Race: 2026 Bay Area Superprestige (BASP) CX Surf City - Day 1
Date: October 24, 2026
AVCX racers: Simon Edwards-Parton, Bryan Hains, Jonathan Lewis, Sharon Newman, Brennan Pang, David Remahl, Andrew Yee
Top results: We’re just happy nobody left in an ambulance.
Course: Crest Ranch Christmas Tree farm in Santa Cruz. This year the course was run backwards and was supposedly more Euro than Jungle Cross. From the start it was lumpy grass with a steep postholed dirt runup onto a long mulch descent and rolling terrain into a lumpy maze of zig zags. With 2 tall barriers to hop. This sent us into a fast somewhat techy swoopy single track jungle section with a steep dirt climb out, then another fun single track drop and dirt climb out, followed by twists and turns into a Christmas tree section and haul to the finish.
Race recaps:
Open C:
Simon: With a technical short climb early on that was only really rideable if you got the right line and nobody blocking you which wouldn’t be the case for anyone on lap one I went for a more aggressive start than normal on the basis that there would be quite a log jam for riders further back. This turned out to be a good strategy as combined with a good running line that may have impeded a few people I ended up being well up the field and ahead of several riders I normally battled it out with early on. Being further up than normal the rest of the first half of the first lap was a good experience in jockeying to hold position around some twisting flat sections and over barriers before getting to the drop down and run ups in the second half where my lack of confidence on the more technical parts had me dropping down the field. It was good fun doing some of the same technical parts we’d raced in previous years but in reverse which changed the character of these sections and I spent the remainder of the race improving my lines on these parts while trying to make up time on the more flowing bits with some success only being overtaken by Andrew from Radhous racing on the final lap who I am normally fighting over places with as he had got stuck behind everyone at the run up on the first lap.
B45+ :
Brennan: Was feeling great at the start and was holding near the front battling it out for the first two laps. During the 3rd lap, on a loose singletrack off-camber descent I overcooked the front brake. I ran off the bike while a Super Sprinkles rider on my right collided with me, putting handlebars through my front wheel. We then spent what seemed like eons trying to untangle without breaking spokes. My handlebars were crooked and I tried 3 times to straighten them before giving up and just riding that way for the rest of the race. I fell back to 7th and then finished back in 6th. Otherwise okay despite the mishap. Course was fast and flowy and all rideable.
Bryan: I had a good start avoiding the entanglement that Brennan got held up in and hit the gas on the mulch. I had a fun time and was in really good position but on lap 3 hit the now infamous rock and root hazard wrapped in caution tape that resulted in an instant sidewall tear and crash. I walked back to the finish, tried to get the cut to seal, but had no such luck and called in a disappointing DNF.
C35+:
Jonathan: looked great with the holeshot, but I fell behind on technical sections. Was going back and forth with the red and white mtb for 6th. A couple seconds after crossing the start/finish of lap 4 the leader crossed and they rang the bell lap. I wasn’t sure if that meant we were done or not. I ease up, mtb takes the lead, and in pushing to close the gap I overcooked a down-and-up section with a large tree stump at the bottom, hitting it dead on with my front wheel. Go OTB and get the wind knocked out of me. So much for 6th. Catch breath, check wheel, surprised it looks fine, so I get back on and hold on for 7th.
Open B:
Andrew: On Saturday, we had three Masters age racers lining up with the kids. The field looked more like a NICA high school mountain bike race, but we hoped our collective experience would help us avoid mistakes of the young and impatient. David, Simon (in his second of back-to-back races) and I lined up for our second-to-last race through the trees of Crest Tree Ranch. With some pre-ride time, I focused on trying to ride the features-the loose left off-camber climb, and the first barrier. I’d never hopped the tall Surf City barriers before-but managed to clear the first of two on my pre-ride. I lined up front row, but a few turns in, after banging bars and watching a chop fest, it was clear if I wanted to race another day I needed to let the kids go. Might a few come back to me? I came through one lap in 15th place.
David and Simon were close behind. David experienced misfortune as he ripped his tire on lap three at the same stump that flatted Bryan and gave Jonathan cracked ribs and frame. His IRC Serac 33mm tires wouldn’t seal, and he’d save his energy for a return on Sunday. Simon rode impressively in his second race, and finished strong despite a spill.
Staying on my bike was both a motivation and a small advantage that helped me pull back two racers late. I rode the off-camber every lap except the first, and hopped the first barrier each lap. The second barrier was on a slight downhill, which I find more intimidating, but on the final lap, I realized I could keep up my rode-every-feature-at-least-once streak at BASP races. So I ungracefully hopped over the last barrier on the last lap, and can still say I’ve ridden every feature this season. Thankfully, I was lucky to avoid mechanical and crashes, a rarity for AV CX on the day. Finished 13th of 35, my first time in the top half of an Open B field this season.
Open B Women:
Sharon: First race back in a long, long time, and without much recent riding. I was excited, but definitely not ready for any kind of power or endurance effort. There was a huge combined women’s field this year (~50 people?!), which was super cool! I got the holeshot off the start and opted to run up the sandy off-camber section rather than risk losing position on a feature I’d never managed to ride in practice. I was surprised to hold my spot for the first half lap, though I suspect the little traffic jam at the run-up helped. Four ladies eventually caught me halfway through, and I never saw them again. The rest of the race was fun and punchy, though I still miss the days of Jungle Cross here. Andrew had told me I could ride the sandy run-up, so I decided to give it a go on the remaining laps. I managed to do it cleanly twice! No pics, but it did happen. ;) Finished 5th, with a bit of back-and-forth with the single-speed ladies along the way.
Post-race:
Camping and potluck with the team was rad. Brennan’s relay team won the pixie bike world champions.
