USA) Trek/VW 31.26
2. Melanie McQuaid (Can) BMC/Nature’s Path 0.06
3. Kelli Emmett (USA) Giant 0.07
4. Emily Batty (Can) Trek Store Toronto 0.14
5. Shonny Vanlandingham (Luna) 0.15
6. Jenna Zander (USA) SoBe/Cannondale 0.19
7. Emily Van Meter 0.24
8. Kathy Sherwin (USA) SoBe/Cannondale 0.42
9. Amanda Riley (Kenda/ Titus) 0.48
10. Chloe Forsman (USA) Luna Women’s MTB Team 1.00
11. Jean Anne McKirdy (Can) Rocky Mountain 1.32
12. Sara Bresnickzoccni 1.45
13. Carolyn Popovic 1.59
14. Heather Holmes 2.13
15. Maureen Kunz 2.18
18. Danelle Kabush (Can) Luna Women’s MTB Team 2:36
27. Mary Ellen Ash (Can) Easton/SugarCRM/Specialized 2:45