• Fresh updates to start off the week!
• We’re got our events up over on BikeReg. We can’t open reg until the events are officially permitted with USAC, but all that is coming soon. Have a look at and familiarize yourself with the new raceday schedule.
• Some of you have been asking for it for a while, and since the folks over at BikeReg are so awesome, we finally figured out a way to offer a CCC Season Pass where you can reg for the entire season in one transaction. At least for this year we won’t be offering a discount, but you’ll save the equivalent of 1/2 a race on BikeReg service fees, plus the convenience of only having to reg once. Please use this season pass wisely, as switching you from one category to another after you register will cause some headaches. Thanks!
• Speaking of convenience, this season we’re also going to try series long cloth bib numbers, but… for the women categories only (except Single Speed). The total number of unique riders in the women categories make this possible. We still haven’t figured out how to make it work for the large Men, Masters, and Junior fields.
• Look out for details about a pre-season rider forum coming soon. But mark your calendar for 9/5/2019 at 7pm at the Rapha Club House.
• Online pre-reg opened this past week for xXx Racing’s Relay CX race on xXx’s website. PLEASE NOTE that Relay CX will be returning to Jackson Park for 2019, following some Cubs-funded improvements to the baseball facilities at Warren Park in the last year. Pick a partner and save yourself a race-day headache (and $15) and pre-reg now! Already a bunch of teams already taking the early lead for best team names.
• And finally… This weekend is the UPB CX Camp for Juniors. Join the UPB team and international cyclo-cross superstar Maria Larkin for a fun filled day of learning skills and putting them to use in hot laps. Make sure to register ahead of time here on BikeReg.

• We hope everyone had a relaxing and fun long Labor Day holiday weekend.
• The CCC series starts THIS COMING WEEKEND at Hopkins Park in Dekalb, IL. We are ready and we hope you are too. Look for the course preview Thursday morning.
• We keep the momentum rolling and next week is even busier than this week.
  • Thursday night 9/6 we’ll all be at the Rapha Clubhouse for the CCC Kickoff Party.
  • Saturday 9/15 during the day xXx Racing hosts their Sven-nado with Sven Nys and Sven Vanthourenhout. You must pre-reg for this clinic, please do NOT show up unannounced.
  • Saturday night the Trek Store in Wicker Park is hosting a free Night w/ Sven Nys.
  • And then finally Sunday we’ll all be back together at Caldwell Woods for the 2nd race of the series where riders will be showing off their Pactimo series leaders jerseys.
• Online pre-reg for Hopkins Park and Caldwell Woods have been open for a while on BikeReg, and the rest of the series races (except for a few that are finishing up their paperwork with USAC) are now open. Please pre-reg for races, it makes everything go much smoother, and you’ll received your results emailed to you from One2Go.
• And finally… we’re really looking forward to beginning the season and series with all of you this week. Before we get start though, let’s all remember we’re all out there to have fun and share some precious time with each other. We can all race hard, be aggressive, have differences in opinion, and have individual definitions of what it means to have a successful race. But we all know how to respect each other and be civil with each other. So let’s race our bikes, have a good time, and show each other what the Chicagoland CX community is all about. LET’S RACE!

• The season is almost here!
• The xXx Racing Relay Cross is this coming Sunday in Warren Park (please do not show up to Jackson Park). Some great team names in there. We’ll have a course preview up on Thursday.
• Get your bike(s) cleaned up and ready to race now, don’t delay. There are many local bike shops that will be very happy to help you. Many of them are even series sponsors, so help them, help you, help us, help you.
• Speaking of series sponsors, last call for series sponsors. Please let us know if you’d like to be involved.
• Speaking of being involved, the CCC official kick off party will be at the Rapha Chicago Clubhouse on Thursday 9/6/18 at 6pm. There will food and dranks, a silent auction and raffle with proceeds going to West Town/Blackstone, Kenny will be MC, we’ll say a few words from the series, and there may even be a mechanic’s challenge. Please make sure to R.S.V.P. and join us, we look forward to seeing everyone!
• And finally… as we are all getting ourselves and our bikes ready for the season, remember there are a bunch of kids and young adults that race alongside us that could use a little help with their bikes. If you have extra equipment (especially frames) or clothing that is collecting dust and could use a good home, please consider donating it to Blackstone Bicycle Works or West Town Bikes. Either organization will gladly accept your gear or clothing during regular business hours.

