RAD DUAL RACING IN LAGUNA

As well as giving us some swanky kit to drool over (see p38), the Sea Otter Classic is one of the first chances to see the world’s best in the start gate before the season begins in earnest. While the lack of elevation at California’s Laguna Seca race circuit means the tracks aren’t the gnarliest, their physical nature provides a good indication of who’s been putting in the work over winter.

This year, ultra-powerful Aussie Jared Graves dominated the enduro, putting 26 seconds into nearest rival Curtis Keene. He backed that up with a victory in the DH too, as Aaron Gwin’s bad luck with drivetrains came back to haunt him. For us, the best race at Sea Otter is the dual slalom. It’s fast and furious, and seeing the riders almost bar-dragging round the turns is rad! For Graves, these loose, dusty corners were his undoing, as he got a bit too familiar with the Californian dirt. The top woman racer was Jill Kintner, who took victories in both the dual and DH. Despite stepping back from World Cup racing, she’s clearly not slowed down.

We reckon dual has to be one of the best spectator sports and we’d love to see it back at the World Cups. Who’s with us?