It’s been an action-packed spring here in NorCal and WTB’s video expert, Amado Stachenfeld, captured the chaos in this short film. Click on the photo above to see footage of Santa Cruz Syndicate and WTB sponsored rider Jamie Goldman during a few last minute photo shoots, a handful of WTB riders in the Sea Otter Dual Slalom, interviews with Greg Minnaar (1st in DH and DS at Sea Otter), Ryan Condrashoff and Brad Benedict as well as some clips of Jamie Goldman and Alex Reveles at the annual Post Office Dirt Jump Jam after Sea Otter.

Check out teaser here and the 7 plus minute short here.

Mark Weir and Matt Hunter overlooking Mt. Tamalpais and San Francisco

It’s been a busy couple of weeks around here. What with the Sea Otter Classic attracting bike racers and industry types from across globe. Of course no trip to Northern California is complete without a ride in Marin County. We’ve had quite a mix of characters visiting WTB World Headquarters over the past 14 days and each person left with a smile after some epic trail riding.

Sea Otter wasn’t bad either, with sunny skies and fierce racing. WTB-sponsored rider Greg Minnaar, Santa Cruz Syndicate’s new rider, completely dominated the event by winning both the Dual Slalom and DH in convincing style. In case you’re wondering, Minnaar’s saddle of choice is the WTB Deva SLT in white. The DH podium was stacked with Syndicate riders with Steve Peat charging into fourth place and Nathan Rennie finishing fifth. We’ll have more about Sea Otter, including a video, on the site soon.

Caption: Wade Simmons on the pumptrack. The crew from pinkbike.com, to read their trip report, click here. WTB’s booth at the Sea Otter Classic

Caption: Fred Falk, WTB’s manager of logistics, with Don “Shiggy” Person of mtbtires.com. Mark Weir and Matt Hunter. Barbed wire means that it’s off limits.

The Bikeskills Ridezone is shaping up at Laguna Seca Raceway, just in time for the Sea Otter Classic. Last year, more than 2,400 children and adults enjoyed the Ridezone’s pump tracks, jumps, and skills track. This year should be even better with more space to work with and the help of master feature builder Randy Spangler.

Each month bikeskills.com gets more than 100,000 visitors and millions of people worldwide have watched Bikeskills’ instructional videos (no joke, the numbers are actually that high). The Bikeskills Ridezone at Sea Otter will make it even easier for riders to progress their riding ability. Additionally, Bikeskills will have several world-class instructors on hand, including Rich Houseman, Joe Lawwill, Kirk Voreis, Randy Spangler, and Paul Thomasberg. There’s never been a better time to learn how to bunny hop higher, finally clear that double, ride a skinny or rip down a slalom course. Check out the full array of clinics at bikeskills.com.

What do the top five gravity point leaders have in common? They all ride WTB Wheels, Saddles and Tires and are looking strong as the season has officially kicked off. Check out the excerpt from the latest e-newsletter from USA Cycling below.

WTB enjoyed a successful weekend in California’s Inland Empire at the official NMBS season kickoff in sunny Fontana. Starting two weeks before the Sea Otter Classic, this early-season national created an interesting vibe as dozens of international, world cup-level athletes showed up and new bikes were still being built. WTB racers Ryan Condrashoff, Brad Benedict and Amado Stachenfeld had been racing the Southridge Winter Series in Fontana prior to the event and were ready for a little extra competition.

Saturday’s mountain cross went well for Stachenfeld who took 5th in his first Semi-Pro race. Condrashoff, who had been racing a similar track throughout the winter, made it to the second round of 16 where he was in a stacked heat with the legendary Eric Carter.

