- Also, don’t forget CX World Championships in  Koksijde, Belgium are this coming weekend. The Bonebell has organized a viewing party on Sunday January 29th at the Next Door Cafe on Diversey just West of Clark. The cafe opens at 7am and the Men’s Elite race starts at 8am!

- The CCC still has Mad Alchemy embrocation, SockGuy socks, and Contigo coffee mugs for sale. Contact us directly for sizing availability and pricing.

- The Bonebell is organizing a viewing party for the CX World Championships on Sunday January 29th in Koksijde, Belgium at the Next Door Cafe on Diversey just West of Clark. The cafe opens at 7am and the Men’s Elite race starts at 8am! Unfortunately the Women’s Elite race starts at 5am.

- The CCC still has Mad Alchemy embrocation, SockGuy socks, and Contigo coffee mugs for sale. Contact us directly for sizing availability and pricing.

- And finally… The 2011/12 cyclocross season has finally ended here in the states. Thanks to everyone for making it another memorable end-of-summer/autumn/winter. Now go rest up and get ready for 2012/13!

Photo: Eric Goodwin

- Just a quick update to get you through the week…

- Congrats to everyone who raced, pitted, endured the cold and frozen ruts, ate Grape Nuts, rented a Dirk Hoffman motohome, and heckled this past weekend at CX Nats. The CCC represented well and hit the podium more than a few times.

- Good luck to everyone heading to CX Masters World Championships this weekend in Louisville. Find more info can be found at www.louisville2013.com

- 2011 Series Sponsor Well-Fit has a great facility in the west loop to train indoors during the cold Chicago winter and is currently offering 3 winter classes. Sign up and find more info here.

- We haven’t heard any official word yet, but we’re guessing someone will organize a group viewing party for the CX World Championships on Sunday January 29th in Koksijde, Belgium.

- Good luck Barry Wicks on your move back to Portland. It was great having you here in the flatlands for a few years. We’ll see you soon!

- Just in case you still need some after-the-fact Christmas presents… or something to get you through to the skinny tyre season… the CCC still has Mad Alchemy embrocation, SockGuy socks, and Contigo coffee mugs for sale. Contact us directly for sizing availability and pricing.

- And finally… thanks again to everyone for another great CX season. The CCC will be taking a break for a while with only sporadic updates after the World Championships. In the off-season we’re always looking to get people involved and helping out to make the series better, so if you’d like work long hours for no pay just to increase your HPR (heckles per race) received quotient… please contact us and let us know.

Photo: Duane Higgs

- Thanks to everyone who came out to race, cheer, heckle, take photos, hold down a tent from blowing away in the wind, course marshal, help stage riders, hold down another tent from blowing away, fix course tape, scrub mud off bikes, and above all… make the CCC NYR a great first year event. We’re still getting caught up on emails, tweets, and carry pigeon messages but we promise to respond to everyone soon. In the mean time please see the two posts below for pictures and videos. CX Magazine also has a nice collection here.

- Chicagoland CX racing is officially done for the 2011/12 season, but racing is going on close by. We hope to see as many of you as possible in Verona/Madison this coming weekend for CX Nats, and the week after in Louisville for CX Masters World Championships.

- If you pre-ordered CCC merchandise and never picked is up, please email us and we’ll find a way to get the goods to you ASAP. We also have a few pairs of SockGuy socks, some mad Alchemy embro, and quite a few Contigo mugs left over if you’d still like to purchase any CCC merchandise. Please email us if you’d like some schwag.

- If you’re a stats geek, check out the CCC’s 2011 blogging report.

- And finally… thank you to everyone, and we mean EVERYONE for making not only the CCC series, but the NYR and all of Chicagoland CX racing such a blast this season. We’re already looking forward to the 2012/13 season when we can do it all again!

- Tech Guide: Pretty much everything you need to know is here. We didn’t write this thing for fun, so please review it. More info is also on our NYR page here.

