Joe Kline / The BulletinRiders in the elite men’s category climb a hill while competing in the Deschutes Brewery Cup cyclocross race on Saturday in the Old Mill District in Bend.

The snotsicles were epic.

Racing in temperatures that never rose past 10 degrees, cyclocross riders from around the country battled one another and the frigid weather Saturday at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Deschutes Brewery Cup near Bend’s Old Mill District. The way-below-freezing temperatures iced over pavement portions of the course, froze the carpeted surface of the flyover ramp so that only three of the day’s 15 races were able to use it, and produced some National Geographic-worthy stalactites on numbed faces of competitors.

“Don’t sweat before the race,” offered Javier Colton, a Bend Endurance Academy rider who placed third in the men’s junior 17-18 category. “If you come up to the (start) line wet, you’re screwed.”

Colton, a senior at Bend High School, and his BEA teammates warmed up on trainers indoors in practice clothes and then changed into dry gear before the start of their races.

“I did my practice lap yesterday,” Colton said.

Despite the arctic conditions — members of one cyclocross team purchased a propane heater in the middle of the day to unfreeze their beer — competitors seemed to enjoy the relatively unusual experience of cycling on the frozen grounds around Deschutes Brewery, which provided the land for most of the race course. Patches of rosy-cheeked spectators cheered — and in cyclocross tradition, good-naturedly jeered — riders throughout the day. Fire pits, coffee stands and flasks kept the crowd warm.

“The snow made it so much fun,” said Bend’s Cody Peterson, who won the men’s singlespeed race Saturday. “It was freezing, but everyone had great big smiles on their faces.”

Katarina Nash, of Truckee, Calif., won the women’s elite race and Tim Johnson, of Topsfield, Mass., took first in the men’s elite division. Bend’s Ryan Trebon placed fifth in the men’s elite race.

Bike-handling skills were even more important than usual Saturday in the snow and cold. By the end of the day, riding lines were firmly entrenched in the snow. Cyclists who ventured off the line did so at their own peril.

“Staying upright (today) was so important,” said Courtenay McFadden of Bellingham, Wash., who competed in the women’s elite race. “Bike handling was totally the key. Through the corners and taking binds. … A course like this, there’s nowhere to pass.”

In warmer conditions, ’cross racers typically use paved portions of the course to pick up speed and narrow the gap between themselves and the rider in front of them. Saturday’s single-digit temperatures flipped that strategy upside down, as those surfaces turned into something better suited to a Zamboni.

“The concrete was scary,” Peterson said. “Usually when you’re behind the (Deschutes) warehouse, that’s where you go really fast and can turn really aggressive. Today it was, ‘just don’t crash.’ It was the scariest part of the whole course.”

Racing continues today at the same location with the Cross Crusade’s ninth and final event of the season. Temperatures are expected to skyrocket — to the mid-20s — for Central Oregon’s final cyclocross event of the year.

“This course is so much fun and it was epic once it started snowing,” said Colton, who plans to race in the men’s Cat A event today. “Once you get going, if you have enough layers, only your fingers and toes get cold.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0305; beastes@bendbulletin.com.