Couldn’t see a discussion topic started.
Anyone following along with the Sea Otter race on the IG feeds? Sea otter classic has the men’s and LTGP has the women’s.
Go @AlexWild and Keegan!
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I was wondering how the gravel bikes did yesterday going down Couch & 82.
For being a big event not seeing even any updates on their Twitter. I mean where’s the chopper footage. 
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I don’t know who the “travelers” are or what Couch and 82 are .
Seems like they took a small leaf out of the Cape Epic book and are using E-Bikes to get around for the IG footage. It’s a bit sparse.
Men’s and women’s races looking competitive at the front.
Blevins looks like the guy to beat. Hard to pick on the women’s, I assume Sofia, but watch out for the South African I think.
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There was a post somewhere the other day that Kate Courtney was there, I haven’t seen her in the race though.
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Fat thumbs. “Gravelers” 
Couch Canyon & 82 are the sandy, rutted steep descents tough on gravel bikes.
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Keegan rode 140 miles 6 days ago… flexin’
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Nice to see Alex’s solid placing!
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Glad to see Alex do well, particularly after he got passed over in the Grand Prix selection. I want to see him do well all season, but I particularly hope he continues to have a strong showing in these races this year to perhaps show the selection folks why he shouldn’t have been overlooked.
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Another dominant win for Sofia, too……let’s see if she can go the whole season without fading this year. I suspect she has a lot of learnings from last year.
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I haven’t checked in on the socials to find out why, but it’ll be interesting to see what happened at the start for Haley Smith to be fighting from so far back. She must have ridden tremendously strong over the last half of the first lap, and first half of the second lap to regain the lead group just before the final climb.
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Keegan/Russell cape epic team next year please!
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What would be tougher, the travel to/from South Africa or getting Santa Cruz and Specialized to let their riders team up? 
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Yeah interested in this as well, wasn’t able to determine what happened from the Insta Stories seemed like she went from not even in the top 30 to being like “I’m coming for them!” at the end of the first lap to Sofia saying she pulled up along side her nose breathing, like “whats up?”. Not sure if she just got dropped off the start or had some issues but it seemed like she reeled in and passed a lot of the field to finish where she did.
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My understanding is he was not chosen because he skipped an event or 2 last year. I don’t blame him for skipping, but I probably would have done the same thing if I was LTGP. First, I would want to set a precedence that if you skip races you potentially won’t be chosen next year. Second, I would not want to take a spot from someone who would do all the events and give it to someone who skips.
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Honestly, I’m surprised Sophia is doing the Lifetime Grand Prix this year. After hearing her on the Groadio podcast, she didn’t really have much positive to say about the race series. She didn’t like that women had to race the same distance as men, that the events were mass start, that she was in the YouTube series, that she was asked to promote the series without compensation or that there wasn’t prize money for the individual events. I don’t get it, she signed up for this series. She knew what it was. She knew all the events before hand, she knew there was a social media promotion obligation, etc. From what she was saying, it sounds like she’d be happier in Europe competing on the road or in the World Cup XCO. Or if she’s really hell bent on gravel, there’s always the UCI series.
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Pushing for change to make the series better doesn’t mean she shouldn’t also participate.
Which has more sway….a lone outsider criticizing shortcomings of the event or a potential series winner, who is actively racing it?
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Based on what Alex shared on his IG stories, they said on the Groadio podcast that going to all the events last year was not a specific criteria they were using, so I’m not sure. I also feel like it sets a poor, if not unsurprising, precedent that mental illness and injury (Alex said he was suffering from burnout late last season, and he also said he explained that in his application) is not as real or valid as physical illness and injury. I think it’s one thing if you just skip races. I think it’s different if you have an illness or injury-related reason for doing so, and I don’t think physical versus mental illness or injury should make a difference. That’s just my take.
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She’s not wrong…
Promoters will keep demanding more and paying less if the athletes don’t stand up (and ultimately be willing to not do the event). If you are a promoter and want a local event that has no prize money… cool. If you want an elite field to draw publicity you should pay them. That said, promoters are going to pay the lowest amount they can to draw elite talent to promote their event. It ultimately is on the athletes to decide how much they are worth.
The crazy thing to me is that you can win more prize money at a local 5k/10k run than what a huge event like Sea Otter. I mean Alex Wild walked away with $100 for 5th and he was selected to the World Marathon team. I wasn’t ever more than a “local hero” as a runner but races would comp entries, pay for travel, put me up in hotels, give me food stipends and then there was the prize money on top of it as part of the elite field. We had separate starts from the mass participants. Top athletes received payouts just for showing up and being able to use their image in advertising. To think that an athlete of Sophia’s caliber is required to promote the series without compensation is crazy to me.
In the end she wants to do it… but has every right to complain and push for change. Good for her.
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