• Here we go! The Chicago Cyclocross Cup series officially starts this coming weekend as xXx Racing-Athletico hosts Caldwell Woods. Online pre-reg ends Thursday evening. No rain in the forecast all week so (hopefully) no flooding this year. That being said, always watch here on the site or on Twitter for last minute updates. Note xXx’s website has not been updated and still shows LaBagh Woods, which is old info. This year we are back at Caldwell Woods.
  • Also this weekend, xXx Racing is hosting 2 clinics with 2 guys named Sven who know a thing or 2 about CX. These are not free clinics however as airplane flights from Belgium are not free. Get all the details of the Return of the Svens on xXx Racing’s site here.
  • Speaking of international CX superstars, congrats to local racer Maria Larkin for teaming up with Nicole Mertz to start their Meteor p/b Allied’ CX team. You’ll find these ladies racing on Allied Bikes (founded by local coffee guy Doug Zell) all over the country at UCI events but also here in the CCC later in the season. Check them out at facebook.com/nocoastracingCX
  • Speaking of rad ladies on CX bikes, Maria and Nicole along with the Cuttin’ Crew will again be hosting (for the 4th year in a row) the Junior Girls CX Clinic p/b Park Tool at the Trek CXC Cup this year. Full details TBD but save the date for Friday 9/22/2017 at 6pm to learn from 2 of the best; Katie Compton and Kaitlin Antonneau-Keogh. See the Trek CXC Cup site for details.
  • And finally… we’re making a few more changes to the series this year, especially with the women categories, than we’ve been comfortable doing in the past. So bear with us as we work out the kinks and please go back and re-read our 5/30/2017 post where we detailed all the changes. Seriously, please read it and ask all your peers to read it. If you have questions email us or ask a USAC official, but please don’t assume any random joe on the side of the course has the correct answer, or that we see every little thing that didn’t go perfectly. Please provide us with feedback (constructive criticism is great!) and help us improve the series as much and as quickly as possible. The CCC is your local series and only as good as the community that builds and supports it. Now let’s race!