Sea Otter: Star gazing

More than 45,000 spectators enjoyed mostly sunny skies at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California this past weekend, and like any big industry event, there were plenty of stars in attendance.

For some people, the biggest names in racing are people, while for others it’s the bikes themselves. BikeRadar was there, and we’ll give you a snapshot of the fun, with continuing coverage all week long.

While many of the hot new bike models were shown at Interbike in Las Vegas last fall, there were a few gems found throughout Sea Otter. But some of the excitement of having 9,000 competitors converge in one area, mixing with international pros, is a feeling not found anywhere else. Shimano, SRAM, RockShox, Fox Racing Shox, Oakley, Avid and several other brands were giving sneak peeks to the media, and we’ll show you some exclusive photos every day until our boss tells us to stop.

Dan Atherton, showing off his Shimano Saint-equipped Commencal

Iron Horse world DH champ Sam Hill, not quite sure what’s hanging from Greg Herbold’s neck

Trek test monkey Travis Brown, doing his best science teacher pose on his polished Trek 69er singlespeed

Subaru-Fisher cross-country racer Sam Schultz sported the No. 1 race plate on his Fisher Procaliber in Monterey, CA

Reigning 4x world champ Brian Lopes sandwiched between his trick Sportsmobile and Ibis Mojo

Specialized ambassador Ned Overend still races (and wins)

Gee Atherton is nearly as happy as brother Dan with his Saint-equipped Commencal

Subaru-Fisher cross-country racer Nat Ross and his tricked out Fisher Superfly carbon 29er

Sam Schultz seems as bewildered as Hill about that thing around Herbold’s neck

A pretty intense, er, Intense for a middle school kid, eh?

We may be asking for his autograph at Sea Otter some day

Check back for more coverage of the 2008 Sea Otter Classic.