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Trek VW’s Lea Davison took a pair of wins home from this year’s Sea Otter Classic (April 17-20), first edging out the field in the fast and furious Super D race, and then winning the elite women’s Short Track race the following day.
The Super D race—an approximately three mile, largely downhill course with a few uphills thrown in—started with riders running off the line to their bikes 50 yards away. From there, it was out on a fast and open course that quickly separated the race contenders from the rest of the field. Up front Davison battled Jean Anne McKirdy [
"It was a really hard effort,” noted Davison after the win. “I dug deep, though it was so much fun having everyone jockeying for the lead the whole time. I grew up as a downhill ski racer so I like this stuff. It's just like going downhill on skis.”
In the next day's Short Track race, Davison, bolstered with confidence from her Super D win, rode a tactical race, biding her time at the front of the field and covering a string of attacks from the lead group. She and Melanie McQuaid [BMC/Nature’s Path] did much of the work to drive the pace, the strong cross winds frustrating early attempts to launch a successful solo break from the group. As the final lap got underway, Davison played her hand, launching her attack on a slight uphill that helped “break the elastic” from the riders in her wake. The move proved decisive, and Davison comfortably held her lead all the way to the line, winning by six seconds.
“It was cat and mouse,” noted Davison. “I wanted to be smart and not lead too much in the wind, but I also made a couple of attacks in the wind to test them out. I launched my final attack on a slight uphill. I knew I needed to be first on the final downhill. I rode a full suspension [Top Fuel], and it was super bumpy out there, so I could sit down and pedal and conserve some energy near the end. Then I just went all out."