Sunday was action packed. With rain coming down as we left the hotel, it was more reminiscent of a pro finals at any other national, but the track was unaltered, still dry and duffy. With a technical issue in his qualifying run, Benedict qualified in dead last, making him the first rider down the track in finals. He put up a blistering time of 2:27.85 and was in the hot seat for several minutes. Benedict’s teammate, Condrashoff, came in with 2:27.24 just in front of Benedict and putting them in 11th and 12th. Condrashoff says, “I’m stoked! Being just behind the guys that race the World Cups is great, not to mention me and Brad were the 3rd and 4th Americans. I couldn’t be more excited”

Condrashoff and Benedict both utilized WTB’s light and durable LaserDisc FR wheelset, Devo SLT saddles and a combination of Prowler MX Team DH and Prowler XT Race tires. Running the single-ply Prowler XT tire was an unorthodox, bold choice on the rocky course. But the weight savings allowed the two riders to speed along the relatively flat second half of the course known as the “wall”.

Not to be left out, WTB’s marketing manager Dain Zaffke took the win in the expert/open class in the Super D in convincing style. Check out the linked video above and pinnedmtb.com for the day-by-day break down of the weekend.

         
 
   
 
Photos: JDD/pinnedmtb.com unless otherwise noted.
 

Check out the May 2008 issue of Bike Magazine. It’s a special, 170-page, 15th anniversary issue with their Editors’ Choice Awards. WTB’s Silverado Team saddle was awarded a spot in the glass trophy case. The Silverado is a real standout for endurance riding and racing, on and offroad. The saddle is available in three versions that range from the 190-gram Silverado SLT to the entry level Silverado Pro.

Charlie Kelly shreds Repack. Photo: Wende Cragg

KLUNKERZ, the critically acclaimed film that details mountain biking’s origins, will be showing at the Fairfax Documentary Film Festival on Friday, March 28th. The first showing, at 7:30 p.m., sold out quickly, so the festival added another showing at 10 p.m. This will be a special screening of the popular film, as the parking lot of the Fairfax Theater is where some of the first organized mountain bike rides in history began in 1974. Additionally, many of the cast and crew members will be in attendance and participating in a Q&A after the film.

Peri’s Silver Dollar, a local bar just up the street from the theater, is hosting a photo exhibit of Wende Cragg’s shots from 1976-78. There will be music by The RoadOilers, who contributed to the soundtrack of the film, as well as a vintage bike display. KLUNKERZ debuted in early 2007. It has now played in dozens festivals across the globe. According to filmmaker Billy Savage, “international audiences are amazed to see who this small group of hippie/athletes from Marin County created a pass time for the masses, a multi-billion dollar industry, and an Olympic event.”

Click to watch KLUNKERZ trailer.

photos: Ron Sawicki

WTB sponsored rider Monique “Pua” Sawicki just took 7th at the first World Cup Marathon of the season in Manavgat, Turkey. With a time of 3:45.37, she was just over 17 minutes behind the leader Pia Sundstedt of Finland. Sawicki has been a dominant force in domestic mountain bike racing, but this was her first time racing on the other side of the pond. Sawicki rides WTB Devo saddles and, depending on conditions, WTB Nano Raptor, Vulpine, Prowler MX or Raijin tires.

WTB-sponsored riders Max Plaxton and Kris Sneddon dropped by the office yesterday. The two Canadian XC racers got a full tour of WTB headquarters as well as a history lesson of our sport’s earlier days and a ripping lunch ride on some of Marin’s finest trails. Plaxton, who rides for Rocky Mountain’s pro XC team, and Sneddon, who rides for Kona’s factory XC team have been spending the winter enjoying California’s mild climate. The two riders are logging big miles right now, in preparation for a full race season of chasing UCI points. If all goes well, both Plaxton and Sneddon will be representing Canada at the Beijing Olympics. In case you’re wondering, Sneddon rides a Shadow V SLT while Plaxton prefers a Rocket V SLT.

WTB is proud to once again support Pinkbike.com’s DH team. We expect the team to tear it up this season in Canada, the U.S. and abroad. Stay posted to Pinkbike.com and WTB.com for updates throughout the season. Click the image above to read the report on Pinkbike.com.