• Online pre-reg opened this past Sunday evening for xXx Racing’s Relay CX race on xXx’s website. NOTE the venue has changed this year to Warren Park on Chicago’s North side West Ridge neighborhood. Grab your partner, get your ridiculous team names and high fives ready, and doh-see-doh to the unofficial kickoff race of the CCC season. And make everyone’s life easier and pre-reg now.
• Speaking of online pre-reg, we have set up BikeReg pages for all of the series races and reg will open next Monday morning for Hopkins Park and Caldwell Woods. Reg for the rest of the races in the series will open in early September after the events have been permitted by USAC.
• The Svens are coming again! Catch xXx Racing’s Sven-nado Clinic on 9/15 or 9/16. Details on xXx’s site here.
• A few reminders if you haven’t been reading this site over the last few weeks:
  • The Single Speed ladies will have their own separate start this year immediately after the men.
  • Hopkins Park will be the first race of the series this year on 9/9 with Caldwell Woods 2nd on 9/16.
  • Wheeling Heritage CX also moves up a week to 11/11 and Pheasant Run back a week to 11/17 – 11/18 (the weekend before Thanksgiving and the last races before Montrose).
  • Payouts will only be going to the Women Cat 1/2 and Men Cat 1/2/3 fields this year. But the top 3 in every category will still get their 15 seconds of fame on the podiums.
• And finally… there are still a few spots left in UPB CX Camp for Junior on 8/19. Online reg and details are over on BikeReg.

Hey gang! Its been a while but THE CX season is less than 8 weeks away and we here at the CCC have been away at summer camp and getting ready. Just a few quick updates this week about some small changes we’re putting into production to make the series the best it can be. Be on the look out over the next few weeks for a few more updates as well.

• Or friends at SRAM are returning once again as the series title sponsor.
• We’ll also have One2Go on timing, the new in-house SRAM NRS in the pits, and as always Kenny on the mic.
• Online pre-registration for all races will again be hosted on BikeReg.com. Don’t worry, you’re not missing anything, we’ll have the reg pages online sometime in mid-August.
• Today we’ll official kick off our annual volunteer and sponsor drive. If you’d like to be involved with the series in a consistent way and/or sponsor the series please email us at [email protected] and let us know.
• This year the Single Speed Women will have their own start time immediately following the Men but before the Junior 15-18’s. This will put all the SS ladies on equal footing at the start of each race for series points, make it easier to score, and probably make it more fun for everyone too. As with any men’s USAC field the ladies can still race with the guys if they want to.
• Although last year we originally planned to convert the Women Cat 3/4 field into just Women Cat 4 for 2018 we’ve had several requests to keep the Women Cat 3/4 field as is, so that’s what we’re going to do for 2018.
• A few scheduling changes. Hopkins Park will start the series this year followed by Caldwell Woods. We’ll then have a 2 week break for the nearby World Cup races (see below). Wheeling Heritage and Pheasant Run are also swapping dates later in the season. These changes are already reflected over on the schedule page.
• Speaking of schedules, the dates of the two UCI World Cup races here in the states, Jingle Cross and the Trek CXC Cup, as well as several other larger races are on the schedule page. We’ll have the HICX and Wisconsin series dates updated on our site soon.
• Remember also that USA Cycling National Championships are [back] in December this year and being held in Louisville, KY.
• Juniors, pencil in Sunday 8/19/18 for local clinic. Details TBD but coming soon.
• And finally… reports that #RoadIsDead are completely false. Our good friends and fantastic coffee roasters & baristas over at the Intelligentsia Cup kick off their series this Friday. If you’re not already racing it as prep for the CX season, definitely try to catch one or more of the races. The production is top notch and the racing is fast and hot. We might be even swing by to see what all the fuss concerning this young series is about.

• We hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. The weather is finally getting better and road racing is in full swing, so… time to talk CX, right?
• First up, no changes to the event schedule. The CCC series is again (tentatively) 11 events. All tentative dates are updated here on the CCC schedule page.
  • Caldwell Woods hosted by xXx Racing is back as the first race, hopefully no floods this year.
  • The Carpentersville event will again be at the Woodland Elementary School.
  • The Indian Lakes Resort (ILR) shut down last year, but the South Chicago Wheelmen (SCW) have secured a 2 day venue at Pheasant Run Resort (#PRR?) not far from ILR.

MORE

• Online reg for Labagh Woods opened over on BikeReg yesterday morning. All other CCC events will open on BikeReg on Monday September 5th at 10am.
• Interested in being a CCC series sponsor? Read our sponsorship proposal and email us at [email protected].
• Rad lady and all around CX badass Maria Larkin sent us some info about the Trek CxC Cup Junior Girls Cyclocross Clinic…
  • Where: Trek CxC Cup @ Trek Factory Headquarters, Waterloo, Wisconsin. Registration and meet up will take place at the chalet near the back parking lot on McKay Way. Please allow plenty of time to navigate traffic leaving Chicago on Friday evening.
  • When: 5.30pm, 9/16/16. The clinic will last 1 hour with some time for questions for Kaitie after we’re done.
  • Cost: FREE
  • You must be:
    • – A junior girl aged 9-18 Cat 2/3/4
    • – EXCITED ABOUT CYCLOCROSS!
  • You must bring:
    • A cyclocross bike (preferred) or Mountain Bike.
    • A helmet.
    • A USAC license (if you don’t have a license you can purchase a one day license online when registering or day of)
  • We will supply:
    • The Trek CxC Cup Course. You will be doing drills and skills on the challenging UCI course set up for the weekend’s racing.
    • Multiple time (junior and U23) National Champion, and 2015 World Cup podium finisher Kaitie Antonneau (Cannondale Cyclocrossworld)
    • PIZZA. We know you’ll be leaving after (during) school on Friday so we will provide water and snacks for the riders after the clinic. If you have any dietary restrictions please email us; [email protected]
  • Registration Link: https://www.usacycling.org/register/2016-2699
  • Other Info:Trek has gone to great effort to provide a learning and racing environment for girls at the CxC Cup. We encourage you to make the most of the weekend and get yourself and your daughters signed up to race. The skills that Kaitie will be teaching are best put straight into practice!
• And finally… want to help out with the series or maybe just have a comment or idea? Email us directly at [email protected].

