– Don’t forget that online pre-registration closes at Midnight Thursday night for Jackson Park. You can still register at the race on race day, but its much, much easier for everyone if you reg ahead of time. If you’re registering day-of, you will likely have to wait in line while you watch guys and gals who pre-reg’d grab their number(s) and go. Also remember cash is preferred on race day, we’ll take personal checks, but absolutely NO credit cards. Thanks!

– Also at Jackson Park… xXx Racing team shop Get a Grip is providing nice raffle prizes to the tune of ONE bike fit ($325 value) and ONE deluxe bike tune-up ($150 value). Raffle tix will be $2 each or $5 for 3 with all money going directly to World Bicycle Relief. Win some great service while helping out a worthy cause.

– Another reminder for Juniors… you race entry fee is free, but if you do NOT have an annual USAC license you will still need to purchase a One-Day license for $10.

– In other online registration news, you can now register for the IIT Swap and  Hop clinic here. Space is limited. Please note the date change to October 31st.

– We’re very excited to welcome three new and returning sponsors to the CCC. KendaMad Alchemy Embrocation, & Sheila Moon Clothing will be supplying schwag to the series. What’s embrocation? Find out more here. More sponsors are still in the works, and we’re always looking for additional sponsors to help with the CCC.

– The CCC has a standard payout schedule. You can see it here. However, some promoters are able to source more prizes and money, so make sure to check after your race to see if you won anything. Here’s a hint… ask the promoter, not the officials.

Team Names: Please note the registration system we’ll be using this year will display the team name on your USAC annual license… not necessarily what you enter in BikeReg or on your day-of registration waiver. So if you’re switching teams from Road to CX, please make sure to make the switch in your USAC profile here. Also, please be aware that USAC has both Team AND Club designation and some of you have not designated a team name (which can be different from your club name). If you don’t have a team name we will use your club name. The overall team classification will based on the team name in your USAC profile (one-day license riders will not count).

– We’ve been getting a bunch of questions from you newbies as to what categories to race… here’s a primer.

Masters categories are for 30+, 40+, and 50+ riders of any category… so there are some Cat 1/2/3’s in there as well cat 4’s. The Cat 1/2’s might be winning these races and they are held earlier in the day, but the field sizes are smaller and the courses are just as much fun… even if you aren’t the winner.

Cat 4B is for true beginners, guys (and gals) riding mountain bikes or converted road bikes, foam-core helmets with spandex covers, and US Postal Team jerseys (we love you guys!).

The Cat 4As are for new or somewhat experienced Cat 4 riders, those other riders that are maybe just not ready yet to move up to Cat 3, or guys who show up in Super Girl outfits.

If you’re brand new to the sport (awesome, thanks for racing!), it makes sense to start off in one of the Cat 4 fields. Note however that points are NOT transferable from the 4Bs to the 4As, or from age group to category races… so if you plan on going for the overall you’ll need to stay in the same category. That being said, if you’re in the 4Bs and winning every race… you should probably move up to the 4As for a better challenge and to let some of the other new riders try and win. ; )

Also, some of you studs might want to race the 4As AND the 4B, but we have limited field sizes in the 4’s, so if the fields look like they’re going to fill up, please try to stick to just one race to give everyone a chance to participate.

With the season starter this weekend we may have additional updates later this week, so make sure to add ChiCrossCup.com to you RSS reader or check back often.