Race Report: 2025 Crusher Cup (XC MTB) Race #5 - Men’s Cat 2/Sport
Race: Crusher Cup (XC MTB) Race #5 Men’s Cat 2/Sport Age 35-44
Date: August 24, 2025
AVRT racers: Michael Matthews
Top Result: Men’s Cat 2/Sport Age 35-44 1st/9 (Men’s Cat 2/Sport Overall 4th/45)
Course: ~3.4 mile lap completed four times for Cat 2. The course started with a single-track climb after a short section of fire road. Once up the climb there were a few loose off camber corners to watch out for, some up and downhill switch-backs to manage across the top and then a hillside descent that was on a newer trail. The second half of the course was on the flowy park section of Stafford Lake, in reverse. Passing opportunities were best on the climbs and flat fire road sections earlier in the course. Trail conditions were dry but soft in areas. The finishing straight was short. Wind and weather were not a factor.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15573173992
Nutrition: ~100g of carbs in a bottle for pre/during race nutrition.
Event Recap: Last race of the series! I had to finish one place behind my main rival or I would have to settle for 2nd in the series. The U19 and 19-34 started ahead of my age group. I jumped as many wheels as I could in the rush at the start and started the first climb on the wheel of my rival. The strategy had been to hold his wheel and pick a time to seal the deal when it felt right. It didn’t take long for me to get impatient and make a move on him. I had not struggled to keep him at bay previously. So I jumped him on the first climb, slowly picked off younger riders that had started closer to the front. The leaders, all from the U19 age group and one from my age group were out of sight before the end of the first of four laps. I would catch glimpses of them at certain points of the course so I decided to settle in and set a strong pace for the remaining laps. I slowly started catching and passing riders. Without much trouble I rode in for 1st place in my age category sealing the series!
PC: Seabright Photography
PC: Hiro Suzuki