Brennan Wins Sea Otter Gravel!
…and achieves P2 in the road race! A huge congratulations to our friend Brennan Wertz for two amazing races at the Sea Otter Classic. The big festival of bikes in Monterey, California, started with the 68-mile road race. Brennan raced his custom Mosaic RT-1 titanium bike, shod with tubeless Rene Herse 700×31 Orondo Grade Extralight tires. It was an eventful race. Here is Brennan’s report:
“Had a blast ripping around the course and really enjoyed the lap format. With two laps to go, Nicholas Roche and I split things up and got up the road. We rolled a solid tempo together for the last two laps, extending our advantage. Unfortunately, in the corner going into the final climb, a spoke broke on my front wheel and punctured the rim tape, causing the wheel to lose all air immediately. The tire stayed on the rim, and I managed to keep the bike upright, but gave up a bit of a gap to Nico slowing through the corner to avoid crashing.
“After a quick moment to take stock, I pressed on, riding the final 3-kilometer climb on the front rim. It wasn’t pretty, but I still managed to hold of the chasers and secure second. Chapeau to Nico for a fun battle.”
Here is what Brennan had to report about his tires:
“I ran the Orondo Grades at 52 psi/54 psi (front/rear; 3.6/3.7 bar), without tire inserts. I loved this setup for the rough, chunky roads around Fort Ord. I really appreciated the extra volume on one of the sections with a strong crosswind because I could ride further into the gutter than the others due to the volume of the tires and my confidence in them. Even after riding on a flat tire for the last 3 km, the Orondo Grade looks OK, and I might try to set it up again.”
All we can add is: “Well done, Brennan!” and “Don’t try this at home!” And of course we’ll send Brennan a new tire.
Sea Otter Classic started as a mountain bike race, but the organizers added a gravel event this year, heading into the beautiful mountains above the California coast. Brennan showed off his form again, winning the 50-mile race by pushing 425 watts for 2.5 hours! He reports:
“Stoked to land on the top step here after such a proper hard day of racing. Rob Britton, Matthew Wiebe and I hit it hard from the very start and managed to get an early gap. We stayed on the gas for the next two-plus hours, and ultimately I was able to edge out Rob in the uphill sprint for the line.”
Brennan ran 700×44 Manastash Endurance dual-purpose knobbies at 31/32 psi (2.1/2.2 bar) for the gravel race. Way to go, Brennan—we can’t wait to see what’s next!
More information:
- 700×31 Orondo Grade road tubeless tires
- 700×44 Manastash Ridge dual-purpose knobbies
Photo credit: Mosaic (Photo 1, 4).
