BEND — It wasn’t very crowded in Riverbend Park at 10:59 a.m., when Andy Krueger crossed the finish line of the 2024 Pole Pedal Paddle race. Most of the spectators would get there later, hours after the elite racers had finished the six-leg race.

The PPP started at 9:15 a.m., and it had taken Krueger exactly one hour, 44 minutes and 29 seconds to ski, bike, run and paddle from Mt. Bachelor ski area to Riverbend Park. It was his first victory in the multisport event. Mike Condon, in second, and Alex Martin, in third, weren’t far behind.

“My dad gave me a time slip about a mile into the run, and he said I had 33 seconds (on the next racer). That really scared me. I thought I had more time than that, so I would say the run I had to push pretty hard,” Krueger told The Bulletin.

Perhaps if Martin hadn’t taken a tumble during the skiing leg of the race, things would have been different.

Grace Perkins, of Bend, the women’s elite finisher, crossed the line at 11:25 a.m., two hours, nine minutes and 48 seconds after starting.

Her arrival took many of the race coordinators by surprise, because the last time they checked, long-time racer Mary Wellington had been in the lead. It was the first time Perkins had won the race in three attempts. Wellington was second.

This year was only Krueger’s second time participating in what he called the “Bend World Championships.” It’s an event so quintessentially Bend, he said. It encompasses all the sports this town is known for, from skiing at Mt. Bachelor to kayaking down the Deschutes River.

Like a lot of the participants, the 24-year-old triathlete said he grew up watching his parents compete in the race, which includes legs in downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, cycling, running, paddling and finally a running sprint to Riverbend Park.

Krueger knew that this year would be the one to push his limits. Multiple-time winners Jesse Thomas and Marshall Greene, both of Bend, were injured and couldn’t participate, which gave him an advantage. But there were still other top competitors to contend with. Martin, after all, had been racing the PPP for years as part of a pair and relay teams.

It wasn’t until the cycling leg of the race — which Krueger knew would be his strongest sport — that he pulled into first place.

Perkins had quite a bit more space between her and her competitors. By the time she finished the running leg, she had put minutes between her and the second place finisher, Wellington.

“Once I got to the kayak, I kind of knew I had it in the bag so I just tried to make sure nothing went wrong and I didn’t fall out,” Perkins said with a laugh.

Unlike Krueger, Perkins’ only formal athletic experience was running track in college. Her father, Murray Perkins — also competing as a solo racer — told The Bulletin after he finished the race that his daughter’s approach to training was rather “lackadaisical.” She didn’t even start waxing and tuning her skis until the night before, much to his chagrin.

But there’s more to winning this event than just athletic ability, Grace Perkins said. It’s also about making sure your transitions are smooth. With two years of experience, she knew exactly what to expect, surprising herself by being uncharacteristically relaxed throughout the race.

“I felt more calm and collected at the start than the last couple years. In a race with so many elements, I feel like there’s always a level of stress … (but) this year I just felt really confident and calm,” she said. “I came in with the expectation that anything can happen.”