August 6, 2010 - August 9, 2010
Bend, Oregon
Smith and Butler top the podium at High Cascades
In its second year as a race and its first year as a stop on the NUE (National Ultra Endurance) series, the High Cascades 100 left racers utterly beaten down but entirely impressed.
In the men's race a group broke away early, separating themselves by the top of the first dusty climb. Defending champ Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain Bicycles), Cary Smith (Hammer Nutrition), Josh Tostado (Bach Builders/Santa Cruz), and Jeff Schalk (Trek Mtn Co-op) were in that group. Fifth place finisher Troy Barry (Hammer Nutrition) would give chase, riding through the ghost-like dust clouds left by the leaders for a while, never quite making contact. Tostado suffered two flats early, the sidewalls of his tires succumbing to the jagged lava rocks. He would ultimately battle back to third place. Sheppard gapped the group, blazing away on his hometown trails only to go off course and lose several minutes. (Tostado would win Garmin Edge 705 that evening in the raffle, maybe he'll donate it to Sheppard.) Sheppard would still come charging back to finish in second place. Jeff Schalk, admittedly, did not have a good day. Coming off his win at last week's Wilderness 101 in Pennsylvania, he was feeling fatigued. A terrifying battle with a belligerent grouse on course (see his post-race interview) and a flat tire didn't help matters. Cary Smith wasn't told until mile 80 that Sheppard had gone off course and was no longer leading, he would ride in "hunter-mode" through most of the day, gunning for Sheppard. When he was told, he only re-doubled his efforts, once he "knew what was a stake." Smith won in a time of 8:09:15.
The women's race was a battle between two tough competitors â NUE series leader Cheryl Sornson (Team CF) and local Sue Butler (Rivercity Cycles). They rode away from the rest of the women's field early, staying together until they hit the large, dusty, exposed singletrack climb out of the falls. At that point Butler looked back and found she had a gap. She would build that gap up to over fifteen minutes by the end, finishing an incredible 15th overall. Local Serena Bishop, a relative newcomer to mountain biking in general and endurance racing in particular finished third, Kari Studley 4th, and defending champ Angela Suich would round out the podium in 5th.
The Single-Speed race saw another crushing performance by Gerry Pflug (Salsa/SPK/Pro Bikes). Although Dejay Birtch (Niner/Ergon/No Tubes) would finish a scant two minutes back. Third place finisher Andrew Genco (Drunkcyclist/32FU) spent much of the day yo-yoing back and forth with some obnoxious guy wielding a video camera (look for his mid-race interview).
Overall this event was outstanding, a must do race for 2011. The trails were killer, the views spectacular, the post-race barbecue was slammin', and the beer from Deschutes Brewery might have been the only thing capable of cutting through the dust coating the riders' throats at the end of the day.
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High Cascades 100 Helmet Cam-Highlights August 10 1849 views |
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High Cascades 100 Dejay Birtch Post-Race August 8 1805 views |
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High Cascades 100 Jeff Schalk Post-Race August 8 1695 views |
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High Cascades 100 Gerry Pflug Singlespeed Winner August 8 1530 views |
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High Cascades 100 Course Preview "The Angry Grouse' August 6 1483 views |
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High Cascades 100 Thom "Dirt-Lips" Parsons During-Race Commentary August 8 1446 views |
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High Cascades 100 Andrew Genco During-Race Interview August 8 1363 views |
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High Cascades 100 NUE #6 Thom P Preview August 6 1355 views |
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High Cascades 100 Serena Bishop Post-Race August 8 1305 views |
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High Cascades 100 Dejay Birtch and Andrew Genco August 6 1253 views |
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High Cascades 100 Winner Cary Smith Post-Race August 8 1194 views |
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High Cascades 100 Gerry Pflug Pre-Race August 6 1075 views |
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High Cascades 100 Troy Barry Post-race August 8 1046 views |
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High Cascades 100 Andrew Genco Post-Race August 8 1011 views |
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High Cascades 100 Chris Sheppard Pre-race August 6 978 views |
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High Cascades 100 NUE #6 Promoter Mike Ripley Pre-Race Predictions August 6 972 views |
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High Cascades 100 Angela Sucich Pre-Race August 6 942 views |
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High Cascades 100 Winner Sue Butler Post-Race August 8 926 views |
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High Cascades 100 Josh Tostado Post-Race August 8 898 views |
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High Cascades 100 Cheryl Sornson Post-Race August 8 894 views |
Preview (2)
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High Cascades 100 NUE #6 Thom P Preview August 6 1355 views |
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High Cascades 100 Course Preview "The Angry Grouse' August 6 1483 views |
Race (3)
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High Cascades 100 Helmet Cam-Highlights August 10 1849 views |
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High Cascades 100 Thom "Dirt-Lips" Parsons During-Race Commentary August 8 1446 views |
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High Cascades 100 Andrew Genco During-Race Interview August 8 1363 views |
Post interviews (10)
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High Cascades 100 Troy Barry Post-race August 8 1046 views |
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High Cascades 100 Serena Bishop Post-Race August 8 1305 views |
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High Cascades 100 Andrew Genco Post-Race August 8 1011 views |
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High Cascades 100 Dejay Birtch Post-Race August 8 1805 views |
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High Cascades 100 Gerry Pflug Singlespeed Winner August 8 1530 views |
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High Cascades 100 Jeff Schalk Post-Race August 8 1695 views |
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High Cascades 100 Cheryl Sornson Post-Race August 8 894 views |
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High Cascades 100 Winner Sue Butler Post-Race August 8 926 views |
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High Cascades 100 Josh Tostado Post-Race August 8 898 views |
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High Cascades 100 Winner Cary Smith Post-Race August 8 1194 views |
Pre interview (5)
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High Cascades 100 Chris Sheppard Pre-race August 6 978 views |
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High Cascades 100 Angela Sucich Pre-Race August 6 942 views |
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High Cascades 100 Gerry Pflug Pre-Race August 6 1075 views |
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High Cascades 100 Dejay Birtch and Andrew Genco August 6 1253 views |
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High Cascades 100 NUE #6 Promoter Mike Ripley Pre-Race Predictions August 6 972 views |
