ECHO — Fourteen was the number of the day Saturday, March 25.

The 14th annual Echo Red to Red cross-country mountain bike race covered 14 miles, with participants beginning at the corner of Dupont and Main streets, then crossing the finish line back along Bridge Street, near Dupont.

According to Echo Red to Red Race director Brian Cimmiyotti, the race is the first in the Oregon XC Series and one of the Northwest’s most popular.

“The Echo Red to Red mountain bike race is the first race of eight across the state of Oregon that combine for a series of races that crown overall series champions within multiple age and ability categories,” he said.

The small-town event attracts riders from Bend; Portland; McCall, Sun Valley and Boise, Idaho; and Spokane, Seattle and Bellingham, Washington. Some travel even further to compete, from Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

Cimmiyotti said all of Echo rallies behind the race, with much of the proceeds going to local causes. Directly, the event benefits Echo Kiwanis scholarship and Umatilla Masonic Lodge No. 136’s Bike for Books programs. Indirectly, proceeds fund the Echo Rural Fire Department.

An array of categories and age ranges called for a staggered rollout of bikers from Dupont Street, with the race winding down at around 3 p.m.

Notable winners were part of the elite men’s and women’s races.

Dryve Racing team member Landon Farnworth, 24, of Bend, won the elite men’s category, finishing in 1 hour, 51 minutes, 10 seconds. He also competed last year, taking second in 1:51:43.36.

On the women’s side, Liv Racing Collective team member Serena Bishop Gordon, 44, of Bend, earned the fastest time with 2:13:36.7. She last competed in 2016, again placing first in 2:36:29.

In junior competition, Austin Freyer, 15, and Payette Spangenberg, 14, topped the men’s and women’s races, respectively. Freyer clocked in at 1:38:36.5 while Spangenberg finished in 1:58:17.9.

Bikers continuing in the Oregon series have seven more races ahead, continuing with the April 1 Mudslinger in Blodgett. For more information on the series and future events, visit bit.ly/3KccqC7.