Monterey, CA: Sea Otter Classic 2008 has been a huge success for Fionn and Griffiths Racing! Coming into the season opener Fionn felt fit and ready to prove it. The Sea Otter tracks are renowned for being pedally and putting your off-season training to the test. So how did Fionn shape up? It was a double podium weekend for our British rider taking 3rd in the Dual Slalom and 2nd in the DH!

The weekend started with the weather finally cooperating for riders, showing some sun and keeping the temperatures to a reasonable level for all those hanging in the pits. DH practice was smooth and enjoyable Thursday and Friday with Fionn enjoying her new Norco Six, which would prove to be the perfect bike for the Sea Otter DH. In past years Fionn has struggled with bike choice between her 4X and her Team DH, but the Six eliminated those questions! She was ripping it up all week with a smile on her face.

Racing started saturday with Dual Slalom. With Sabrina Jonnier, Anneke Beerten, Melissa Buhl, Mio Suemasa and Rachel Atherton all on course (just to name a few) Fionn had to set the pace straight away. She came out and qualified hard, putting herself 4th fastest. Racing was tough. Her draw was Leanna Gerrard and with some fast pedal action Fionn was able to advance. Kathy Pruitt was ready for Fee next round and pushed her hard to the line everytime, but with long time friend Tara Llanes watching Fee at the bottom, she dug a little deeper and took Kathy on both courses. Next round was Sabrina Jonnier. The current World Champion has won the Sea Otter dual 4 years running and would prove to be too much for Fionn, narrowly knocking her out in both heats and sending Fionn into the small final where she would face UK rival Rachel Atherton. Rachel is a fast, powerful rider out of the UK and Fionn had her work cut out for her. First heat was a close call with Rachel just edging Fionn out for the lead. However the final heat was a mix-match of sprints and errors which left the girls battling for the lead right to the bottom. Fionn was able to edge Rach out just enough to make up the differential and take the bronze medal for the day.

Results:
Sabrina Jonnier - 1st
Melissa Buhl - 2nd
Fionn Griffiths - 3rd
Rachel Atherton - 4th

DH was just as exciting with all the ladies pushing their legs and lungs to the limit. However it would prove to be Melissa Buhl's legendary sprint that would set the bar for the Ladies DH. Melissa took the win by just over a second with Fionn busting a lung right behind her.

Results:
Melissa Buhl - 1st
Fionn Griffiths - 2nd
Sabrina Jonnier - 3rd
Racheal Atherton - 4th

All in all the weekend was a HUGE success. We are now on our way to the UK to prep for this next weekend's UK National Series race. Thanks to all our sponsors for the help getting Fionn and myself ready for racing. A special thanks to Kevin Haviland from Norco Canada for all his help wrenching!