Jesse Thomas runs across Bill Healy bridge while competing in the men's elite division of the 42nd annual Pole Pedal Paddle in Bend in 2018.

Jesse Thomas is a few years removed from his professional triathlete days, but it seems he still has the potential to win Central Oregon’s signature multisport race.

Thomas, 42 and of Bend, will vie for this third victory in the men’s individual race of the Pole Pedal Paddle on Saturday.

He said he recently unpacked his triathlon bike after having not used it since his last triathlon in 2018.

“The only bike I’ve ridden the last four years is a mountain bike,” Thomas said. “I got on my triathlon bike and I felt like I was going to fall straight over the front wheel. It was crazy. I couldn’t believe that was the position I used to hold for 100-plus miles. It shows how much things have changed.”

Still, Thomas figures to be the favorite in the PPP, which he has not raced since 2018. He was injured in 2019 and the race was canceled the last two years due to the pandemic.

A healthy Thomas, then 38, won the 2018 by nearly four minutes over seven-time PPP winner and fellow Bend resident Marshall Greene.

“I would like to say Marshall is the favorite, because I don’t want that pressure,” Thomas said. “In my book, he’s the king of Pole Pedal Paddle and always will be.”

Greene’s seven PPP wins puts him just one short of record holder Justin Wadsworth, who won eight straight titles from 1989 to 1996. Greene, 40, has not won the PPP since 2017. He finished second in 2019 to Bend’s Andrew Boone, who is not racing this year.

Thomas first entered the race in 2015, when the 8-kilometer nordic ski was replaced by a trail run at Bachelor due to a lack of snow. He beat Greene by more than five minutes that year.

Thomas, who grew up in Bend but is relatively new to nordic skiing, then won in 2018 despite being about three minutes behind after the nordic stage, proving that the PPP winner does not have to come from a nordic skiing background.

“I think it will be a lot different race than it was (in 2018),” Thomas said. “I hope I will be closer off of the ski than I was, because I’ve done a lot more skiing. But I’m going to be way worse on the bike and run than I was. At that time I was in world-class triathlon shape.”

However the race plays out, Thomas is happy to be back racing in the PPP, an event which he said is “near and dear” to his heart.

The PPP is the primary fundraiser for the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation, a nonprofit that serves more than 600 youth athletes in competitive alpine and nordic skiing, freeride skiing, freeride snowboarding and cycling.

“I’m so happy for the community and for MBSEF,” Thomas said. “It’s a great signal that hopefully we’re returning to more normalcy. Of all the races I’ve done, it’s just such a unique event and just so uniquely Bend — it’s just cool to see it back.”

What: Nearly 2,000 racers compete as individuals or teams on a 34-mile course from Mount Bachelor to Bend that includes alpine skiing, a 6.2-kilometer nordic ski, a 22-mile road bike ride, a 5-mile run, a 1 1/2-mile paddle and a 1-mile sprint.

When: Saturday, start times ranging from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. First finishers are expected just before 11 a.m.

Where: Starts at Mt. Bachelor ski area’s West Village Lodge and finishes near the Hampton Inn in Bend’s Old Mill District.

Information: www.pppbend.com