Race Report: 2026 US Pro Cup Race #2 MTB STXC

Race: 2026 US Pro Cup Race #2 MTB STXC - Men’s 19-39 Open Cat 1

Date: April 10, 2026

AVRT racers: Michael Matthews

Top Result: 4th

Course: At Vailocity for the short track race as a part of the second race of the US Pro Cup XC MTB series. First race of the weekend. Traditional STXC format. Six laps of a 0.8 mi course. Beautiful SoCal day (Sunny at 80 deg F). The course was dry and dusty, but hard packed it all the right places. After a short trip to the single track on the road the course went up into the hills for some minor ups and downs before a fun little jump, followed by twists and turns into the finish.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/18058695784‍ ‍

Nutrition: Normal breakfast, bakery lunch (pastries 😀) , and ~40g of carb spike before the race. Splash of water in a bottle just in case.

Event Recap: Lined up in the front row. I knew how important it was to get off really fast and into the single track in the top five. A bit of minor jostling I was able to make it happen! Before the end of the first lap the top five were set and I was hanging onto some really strong younger riders (younger by like 10-15 years okay!). I hung on for a couple more laps and then the top four took off and I was not able to catch up. The start-finish straight had a very strong headwind and if you weren’t in a group, there was no chance of catching back on. I was able to hold off any comebacks from behind and finished alone for fifth! This is my first sanctioned short track race, after one practice session at the Summit Shorty back home two weeks ago. Definitely full gas racing for all 20 minutes! Haven’t felt like this since racing in the velodrome years ago. Had a blast out there and got to stand on the podium at this marquee event. Looking forward to the XCO on Sunday and hoping my fitness is more suited to the XCO format.