- Registration: Online pre-reg closed last night at midnight. For the locals, we’ll be running reg the same way as every other CCC race. Please allow all 40+ & 50+ racers to reg first since they have to get ready first. If you’re coming out to race for the first time or you’re traveling in from another part of the country (or Canada) we’re glad you’re here. Just bring your USAC and/or Intl license to the registration room (yes we accept the USAC phone app). If you pre-reg’d we’ll have your USAC release form pre-filled for you in a big blue binder. Sign your release, grab your number and go. Day-Of registrants will need to see the lovely MsChiCrossCup behind the computer to be entered into a race.

- Speaking of the USAC phone app, if you are racing on Sunday (1/1/12) PLEASE renew your annual USAC license online at USACycling.org before arriving at the venue. Annual licenses purchased on or after 12/1/11 are good until 12/31/2012 and you must have a 2012 license to race on Sunday 1/1/12.

- Waitlists:  The Cat 2/3 and Junior 15/18 races are in the same starting wave and we have a 100 rider field limit on course at the same time. If you missed out we’ll be running a waitlist both days. See the ‘Registration’ section in the tech guide for a full explanation of the Day-Of waitlist procedure.

- UCI Staging: Staging for the UCI Women and Men races is by UCI points and then drawing random lots for riders without UCI points. If you do NOT have UCI points you need to make sure you draw your random lot, otherwise you will be staged at the back of the field.

- Amateur Staging: The NYR is NOT a CCC series race and we will be using CrossResults.com points to stage all amateur categories. While we will post full results to USAC Saturday evening those results will NOT update CrossResults.com points for Sunday. Hey, its New Year’s Eve, we want to celebrate too!

- Preliminary staging for all categories for both days (except random staging for UCI racers w/out UCI points and obviously day-of registrants) will be posted here no later than Friday morning (12/30/11). Please note there are two worksheets (one for Saturday, one for Sunday). Also, since we don’t have onsite access to the CrossResults.com points database, all non-UCI day-of registrants will be staged at the back of their fields based on order of registration.

- Podiums presentations for each race will occur immediately after each race finish on the stage near the finish line (part of the large gray trailer… you can’t miss it), so pay attention during and after your race, we may be calling your name! The full prize list will be posted at registration on race day.

- Results: Results will be posted to USACycling.org here the evening after each race. If time permits we may update results throughout the day. Results are NOT just about your placing though. As with all other CCC series and Chicagoland races we’ll have posts up here on the CCC site each afternoon where we encourage you to post links in the comment section to your Flickr/Picasa/etc pictures & videos and race reports/blogs.

- Weather: Well, we were preparing for the worst and somehow lucked out. The forecast for the weekend has temps in the low to mid 40′s with partly sunny skies. We’re sure many of you were hoping for several feet of snow to show off your new fat bikes, but it just wasn’t meant to be. That being said, make sure to bring plenty of warm clothes for after your race so you can stick around and heckle.

- Speaking of… you will be heckled… period. You might not even be racing when it happens. If you’re coming in from out of town and haven’t experienced Chicago’s style of  CX heckling, at best you may be taken aback, and at worst quite offended. If you thought Georgia Gould took some good digs earlier in the season, you haven’t seen nothin’ yet. But don’t worry, its all just for fun… but we’ll let Chicago’s head heckler and the Don Rickles of CX… Mr. Rob Curtis of PSIMET explain.

- If you’re into more professional presentations… Richard Fries and Todd Busteed will be announcing the race, and Kelly Minx Riordan will be hostessing the awards and podiums.

- Our friends at SRAM will be pouring free hot chocolate at their tent in Pro-Row in the morning to help take off some of the chill. Swing by, say hello, and check out & ride the new Red Grouppo!

- Speaking of… everyone’s favorite mechanic Jose Alcala will be manning the equipment pits both days with SRAM Neutral support. We don’t expect too much mud (if any), but if there is some ILR will have their golf cart washing hose turned on up near the clubhouse.

- Merchandise: If you ordered CCC merchandise you can pick it up in the registration room. We will also have CCC Contigo coffee mugs, CCC signature Mad Alchemy Embrocation, and CCC Sock Guy socks for sale. Cash, check, or credit!