– For anyone counting, there are roughly 8 weeks until the CCC starts in Caldwell Woods, hosted by xXx Racing. So get your bikes in working order now(!) by visit your favorite local bike shop… but enjoy the rest of the summer weather while we still have it. #cxiscoming

– But before the CCC officially starts, the good folks over at Half Acre Cycling are having a Women’s CX clinic. The details: Go faster. Attack that barrier. Clear that obstacle. Have more fun. Cycle-Smart Solutions for Cycling and Half Acre Cycling are committed to helping Chicago area women achieve their racing goals. Focusing on intermediate/advanced skills, this clinic is designed for Cat 3s (and those planning to make that upgrade soon) as well as experienced Cat 1 and 2 racers. Half Acre is also very pleased that their clinic will take place at Big Marsh Chicago.  Big Marsh Chicago is on its way to being the premier bike park and eco-recreation area in the Midwest. For more information see the event page register: https://www.bikereg.com/hacwomenscxclinic. Topics include: explosive starts, dismounts and mounts, barrier work, bunny-hopping obstacles, cornering at speed, off-camber cornering, race strategy, training, and race preparation. Your coaches: Shaun Adamson (Cycle-Smart) and Kelli Richter (Vision Quest Coaching) .

– Also, because CX all.the.time… Half Acre Cycling is pleased to present the inaugural CX Eliminator: an elimination-style cyclo-cross race.
1) Race starts with a non-elimination round, one or more heats of eight racers who complete one 3km lap to determine heat placement for the first elimination round.
2) Next comes the elimination rounds, heats of eight racers again complete a 3km lap. The top four finishers move to the next round, while the bottom four are eliminated from competition.
3) And finally the championship round, the final eight racers will complete the lap, head­-to-­head, with the top three racers earning podium spots.
Check out the HACCXE website for all the details: http://cx-eliminator.blogspot.com/p/about.html.

– Not to be outdone, xXx Racing will again be hosting their Relay Cross back in Jackson Park on Sunday August 23rd. Loads of fund at this event and another great way to ease into the season. So grab a partner and get ready to high-five.

– Sadly, Psimet has informed us that Norge CX will not be back this season. So enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend to the fullest, eat lots of turkey, or tofurkey if that’s your thing, and get ready for the State Championship at Montrose the following weekend.

– And finally… as if we had to remind anyone, its still hot, and muggy, and hot, and did we mention hot(?) here in Chicago. So while out training either on the road or the trails (please go outside and stay off Zwift), make sure to stay hydrated and take breaks so as not to overheat. Heat stroke is a real thing and we want to see you all in the staging grids this Autumn.

– Evening edition!

– Looks like a bunch of people learned a bunch of great stuff on Saturday with Tim Johnson, Pete Webber, and the Spidermonkeys.

Photo: Edmund White

– Looks like even more people had a great time at the unofficial kickoff to the Chicagoland CX season at xXx Racing’s Relay Cross. Thanks again to Tim Johnson for having some fun with us and to everyone who donated cash dollars to the Junior Mud Fund. See photos here, here, and here. Please post links to your photos in the comments below.

– Next up CX season takes a little break so everyone can work on their remounting skills, turning skills, hand up skills, you know… skills. But get back into the action on Saturday 9/7 in Rantoul at Patriot CX. See the full schedule for the rest of the season over on our Schedule Page.

– Speaking of schedules, a few really great people are working behind the scenes to bring the Mid-West Regional CX Championships to Chicagoland this December. Stay tuned for details!

– The CX Sitters are available again this season to watch your kiddies while you race. The sitter(s) won’t be at every race, but will play it by request… so please contact them ahead of time.

– Speaking of ladies, BBVP Racing Team is looking for dedicated, hard working women, predominantly from the south side of Chicago or surrounding area who are riding at any level to form a Elite Women’s Team. More details on the BBVP site here.

– Speaking of women, check out the recently formed Women’s Cycling Association.

– Last call for Series Sponsors and Series Volunteers!!! We can always add you in mid-season, but we have to send some soft goods to print very soon. Let us know ASAP if you want to be involved.

– Just for fun.

– And finally… like coffee? Okay, do you love really great coffee? Starting Friday (August 30th), Intelligentsia is giving all cyclists 15% off drinks at any of their 6 Chicago stores. To be eligible for this discount, one must be an identifiable cyclist, wearing at least one of the following:  Helmet, Cycling jersey, Cycling shorts, or Cycling shoes. Follow @intelliCHI