Race Report: 2024 High Cascades 100 - Open Men

Race: High Cascades 100 2024 - Open Men

Date: July 20, 2024

Written By: Flo Costa

Result: 12/93

Course: 91 mile MTB race race with 8000 ft of climbing on epic singletrack trails in Bend.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11938583527

Race:

After a bit of rest following Oregon Trail gravel, my next objective for the season was to tackle the High Cascades 100 mountain bike race in Bend. Ever since I first heard about this race it’s been on my bucket list because of the amazing courses on the endless Bend singletrack. I figured after a few solid months of gravel prep I would have the endurance to carry me through the race. I was stoked to race on these trails and try out a marathon mtb event. The only problem was I didn’t have a mountain bike. Thankfully, I was able to borrow one from a buddy and put some miles on it in the 2 weeks leading up to the race.

Another big challenge for this race would be the heat. In the week leading into the race, it had consistently been 100 degrees and it didn’t look like it was going to let up for the race. As a result, the organizers reduced the race from 100 to 90 miles. We also had a 5:30 am start time which meant we could start in the cooler morning temperatures.

The race started out pretty chill until right before we entered the singletrack. This was expected since everyone wants to be in a good position before entering the trails. The first singletrack section led us up a steady 6 mile climb and here the race quickly blew up. The pace felt pretty tough so I dialed it back and stuck to my own rhythm, especially since I figured drafting would be less important. By the top of the climb I was still in the top 10 as we entered the first downhill and fast trail sections. This is where I realized how technically sharp some of these mtb racers were. Despite being able to hang on the climbs, the two guys in front of me effortlessly dropped me on the downhills and even the flats. Meanwhile I was accelerating out of every corner trying to close the gap, which definitely cost me a lot of extra energy.

At the second feed zone I grabbed some ice and food from my mom which greatly helped. Even at 7:30 am I could feel the sun beating down on us. At this point in the race the gaps were already fairly big and I was pretty much alone. All I had to do was keep pushing the pedals and keep eating. I had a lot of fun through the next few sections of hills and fast descents and was happy to have pre-ridden some of the trails in the weeks before the race.

About halfway through the race was the hardest climb of the day, which was steep, twisty, and rocky. There were a few sections that were quite challenging to clear and required more high bursts of power. After this main climb we were rewarded with over 30 minutes of downhill on a super fun trail that weaved through many trees and bushes. Next was the final climb of the day which was close to 10 miles at pretty low gradients. This was on some more super nice trails, but here I started fading. The combination of trying to accelerate out of every turn, not being able to eat as much on the technical sections, and the heat started catching up to me. Up to this point I had been able to maintain my position, but on this climb I was passed by 2 guys. I was struggling quite a bit until the last feed zone of the day where I picked up more ice and food.

This last feed zone brought me back to life both physically and mentally. All that was left was 15 miles of gentle downhill all the way to the finish. I had the next guy up the road (trail?) in sight so I was motivated to try to catch back up. This section was also probably the most technical, with a few pretty large boulders and rocky sections to clear. I tried to keep up a good pace all the way through to the finish, but wasn’t able to catch up to the guy in front of me.

Overall on the day I was 12th with a time of 6:57. It was a pretty long day on the bike, but I was decently happy with my performance given the circumstances and had a blast ripping through all the local trails. I was really impressed with how efficient the top guys were, and I do think I wasted a lot of energy trying to get back up to speed out of corners. Racing with these strong mtb riders really makes me want to practice more and get better technically. For the rest of the season I had a lot of road racing planned, but I definitely think I’ll be back one day for this race after some proper mtb training. Maybe by then I’ll even have my own mountain bike.

Thanks for reading,

Flo