- The Hotel: There’s a big reason we’re hosting a cyclocross race on a golf course in suburban Illinois on New Year’s Eve and Day… the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort and casino. ILR has many amenities including hotel rooms mere steps away from the course, indoor bathrooms, showers, two restaurants, a spa, pool, a hottub (looking at you Jeremy Powers), plenty of parking, and last but certainly not least… The Cave. There is WiFi in the hotel but the signal isn’t great outside of the main lobby in some of the guest rooms. We suggest bringing an Ethernet cable. ILR will be running an all day buffet special at the Master’s Clubhouse adjacent to the registration room and finish line. There’s also a bar in case you want to, you know, ring in the new year a little early.

- Speaking of, the CCC will be hosting an informal party and meet & greet with several pro (and non-pro) riders at the The Cave bar (in the hotel atrium) Saturday evening. Stop by to have a drink, say hello to old and new friends, and ring in the New Year in the best way we know how… with a CX party.

- Course Crossings: There are four official pedestrian course crossings. Please use them to cross the course safely. We still need a few course marshals as well. Please contact us if you have some time to spare on race day.

- Bathrooms: Spot-a-pots, Port-o-lets, Lepri-cans… call them what you will. Several are located right next to the staging area. Indoor bathrooms (and showers) are just inside the clubhouse doors to the right, close to registration.

- The Course: The CCC series race at ILR in November is a perennial favorite. Sand traps, fairways, roughs, a little mud, dodging flying golf balls… ILR has it all. The NYR course is slightly different (thankfully no one will be golfing) and goes the opposite direction (anti-clockwise) but uses many of the same course features including, yes, the sand traps. After racing at Badger Cross on the tentative CX Nationals course we tweaked the NYR course to better prepare racers for next weekend in Verona, WI. Staging is on the asphalt cart path at the Northern most edge of the course. The entrance to the staging grid is on the North section of crowd barriers, adjacent to Pro-Row. The course will be ready for pre-riding Friday afternoon.

- The NYR course runs anti-clockwise and can be broken into 4 sections… 1 power section followed by 1 power/technical section, 1 technical section, and then a final power section.

1. The start takes the course on a quick trip through Club Row and then heads up a small incline and past the Finish Line. A sweeping dog-leg left takes the course around a set of t-boxes to the first grass section. Winding around to the left the course passes to the opposite side and tail end of Club Row and heads South out onto the course proper. After a few off camber turns the first real obstacle is the off camber hill located at the far South West corner of the course.
2. The course then straightens out in a fast power section heading towards the Eastern edge of ILR’s property. Two 180′s and then then course winds back to the first entrance to the equipment pits.
3. After exiting the pits the course doubles back on itself to the inside and heads South again. After the first two crushed limestone sand pits riders will be greeted by the one and only UCI regulation maximum height double barriers. Making full use of all of the terrain and 3 other sand pits the course twist and turns its way back to the main incline at the South Western edge of the course. Any wet weather will cause this section (actually on the driving range) to become muddy.
4. After negotiating the hill for the 2nd and last time the course straightens out into the final long, par 4, power section heading straight towards the finish and Club Row. After a quick trip through several real sand pits the course turns 90 degrees to the right for a final pass through the equipment pits. A sweeping 180 to the left on the cart path turns the course back to the West, past the staging grid and Club Row, and up the small incline to the finish line.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
Media Contact: Eric Goodwin, (773) 495-6373
chicagocrosscup@gmail.com
Goodwin5311@gmail.com
December 26, 2011

Nation’s Top Cyclocross Professionals Descend upon Chicagoland for
Inaugural New Year’s Resolution Weekend
Jeremy Powers, Ryan Trebon set to square off in National Championship prelude

Chicago, Ill. – A high-caliber collection of cyclocross professionals will battle in Chicagoland this weekend at the inaugural New Year’s Resolution, to be held at the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, Ill. on Saturday, December 31 and Sunday, January 1. The pedigree of the men’s elite field is unprecedented in the Chicago area and includes Jeremy Powers, the 2011 Exergy U.S. Grand Prix of Cyclocross overall series winner and the 2011 Velo magazine North American Cyclocross Rider of the Year, and Ryan Trebon, a four-time national champion in cyclocross and mountain bike. The UCI 2.0 event is hosted by the Chicago Cyclocross Cup.

