Sea Otter 2025 Highlights: INTENSE Racing USA

Ah, Sea Otter. The spring pilgrimage.  Sunshine? Check. Dust? Everywhere. Racing? Flat-out and full-gas. The whole bike world descended on Laguna Seca once again, turning the place into a whirlwind of tech talk, give away's, and high-fives. If you’ve never been, imagine your favorite bike park exploded into a festival, chucked in a global race field, and sprinkled it with tacos and carbon fiber. Magic.

Now, onto the racing. Dual Slalom was a proper showdown—bars were bashed, berms were blown, and we saw some top-tier talent throwing shapes. Dante Silva was riding an old-school, purpose-built dual slalom frame originally crafted for Sean Palmer. Yep, that Sean Palmer. And the bike? Still got it. Dante charged through the rounds and landed himself on the 3rd step of the podium—best Sea Otter result yet for the lad. Fair play.

Nate Kitchen wasn’t far off either. After feeling “a bit off” in practice, he showed up and qualified 4th—like a boss. He had the misfortune of drawing his teammate Dante in the round of 16 (classic), but still came away swinging. Proper sportsmanship too—back up the hill and cheering on his mate the rest of the way. That’s the good stuff.

Then we hit DH. Short track. Full send. Riders were separated by hundredths of a second. Dante put down a heater and walked away with 9th, which is no small feat in a field packed with top-tier talent. Nate, meanwhile, was having too much fun—literally. He probably clocked the most practice laps of anyone because he couldn’t stop riding his new INTENSE Tracer, and still managed 16th in a tight race. You love to see it.

We missed Teagan and Kai, who are both healing up, but the vibes were still sky-high. Loads of energy, big community feel, and plenty of stories to take home. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth, cheered trackside, or sent a kind word—couldn’t do it without you.