Kiran MacKinnon had a night to cool off after a sun-filled day and disappointing finish in the dual slalom at last weekend’s Sea Otter Classic. Still, his result was on the his mind Sunday as the Santa Cruz pro downhiller prepared to race in that event at the Sea Otter Classic at the Laguna Seca Recreational Area near Monterey.
“I was still thinking about slalom a bit too much,” he said of his mental state even after taking a couple of downhill practice runs. “It kind of bugs me when don’t perform how think I should, I guess.”
So, as he waited to be called up to the starting gate for the competition, MacKinnon sought out a shady spot and a different train of thought.
Whatever he did, it worked. MacKinnon, 24, placed second in the Pro Downhill event, his best finish in nearly a decade competing in the event at the Sea Otter Classic.
Jared Graves of Morgan Hill, who competed for Australia in the 2008 Olympics in BMX, won the event by covering the course in 1 minute, 59.20 seconds. MacKinnon’s time was 2:01.17, followed by Curtis Keene, also of Morgan Hill, in 2:02.75. Each rider only gets one run down the steep, bermed dirt track.
“Sea Otter is known for having very tight times. You could be a second off and back in the 20s,” said MacKinnon, who rides and works as a product specialist for Santa Cruz Bicycles. “It’s cool to be in the single digits. It’s cool.”
MacKinnon finished fourth last year and fifth the two years prior in the pro division. Graves also won last year and prevailed as the winner of the this year’s Pro dual slalom.
For MacKinnon, the strong performance all but erased his frustrations about his dual slalom debut Saturday. After qualifying seventh on a bike he had designed himself — both of which he was excited about — he faltered in his first match after getting anxious when the starting gate malfunctioned right before his run.
“A combination of stuff threw me off and put me out of my element,” he said. “I’ve never really done it before, so I felt like was already out of element and already little more nervous than should have been without the gate drama. I would have expected to do better than that based on my qualifying alone.”
He added, however, that Saturday’s failures may have made Sunday’s success that much sweeter.
“More than anything, it helps me in terms of putting myself in a good head space,” he said. “It’s not so much about riding the actual bike, it’s more about being in a not-so-ideal head space and turning it around and performing.”
MacKinnon wasn’t the only local rider who found his way to the podium during the four-day cycling festival that drew 74,000 spectators and nearly 10,000 competitors.
In the enduro, Lili Heim, 18, of Aptos won the women’s 18-under division. Kira Deschaux of Santa Cruz, meanwhile, took second in the women’s 30-39 division. On the men’s side, Dave Smith of Aptos won the men’s 60+ division, followed by Capitola’s Joe Fabris and Brad Williamson in third and fourth, respectively. Fabris also took third Saturday in the men’s 50+ dual slalom.
In the quirky Brompton race, held Saturday, Santa Cruz’s Karen Loutzenheiser placed fifth in the women’s 50+ division and the women’s open division. In the nearly as unusual electric mountain bike race, John Miller of Santa Cruz won the men’s 60+ division. Sarah Kerlin of Santa Cruz beat out her only competition, Rachel Power of Mill Valley, for the women’s 40-49 title, while Paul Tardif of Santa Cruz took third among men 30-39 and Soquel’s Cole Cherpak placed fourth among pro men.
Not all results were available at press time.
