In a wig of rainbow-colored curls and flowing green cape, Rachel Francois cheered as a red-caped teammate sprinted toward the finish line at Les Schwab Amphitheater with an unopened, celebratory beer already in hand.

For Francois and many other competitors in Bend’s annual Pole Pedal Paddle on Saturday, the race was more about style than speed. Teams in body paint, sombreros and rabbit ears wandered the amphitheater just beyond the finish line. Francois and other members of her team wore ”superhero” outfits, complete with shiny makeshift capes, sequined masks and liberal amounts of glitter.

”The idea was just to get as festive as we could,” Francois said. ”Pole Pedal Paddle, I think, is developing a fun aspect.”

Teammate January Jones, 27, in a cape adorned with lightning bolts, said many competitors seemed to like seeing others in costume.

”Something about this (race) said, in bold letters, ‘Let’s have fun with this,’” Jones said.

Francois added that she’d eventually like to see a costume contest become part of the Pole Pedal Paddle.

Bend racer Laura Skinkle, 49, said a costume contest sounded like an excellent idea.

Skinkle and her teammates wore T-shirts decorated with flowers, their team name, Bella Bellisimo, and a stuffed monkey glued to the back.

”We knew we wanted to do some costume, because it makes it more fun,” teammate Melanie Grandjacques, 36, said. ”(Racers) would say, ‘Hey, you have a monkey on your back.’”

”It made for a lot of fun interaction,” Skinkle said. ”The kids spectating really loved it.”

Skinkle said the Pole Pedal Paddle, in many ways, focuses on community togetherness as much as competition.

”Everyone turns out for it,” she said. ”It’s just a fun event.”

Grandjacques said their team wore pink feather boas last year, but those ended up getting in the way during the race.

Practicality, however, didn’t stop members of Team Elvis from donning polyester jumpsuits, thick black wigs and aviator sunglasses.

Michel Waller, 32, readily admitted that a jumpsuit and wig weren’t the best choice for the cross-country ski stage. But he didn’t see the team forgoing costumes anytime soon.

”First in fun, that’s our motto,” Waller said.

Marcus Biancucci, 31, said the team has competed as incarnations of Elvis for a total of five years.

”We get a lot of smiles, turn a lot of heads,” he said. ”It’s just kind of a way to lighten up the scene a bit.”

Biancucci, who completed the cycling stage, said he got a lot of reactions from other cyclists.

”They look over and crack a smile and say, ‘What’s up, Elvis?’” he said. ”It’s a blast.”

Waller said that, while many elite athletes take the race seriously, the race is stronger because of its inclusiveness.

”It does build community,” he said, ”and that’s important.”