The Blitz, an annual mountain bike race from Wanoga Sno-park into Bend, will not be held in 2018, organizer Erik Eastland has announced.

The event, which was held for the eighth time last June, typically attracts a number of professional cyclists and top mountain bikers from Central Oregon. Racers do not officially finish the race until they have chugged a pint of beer at the finish line.

“We just kind of ran out of time and money,” Eastland said Wednesday, explaining that the planning for this year’s event was complicated by an attempt to move the finish to a new venue. “We had plenty of riders and sponsorships. Everything was looking good, but when we timelined it out, it was very tight. If things along the way didn’t work out, it could have really screwed up a lot of pros’ schedules. We thought it was better to postpone.”

In 2017, the race began at Wanoga and finished at Tetherow Golf Club in southwest Bend. This year, Eastland had planned to conclude the race near Hydro Flask headquarters on Northwest York Drive, near Summit High School. Eastland and Hydro Flask employees said local businesses were supportive of the race, but Eastland said he could not be sure he and his team could pull off an event at the new location by June.

Eastland said he intends to bring back the event in 2019.

—Bulletin staff report