WTB-sponsored rider Max Plaxton stormed to a solid third-place finish in the Sea Otter Classic XC race. Plaxton finished just behind world champion Christoph Sauser and teammate Sid Taberlay. Plaxton planned on racing WTB Vulpine tires until he saw the deep sandpits on the dry and dusty course. He switched to WTB NanoRaptors and commented, “that the Nanos were the perfect choice for the conditions.”

In the talent-stacked downhill race WTB-sponsored riders Greg Minnaar and Brian Lopes finished second and fourth with Mick Hannah taking the top spot.

WTB invites you to drop by our booth at the Sea Otter Classic (booth #410) and meet team rider Bobby McMullen. McMullen will be signing autographs at the booth at 2pm on Saturday and Sunday. We’ll also be selling the award-wining documentary The Way Bobby Sees It for $20 throughout the weekend and all proceeds from the DVD sales will go to the fight against Parkinson’s Disease. McMullen is an exceptionally inspirational athlete: He juggles an active bike-racing career (he is racing both XC and DH at Sea Otter), a motivational speaking job and he just happens to be blind. McMullen enjoys nothing more than telling his story to other riders, so please come by and say hello to this mountain bike legend.

Santa Cruz Syndicate racer Greg Minnaar won the first round of the UCI world cup series yesterday. Minnaar was riding his favorite saddle, a white WTB Deva SLT, when he schooled the field of international pro downhillers in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The 2008 world cup downhill champ was racing in his hometown and won with his entire family spectating. What a sweet way to start the world cup season. Nice work Greg.

Dodging chickens, dogs, cars and other riders through the Himalaya foothills, Price managed to claim victory in India’s nine-day International Khachendzonga MTB Expedition. Due to shoddy organizational management the race ended up being more like a season of ‘Survivor’ with food deficiencies, tent shortages and poor medical services for the first four days. “Despite those problems the race ended up being a lot of fun,” Price stated. “There were two stages a day, one an uphill and the other a descent; each being anywhere between 5- and 25-kilometers long.”

Read Harlan’s complete race report here.

Spring is a special time of year here in Northern California. The hills are a vivid green, the weather is consistently unpredictable and bike racers make their annual pilgrimage to Monterey’s Sea Otter Classic. Because Sea Otter is WTB’s backyard event, we get inundated with phone calls asking about everything from weather updates to tire recommendations. We’ve compiled our top tire tips here to improve your Otter experience.

WTB and Bikeskills invite you to come out and join us for a free skill-building clinic. Brush up on your rock-riding skills with pro Bikeskills instructor Jiro Nakamura at the Rockville Bike Park in Fairfield, California. As you can see by Walt Denson’s image above, right now is the very best time of year to ride Rockville’s technical trails. The sun is shining, the hills are green and Jiro will be there to help you conquer some of the most daunting rock gardens out there. If you’re interested, please visit Bikeskills.com for more information.