24 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY April 18-24, 2024 www.montereycountyweekly.com The Fuego 80K at the Sea Otter Classic attracts elite mountain bike racers to a grueling single-track course, winding through a 5,700-foot elevation gain in the Laguna Seca Recreation Area for more than three hours. Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, a Bay Area transplant from the East Coast who traded skis for the single-track in 2019, won the women’s division of the 2022 race—beating an Olympian to take top prize. A lifelong athlete, Wilson grew up among the hills of New Hampshire, skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer. When knee injuries ended her dream of professional skiing, Wilson moved to San Francisco after graduating from Dartmouth College in 2019 and quickly discovered—and dominated—the rising sport of gravel cycling. Post-race interviews from the 2022 Sea Otter Classic revealed a confident but reserved athlete, seemingly a bit embarrassed by praise and still working a full-time job. Wilson quit her job to focus on racing after her win at Sea Otter. In an interview with Bicycling magazine in 2022, Karen Wilson, Mo’s mom, said the six months after the Sea Otter Classic were packed with races and events. The exposure from Monterey’s race catapulted Wilson into conversations like, “Is Mo the best female cyclist in the nation? Or the world?” The unexpected Fuego 80K win earned Wilson the lead position of the Life Time Grand Prix series, a collection of seven races with a final purse of $250,000. The 200-mile UNBOUND Gravel race is the second race in the series, and typically takes place in Kansas six weeks after Monterey’s event. But the 2022 Sea Otter Classic would be the last Life Time Grand Prix race in which Wilson would ever compete. Wilson was shot and killed on May 11, 2022, one week before turning 26 years old and just a month after her Sea Otter victory. Wilson was visiting Austin, Texas to compete in a gravel race on May 20, where she was once again the favorite to win. Kaitlin Armstrong, connected to Wilson via an ex-boyfriend who is himself a prominent member of the cycling community, was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to 90 years in prison in November 2023. The 2024 Sea Otter Classic marks the first iteration of the bicycling expo and competition since Armstrong’s sentencing and any semblance of closure possible for the cycling community in a situation like this. In the years since Wilson’s death, an outpouring of grief and disbelief reflects Wilson’s legacy after a brief career. “In 2022 when the inaugural Life Time Grand Prix kicked off at Laguna Seca, Mo Wilson took a commanding victory against some of the best mountain bike riders in the country. She was quickly the ‘one to watch’ in the series,” says Kimo Seymour, Life Time senior vice president. “Each year at the Sea Otter Classic, we are reminded of the fierce, strong and kind woman that Mo Wilson was. She raced with heart and ferocity, and then, off the racetrack, treated her competitors with the utmost care and compassion.” Fuego 80K race organizers update its course every three years. That means this is the final year racers will travel the same twists and turns Wilson dominated in 2022. There is no formal memorial planned for Wilson, according to event organizers. But her spirit remains. “Mo consistently showed up as an incredible role model, not just for aspiring riders, but also for her fellow competitors, who I believe learned a lot from her and her legacy,” Seymour says. “As we approach this year’s event, we remember Mo, and her long beautiful braid, storming up the final climb and across the finish line, smiling from ear to ear.” THE FINISH LINE Mo Wilson’s brief career and what-could-havebeen legacy remembered. By Caitlin Fillmore Mo Wilson raises her arms in celebration as she crosses the finish line of the 2022 Fuego 80K race during that year’s Sea Otter Classic. Wilson’s murder just a month later deprived the sport of a rising star, and the cycling community continues to grieve. DANIEL DREIFUSS The BIKE Issue Is Inside You! If you are feeling "stuck" or just want more out of life, Breakthrough has the tools to help you create something new now. If you are feeling "stuck" or just want more out of life, Breakthrough has the tools to help you create something new now. A men's workshop that actually works... Starting April 24th Discover the real you. Life Tools For Men SCAN ME For 30 years Breakthrough has been transforming the lives of men. Attend a FREE introductory meeting to see for yourself. www.breakthroughformen.org "At its core, Breakthrough is about being the best man you can be" ~ Breakthrough Graduate Monterey One Water • ReGen Monterey • Southern Monterey Bay Dischargers Group GREEN CART Food scraps without a bag TRASH Cooking oil and grease ClogBusters.org Good kitchen habits protect the environment & public health from sewer overflows! www.ClogBusters.org
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