Cade Reichenberger Wins DOOM 2026 in 1 Day, 12 Hours

Words and photos by Aaron Arnzen, additional photos by Kai Caddy

In just over 36 hours of riding through the rugged and remote Ouachita Mountains, Cade Reichenberger won the fifth edition of DOOM here in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Cade’s official finish time was 1 day, 12 hours, 33 minutes.

After four years in the Ozarks, this year’s Ouachita Mountain course offered up a completely new route. Just shy of 330 miles total, with over 110 miles of singletrack and 34,000 feet of elevation gain, the route continued to walk that line between one big push and one big rest. This year’s route started and ended with some incredibly fun singletrack in the Northwoods trail system in Hot Springs before linking each of the local IMBA epic trail systems by way of rugged forest roads, fast mountain gravel, and, in the spirit of DOOM, an out-and-back up to the Lookout Tower on Tall Peak Mountain. The LOViT, Womble, and Ouachita Trails each offer a distinct riding experience, and the fact that they aligned with this race’s start time meant there would be a notable amount of night riding.

From the Denver area, the 26-year-old has piled quite a bit of ultra-endurance cycling experience together over the last few years, and this result shines light on his growing knack for linking up big days of off-road riding with speed and grit.

Going into the race, Cade planned on the possibility of a potentially speedy start, and that’s exactly what played out. The suspected start line intensity was fierce from the get-go as the front pack riders made quick work of the early-morning riding up and over West Mountain, East Mountain, and North Mountain in Hot Springs National Park before connecting with the Northwoods trail system at mile 10. Before connecting with the LOViT trailhead at mile 25, a school bus timed out just in front of the lead pack on one of the few stretches of pavement on route, making a handful of frequent stops along the way—a humanizing experience forcing some laughs between the bunch.

Having spent over 12 hours of the first day leap-frogging Austin Denton, Jesse Reeves, and Kurt Refsnider, Cade managed to slowly pull away after a couple of hours of night riding along the Womble Trail. This didn’t happen without incident, though, as Cade’s dropper seatpost cable snapped shortly into the LOViT, forcing him to ride without a dropper for the duration of the race. Coping with this major malfunction, Cade also had to deal with persistent GI distress from the first afternoon through to the finish. As the day turned to night, early into the 75-mile stretch of continuous singletrack riding, he referenced battling the inevitable OTB scares and occasional small spills that the relentlessly rocky, engaging riding offered.

By sunrise on the second morning, Cade had developed a consistent 10 to 12-mile lead on Kurt Refsnider and Jesse Reeves from his efforts on the trails at night. Considering a short nap in the pines around mile 215, he decided to keep heavy on the pedals for the duration of the second day, stopping only for water until he reached the finish. Rolling in just after 6:30 p.m. local time, it was an exceptionally beautiful evening in downtown Hot Springs with a crew of folks eagerly awaiting his arrival. Grateful for everyone’s cheers, Cade appreciated the race organizers’ post-ride chili most as he transitioned back to life off the bike.

Riding his Yeti ASR with an under-forked 100mm Fox 32, Cade’s bike and kit were simple and dialed. Rolling on a set of Schwalbe Rick 2.2″ pro speed tires, Cade carried his clothing layers, repair kit, and emergency bivy in a custom South City Stitchworks frame bag and full-length top tube bag. Rocking a big MagicShine front light paired with a Fenix head torch, he had no lighting issues on route. His water was carried in the Camelbak 8-liter chase vest with an inline filter, rounded out with snacks in all his jersey pockets and just a handful of caffeine pills to support his one-push efforts.

Check out the DOOM Tracker page for all of our coverage from the 2026 DOOM event, including updates, winners’ posts, and more. Find it here.

Further Reading

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info...

21

Bikepacking Bikes

Rigs of DOOM 2026 (Part One)

27

Bikepacking Bikes

Rigs of DOOM 2026 (Part Two): The Singlespeeders

4

Dispatch

2026 Doom: Route, Conditions, and Who to Watch

0

Dispatch

Ouachita DOOM Bike Check: On Location at South City Stitchworks

Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.