Echo Red to Red XC Bike Race Recap

Echo Red to Red XC Bike Race Recap

Stefano Barberi takes home the trophy at Echo Red to Red XC

By Pro Cyclist Stefano Barberi

Recently I went up to Echo, Oregon, for mountain bike racing at the annual Echo Red To Red XC race. It was 31 miles of mountain biking, with 2900 ft. of elevation gain. The individuals from Echo have cut some super cool trails out there and the race has been happening for almost 20 years!

The first night, I was joined by Bertrand from BikeTiresDirect, as we hosted a community ride. This allowed us to cycle with some of the race participants who wanted to join the pros to go check out a portion of the course, talk bike setup, race craft, learn some lines, and just talk bikes! We had almost 20 people join us out of the 600 who participated in the race and we did an 8-mile section of the course.

The next morning, the race took place. Conditions ended up being pretty good for me, a bit windier than most wanted, but I took that as a chance to turn the race into even more of a fitness competition. Suffice to say, you need to know when to push and when to back off a little more than in your usual mountain bike race.

After the 1-mile neutral, we started on a 2-mile section of gravel where I went to the front and took the opportunity to stretch out the group a bit in the crosswind. By the time we hit the single track, it was a very small group of us and at about 8 miles, we hit a short climb with lots of crosswinds and I put in an attack and got a small gap. From there on, it was head down, making sure to keep it smooth and fast to the finish line–where I had enough of a gap to post up and celebrate a little.

Congratulations to Stefano for his win at Echo Red on March 15th. We are proud to have him on our team and supporting him all the way!

Photos courtesy of Bertrand from BikeTiresDirect.