Photo courtesy of Durango 100-Mile

How many more miles to go?

At the 2nd Annual Durango 100-Mile Mountain Bike Race, held at Durango Mountain Resort on July 17th, 2004, mountain bikers from around the country came to compete for the title of MTB 100 Mountain Man and Women Champions in addition to cash prizes.

"The event brought world class mountain bikers in addition to weekend warriors to compete in one of the hardest 100-mile courses in the nation with the spectacular San Juan Mountains as a backdrop," stated Will Newcomer, Race Director.  "We were fortunate to have a great turnout and look forward to growing the race next year."

The 100-mile Mountain Bike Race began at 7am on Saturday, July 17th at Durango Mountain Resort.  The course, utilizing some of the San Juan Mountain’s more challenging terrain, had over 18,000 feet in elevation gain.  Held on singletrack, doubletrack and four-wheel drive roads, the course traversed some of the most spectacular scenery in the San Juans. <

In the Pro Men’s category David Drake of Durango, Colorado finished in first place with an official time of 9 hours and 45 minutes. Second place went to Kip Biese and third place went to Peter Thorsness. Michele Keane (Vail, CO) took first place in the women’s 100-mile category with an official time of 12 hours, 15 minutes.  Full results for the event can be found at www.MTB100.com

Racers competed in either the 100-mile course; the 100-K course; or the 50-K course.  "The various categories and race distances really gives participants a full spectrum of competition options," explained Will Newcomer, of Gravity Play Sports Marketing, the Colorado-based marketing company responsible for the Durango MTB 100. 

"The MTB 100 is the definitive test of toughness and perseverance in mountain biking,’ said Newcomer.  "No matter how you tackle those 100 miles or just push yourself through the shorter course, there’s nothing quite like it.  There’s a true sense of accomplishment for all competitors when they cross the finish line."  The consensus among the racers at the finish line was that it is the hardest 100-mile mountain bike race in the country.  To date, no one has broken 9 hours on the course.

Sponsors for the Durango MTB 100 are DEAN Titanium Bicycles, Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), Timberland, Clif Bar, Checkpointzero.com, Coca-Cola C2, Koobi Saddles, Adventure Sports Magazine and Durango Mountain Resort.