2026 Kenda Cup XC / JR XC / Marathon XC #3 — Vail Lake Resort, Temecula (Series Finals)

About this event

The 2026 Kenda Cup XC / JR XC / Marathon XC #3 was the third and final round — the Series Finals — of Team Big Bear's 2026 Kenda Cup, Southern California's flagship grassroots mountain-bike cross-country series, held the weekend of Saturday, February 28 through Sunday, March 1, 2026 at Vail Lake Resort on Highway 79 South between Temecula and Aguanga (Riverside County / Inland Empire). Promoted by Team Big Bear — the Fawnskin-based crew behind SoCal's longest-running MTB race calendar — and sanctioned by USA Cycling under its Southern California / Nevada Cycling Association (SCNCA) local association, the Kenda Cup runs a full weekend of racing at each stop: Saturday hosts the Kenda Cup XC (cross-country) and the longer Kenda Cup Marathon XC, and Sunday hosts the three-stage Kenda Cup Enduro presented by Intense. Round #3 doubled as the season finale, deciding the 2026 series champions across nearly sixty age- and skill-graded categories that span Junior 10-&-under up to Men 70+ and Women 50+, USAC Category 1/2/3 fields, Open men and women, single-speed and Clydesdale classes, plus a deep high-school/interscholastic-style Junior development bracket (Varsity, JV, Freshman, Middle-school and 6th-grade categories) filled by SoCal club and school teams such as Great Oak, Murrieta Valley, Temescal Canyon, Damien, Glendora and Foothill. The Vail Lake course laces fast, dry, chaparral-covered singletrack, fire-road climbs and rocky descents around the reservoir — a Team Big Bear staple that also hosts the Vailocity Enduro and the 4 & 8 Hours of Temecula. Racing is open entry to any current USA Cycling member (annual license required for Pros; a one-day license can be purchased for Junior, Open and Cat 1/2/3 riders during pre-registration or on site), making it one of the most accessible on-ramps into sanctioned XC racing in the region. Series champions crowned at this finale included Juan Esteban Medina Gonzalez (Open Men) and Alexandria Pasowicz (Open Women, riding for Gravity Collective – Monster Army), with junior standouts Jesus Velez and Helen Robles each closing out perfect three-win seasons.

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