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Sea Otter Classic - D2
Monterey, California, USA, April 15-18, 2004
April 17: Dual Slalom
Aussie's fill the men's podium, Jonnier starts well
By Kristy Scrymgeour
Mick Hannah (Haro/Adidas) hopped on the number one podium block after the dual slalom event at Sea Otter, standing above a couple of his compatriots. In the women's event it was Sabrina Jonnier (Intense Cycles) who took the win.
Taking second and third in the slalom was Wade Bootes (Trek Volkswagen) and Nathan Rennie (Santa Cruz). Bootes said he felt good but the course was just a little bit shorter than he would have liked. "Last year it was an extra 200 meters at the end but I'm just happy that an Australian got the win," he added.
Hannah was very excited saying that he was motivated to win to thank his mechanic Billy Baker who has been working with him for a couple of years. "I am also a strong Christian," he added, "so I did it for God." Hannah said he just focused and rode as fast as he could. "I've done well on this course before and I have also built a very similar course to this at home in Australia." One of the reasons Hannah is excelling this year is a change in his preparation. "I concentrated on BMX and fast pedaling over the off season," he said. "I also tried to really relax and I'm a lot less stressed this year."
In the women's event, Jonnier won over Katrina Miller (Jamis Cycles) and Tara Llanes (Giant Pearl Izumi).Jonnier was pleased with her result and happy just to be racing. "Last year I had a broken wrist here, so I was here just to watch. That wasn't fun at all," said Jonnier. "I just had fun out there and tried to go faster and faster on the burns."
Results
Men's Top 10 1 Mick Hannah (Haro/Adidas) 2 Wade Boots (Trek Volkswagen) 3 Nathan Rennie (Santa Cruz) 4 Cedric Gracia (Siemens Cannondale) 5 Kirt Voreis (Santa Cruz) 6 Mike King (Haro/Adidas) 7 Jared Graves (Factory Yeti) 8 Fabien Barel (Kona Clarks) 9 Ryan Finney (WTB) 10 Eric Carter (Mongoose Hyundai) Women's Top 10 1 Sabrina Jonnier (Intense Cycles) 2 Katrina Miller (Jamis Cycles) 3 Tara Llanes (Giant Pearl Izumi) 4 Anneke Beerten (Specialized) 5 Leigh Donovan (GT/Hyundai) 6 Marla Streb (Luna Women) 7 Melissa Buhl 8 Lisa Sher (Chumba Wumba) 9 Fionn Griffiths (Foes)
