MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Spring 2019

SPRING 2019 ML BLUE 21 Ever since the Sea Otter Classic was introduced to Monterey, California in 1991, it’s been one of the biggest cycling events of the year in the U.S. Combining road cycling, mountain biking, retailers, consumers and the industry, it’s an event that cyclists from all genres aim to attend. Then, 26 years after it began, the Sea Otter went international; 2017 saw the event branch out with another event in Girona, Spain. And this year, for the first time ever, the Sea Otter is coming to Canada. On July 4-7, Ontario’s Blue Mountain Resort will host the first ever Sea Otter Canada. “It was one of those things that was born out of a simple concept,” says Simon Williams, one of the Sea Otter Canada partners. “We thought ‘hey, this region really needs a cycling festival.’ Myself, and my day-to-day business partner Jesper Wahlberg and another partner Chris Robinson are passionate about cycling and we’ve been in the event world for a long time in different ways. And we said, ‘what if we did our own cycling festival?’ We figured we’d do two events: maybe a gravel ride, a road ride, a vendor or two and a food truck. It probably wouldn’t make money, but it would be fun. Call it the Blue Mountain Cycling Festival or the Collingwood Cycling Festival. So it started with that. Then I got invited down to Sea Otter and it opened my eyes. It was unbelievable.” Today the Sea Otter Classic is one of the planet’s biggest cycling festivals. “My partner said, ‘why don’t you see if we can get the rights?’ We worked towards that and by the time we got to Interbike [September 2018], we had a deal in hand,” recalls Williams. “It has been a whirlwind, but it’s going great.” So, what is Sea Otter? Well, the Canadian event will have 11 different races and rides. For the mountain bike set there will be the Uphill Grind Challenge: a King of the Mountain/Queen of the Mountain race up the Grind trail. There will be an air downhill, an enduro, a dual slalom race, a short track cross-country race and a longer-form cross country relay. There will also be a modular pump track to try out and Joyride 150 are going to set up a bunch of obstacles for riders to try. For road/gravel cyclists, there will be a criterium race (several laps around a closed circuit) through the Village. Then they’ll have what they’re calling the Canadian Hill Climb Championships: an eight-kilometre ride up Pretty River Valley in a timed fashion. Then they’ll have a Gran Fondo event out toWalters Falls—a loop of about 120 kilometres. There will also be options for a 40 and 80 kilometre loop.And there will be a gravel ride called the Scarecrow that will feature a route up the Escarpment that riders have never taken before. The last road event is a one-day, three-stage race. Blue Mountain’s Orchard parking lot will feature bike brands, demo tents and retailers from around the globe. And of course, there will be craft beer and food on site. There are plans for an outdoor movie night on Friday and a concert on Saturday night. Williams has run numerous events in the area including the Everest Challenge in October, the Great Canadian Run and yoga and music festivals in Blue Mountain Village. His company Causeplay has run events in every major city in the country. The arrival of Sea Otter in Canada has everyone in the bike community seriously stoked. You won’t have to race to have a good time during this weekend; it’s a celebration of all things bicycle. And if all goes according to plan, it’s a celebration that will be repeated year after year. “This is annual,” says Williams.“This is a massive investment on behalf of the core team. We’re doing this to bring something pretty epic to the region that will stand the test of time. We think the region’s ready for it. As a community we’re ready for it and I think it’s going to do amazing things for the cycling community in our area.” seaottercanada.com —Colin Field THE SEA OTTER CLASSIC CYCLING FEST HITS BLUE The Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California.. COURTESY OF SEA OTTER CLASSIC UP FRONT