Race Report: 2025 Crusher Cup (XC MTB) Race #4 - Men’s Cat 2/Sport
Race: Crusher Cup (XC MTB) Race #4 Men’s Cat 2/Sport Age 35+
Date: July 27, 2025
AVRT racers: Michael Matthews
Top Result: Men’s Cat 2/Sport Age 35+ 1st/9 (Men’s Cat 2/Sport Overall 1st/26)
Course: Lake Sonoma round #2! The series returned to Lake Sonoma for more low-tech climbing-heavy racing. Hazards included dusty loose trails, tight loose downhill switchbacks and the heat (which didn’t end up being all that bad).
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15256363896
Nutrition: ~90g of carbs in a bottle for pre/during race nutrition. Consumed two thirds of it beforehand, and left rest to sip on the climbs.
Event Recap: I knew most of the trails from Race #1 of the series and did some desktop recon to find that this would not be a technical course. Of the races in the series this was the most climbing per mile. My results have been better, the more climbing there has been, previously. My plan was to try to race at the front the whole race and go off solo as soon as possible. I got off to a perfect start and by the time we hit the first descent, after a short pitch to start, I was wheel 3-5 including the juniors - who are usually out of reach because of the start staging. In the third switchback on the descent I lost my handle and went over the bars, but without hitting the deck. Lost two wheels, but back on the bike unscathed. On the big climb of the first lap I slowly chipped away and came into the rolling singletrack to the finish with a few seconds of a lead. Halfway through the descent in lap 2 I slid out and hit the deck at speed unharmed but lost two wheels in the process. My arm and knee were scraped up pretty bad but nothing slowed me down. I got the wheels back on the climb and headed into the last lap in the lead again. On the descent of lap 3 (final) two juniors gained ground on me in the descent and chased me up the climb, keeping me on my toes. In the end it was a 10-ish second gap to 2nd place in Cat 2 and 9.5 MINUTES to 2nd place in my age category!