“A field of this quality is fantastic for New Year’s Resolution’s inaugural year, especially when competing against more established European races,” said Race Director Jason Knauff. “This lineup will provide a test for the elite riders heading into Nationals, as well as an exciting race-day experience for our spectators and amateur competitors.”

Powers (Team Rapha-Focus) will use New Year’s Resolution as a bridge between his USGP series-winning form and the 2012 USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships, slated for January 8 in Madison, Wis. Since 2009, the Connecticut native has recorded over 20 cyclocross victories. making him a favorite in Madison. Powers will be joined this weekend by Rapha-Focus teammate Chris Jones, who picked up a pair of second-place finishes in a November swing through the Midwest.

New Year’s Resolution is a critical measuring stick for Trebon (LTS/Felt), who returns to competition for the first time after injuring his left knee in a pre-race crash in Louisville, Ky., on November 13. Trebon was enjoying a strong campaign before the setback, as evidenced by his third-place USGP overall finish despite being sidelined for the final two races. A positive result in Chicago could serve as a springboard for Trebon, who will have National and World Championship ambitions as he navigates the course at Indian Lakes.

The New Year’s Resolution start list also includes Barry Wicks (Kona), a decorated cyclocross veteran currently residing in Illinois who owns numerous top-ten finishes at the cyclocross and mountain bike National Championships, and Justin Lindine (BikeReg.com/Joe’s Garage) who is fresh off a second-place showing at the New England Regional Cyclocross Championship on Dec. 18.

Registration for the New Year’s Resolution closes Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011 at 1:00 AM ET on BikeReg.com.  The event is governed by USA Cycling and valid licenses are required for all races. Competitors should visit ChiCrossCup.com/NYR or BikeReg.com for details. Rooms at the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort are available by calling (630) 529-0200 or visiting IndianLakesResort.com.

- Racing returns to Chicagoland this coming weekend at the CCC’s UCI C2 New Year’s Resolution at the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, IL. Full details including an updated tech guide and course map are over on the NYR page and/or on BikeReg.

- Big news for the ladies… we have added a Women Cat 2/3 race in the afternoon (starting immediately before the Single Speed category) specifically for those Cat 2 Women how cannot or do not wish to procure a UCI license. Riders must still possess a valid USAC license.

- Speaking of licenses… please, please, please, please, please make sure to renew your USAC license BEFORE NYR. You must have a valid 2012 license to race on the 2nd day of the event (1/1/12).

- The Hilton Indian Lakes Resort has opened up more discounted rooms (4 people to a room) on New Year’s Eve for $159. Shoulder dates are still $79 . These room are mere steps from the course and even closer to ‘The Cave’.

- Speaking of The Cave, the CCC would like to formally invite you all to a casual NYE party and meet & greet with several of the pros racing at NYR on New Year’s Eve (Saturday) evening at The Cave. Grab some food, enjoy a drink, and schmooze with racers as we welcome in 2012 in the best way we know how… a party at a CX race!

- Online pre-reg closes for BOTH DAYS of the event this coming Wednesday 12/28 at Midnight Central (1am Eastern) on BikeReg.com so save a few cash dollars and pre-register now. Check back on Thursday at 9am for our normal course preview.

- CCC merchandise (embro, socks, & coffee mugs) will be on sale at NYR at the registration desks. If you still haven’t picked up your pre-ordered CCC merchandise from during the season we will have it at NYR for you too. If you can’t make it out to the races, please contact us if you’d like to have your schwag shipped to you or delivered locally (in Chicago).

- USAC CX National Championships in Madison needs a few volunteers for all dates Jan. 4-8th. Anyone interested in helping should contact Butch at: vols4natcross@gmail.com.

- And finally… our friends to the North are hosting more than just CX Nationals next weekend. Find all kinds of events here.

From all of us at the Chicago Cyclocross Cup, best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and most certainly a Happy New Year!

We’ll see you all next weekend…