2nd Annual Electric Mountain Bike Race at Sea Otter Classic Draws Big Names, Bigger Crowds

The Haibike eMTB Race epowered by Bosch (www.bosch-ebike.us) at this year’s Sea Otter Classic was another huge success with more big names in the field like Ted King and Nat Ross, and even larger crowds to cheer them on.

“With more than 70 racers racing, the competition was strong,” said Frank Yohannan, President & CEO of Sea Otter Classic. “Our new course design favored riders who could manage their battery life while pushing themselves and their bikes to the max.” The 2.9-mile course had many unique features to challenge both rider and eBike system, including 373 feet of climbing, tire-thrashing rock gardens, and even a sand pit.

“This new racing category will keep growing as consumers continue to discover the exhilaration and pure joy that eMTBs bring to mountain bike racing,” said Claudia Wasko, General Manager of Bosch eBike Systems Americas. “We expect to see a lot of these same Sea Otter racers come back for more at the upcoming BOOGALOO Class 1 eMTB Race Series this summer at Big Bear Snow Summit and Mammoth Mountain.”

The eMTB race included a Bosch sponsored “Industry Challenge” to benefit the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). This year’s Industry Challenge champion was KTM’s Trevor DeRuise, who rode the KTM Macina Lycan 27.5 10 CX4, epowered by Bosch’s Performance Line CX System. He donated the $2,500 purse to NICA’s Nevada chapter—his home state. Bosch contributed another $2,500 towards NICA's efforts to expand interscholastic cycling.

“A huge thanks to Bosch and the Sea Otter Classic for showcasing eMTBs and sponsoring the exciting Industry Challenge! We are grateful for the financial support for our efforts to get #morekidsonbikes and I appreciated the opportunity to race a Bosch-powered Trek Powerfly myself,” said Austin McInerny, President of NICA. “The experience proved to me that eMTBs are super fun and can be ridden similarly to non-powered bicycles. The difference is that eMTBs allow more people to enjoy being outside amongst friends enjoying time on a bike. I look forward to exploring how NICA might utilize eMTBs to enable older adult coaches to keep up safely with much younger and extremely fit high school student-athletes, as well as by our roaming course marshals and medics who haul heavy gear around race courses.”