BUTTE — At the top of the Continental Divide along Homestake Pass, located just outside of Butte, the start and finish line for a grueling 100-mile bike race awaits 428 mountain bike racers from across the nation.
"I’m pretty sure they got me signed up for the one hundred. I’ll take whatever they assign me, but you know, yeah. I did come here with this thought in my mind that I’m going to be racing a long time," says Tinker Juarez.
WATCH: High Altitude, Tough Terrain: Cyclists Tackle Butte 100's Challenging Course
Juarez is a pioneer in the sport of mountain bike racing. He is a two-time Olympian who has been cycling for more than 53 years. He has also been a fixture at the Butte 100 race for almost a decade, winning three times.
"I’m here to get across the finish line; that’s a big goal for me this year. I’ve had some great races in the beginning, and then the last half of it, I’ve missed markers or markers have been gone, and I ended up getting lost," says Jauarez.
The Butte 100 is in its 19th year, welcoming cyclists who compete in one of three categories that vary in length from 25 miles to 100 miles. The course takes cyclists through a high-altitude journey in the Rocky Mountains, and each year the course is a little different.
Race owner Stephanie Sorini says it could take a minimum of 10 hours to finish the 100-mile race.
"It is extremely challenging. It is, with the elevation and the course, that it is deemed one of the hardest mountain bike races in the country. We kind of spice it up every year to make it a little bit more challenging for the racers," says Sorini.
I ask Juarez how a cyclist rides for 10-plus hours in challenging terrain.
"Just enjoy the scenery if you can. Stay, you know, hydrated and stay focused, cause a lot of things could happen out there, you know, so you don’t want anything bad to happen."
