2023 Quarry Cross at The Forge Preview
November 16, 2023
FOR THIS RACE ONLY if you’re racing more than once you’ll wear the same bib number for all categories. However you still need to check in for ALL categories at the Reg desk. Thanks!
- The first new venue in the CCC in a while, Quarry Cross at The Forge is hosted by EMC2 / Elmhurst Masters and the DuPage Cycling Foundation.
- Race flyer and website at elmhurstcyclingclassic.com
- Venue provided by The Forge forgeparks.com
- Online pre-registration on BikeReg is open until midnight tomorrow (Friday).
- Preliminary Staging will be posted here Saturday morning.
- The Forge Zip Line Park will be open for normal operations. The Kids Adventure Zone adjacent to the race is $20 for an all-day pass.
- Team tents are welcomed on The Lawn in front of the stage. The Forge has two large community tents permanently set up, so not bringing your team tent can be an option.
- Directions: Please use 227 Heritage Quarries Drive in your GPS. Follow signs from there to the main parking lots. Please obey the 10mph speed limit on the mile plus drive in.
- Parking: There is plenty of parking, please park in designated lots and do not block entry/exit roadways.
- Prizes:
– All podium finishers will receive park vouchers compliments of The Forge.
– Age Group and Category Winners will receive THE GOLDEN CROWN OF CHAMPIONS provided by Walden Florist of Downers Grove.
– Juniors that make it to the Candy Podium will receive a “Lemonsters” t-shirt compliments of Lemont Downtown.
– A variety of podium prizes compliments of the DuPage Cycling Foundation. - There will be a special first lap Reaper Prime for the first racer over the Lemontstairs for each field.
- The winner of the Cat 5 race will win the first ever Golden Turkey Trophy sponsored by honeyacrewoods.info.
- All racers 21 and older will get a ticket for a free beer provided by Pollyanna Brewing of Lemont. The tap is in The Foundry on site, where they also sell beer, pop, wine hot coffee and hot chocolate all day.
- Food: Big Ed’s Shed BBQ & Grilling of Lemont. Award winning Texas Red Chili and All Hallows Eve Pumpkin Soup (Vegetarian).
- Tacomotora of Chicago. The best Mexican Tacos. “Full Stop!”.
- Racer will have access to a hospitality tent for stretching/massage before or after races courtesy of Rehabitconciergephysicaltherapy.com
- The Course: Runs counter clockwise. Brand new venue = new for everyone course with six distinct features.
– The Runway = a long gravel start
– The Bedrock Pond = a long off camber challenge
– The Range = a series of tunes on loose mulch
– The Arena = A run-up followed by tree slalom.
– The North Shore = A & B line singletrack choices ending with three wood plank banked turns.
– The Hoogerheide = our version of the famous Dutch course with a hay bale run up “The Lemontstairs”
https://goo.gl/maps/QgsnPuLrmwWW5MDW7
If anyone found a black Castelli jacket near the start/staging area last week in Wheeling, pls let me know! Thanks!
That course was SO. FUN. Thank you Jostein, Tim, Sarah, and the while EMC crew.
First 2 Masters races posted. Will slowly clean up my misfires and add races in order of the day. Congrats to all – was super fun to watch. https://www.flickr.com/photos/121357775@N05/albums/72177720312794132
REALLY HAPPY TO RACE A NEW COURSE. Thanks to the Forge and the EMC2 crew for something new and fresh. There’s some kinks to work out but overall loved it – only course I raced this year where there were multiple lines to take and features that needed a few goes at to figure out. Loved the A line/B line choices. A little rain would help with the bumpiness but hopefully next year! Excited to see this course develop over the next few years. Thanks for having us.
Loved this course and venue! Thanks to EMCc and The Forge for everything they did!
Thank you for such a fun new venue.
Lots of fun! Thanks all!
Men’s 4 race:
https://youtu.be/y1-S_o8FUcA?si=JPmZNDc7K-jJIymP
Here is my 35+ race video. Terrible start and forgot I dropped my chain after the haybales on lap one. I cut the 3+ hours of my GoPro filming the inside of my jacket as it sat in our team rack because I forgot to stop recording after the race.
https://youtu.be/LgMBdJGukXE
Another thing I would like to say is that, if you insist on sandbagging Cat 4 and you’re well past your mandatory upgrade points in the last 12 months, don’t get mouthy at lapped traffic. If you wanna big the big fish in the small pond, you need to accept that there are people out there slower than you and it’s on you to figure out how to pass them. Don’t blame your extremely great result that will get you more mandatory upgrade points on we people who have fewer podiums in our career than you have this season.
I once saw a guy start last in a field of 4/5’s with zero warmup pass everybody in half a lap to take the lead by the barriers. He didn’t complain about slow riders or difficulty passing. It would be weird to be a champion and not have passing riders skills in your toolbox.
His name was Stan Nice. Be like Stan. Pass NICE. They paid entries too. And without competitors, you can’t win anything.
Also, for the record, I genuinely don’t care about people sandbagging cat 4 anymore. It is what it is. If the first two rows of cat 4 upgraded I am still nowhere near the pointy end of that race.
I bet it is a lot of fun to be contesting the win every time you toe the line and it is probably quite addictive. All I am saying is that you can’t be unwilling to upgrade because you’re afraid to become pack fodder and also unsportsmanlike to the pack fodder you’re beating week in and week out.
Fully with you Anthony. Upgrading as soon as you have the points (or at least at the end of your first season if you do very well) is what is most sportsmanlike and in the spirit of cyclocross. Why even sandbag? Is being the Cat 4 state champion that important or does it virtually confirm you sandbagged much of the season? I wish USAC had a system that automatically upgraded people once they hit mandatory points, instead of forcing us to turn our competitors in. For transparency, I’m nearish the pointy end of the cat 4 race and I am 2 points away from a voluntary and will be submitting it the moment I get those points.
I heard about the passing issue. It’s something that I don’t think has been covered here in a long time and with the turnover of so many racers over the years I’m thinking maybe some info hasn’t been passed down.
If you’re fast enough that you’re lapping people in a category race before even the last lap then I highly encourage you to seriously consider whether it is time to upgrade.
If you’re so serious about your possible podium position that you’re willing to yell at lapped traffic then you’re serious enough to test your skills at the next higher category – cat up.
Passing is a skill that should be mastered like any other skill. Lapped traffic is akin to another set of barriers or a hard off-camber. If you aren’t good at it then maybe it’s time to practice how to do it well and politely. I’ve been passed by some of the best (sometimes twice in the same race) and most of them have the same thing in common – they know how and when to pass safely and never get verbally frustrated having to pass lapped traffic.
I couldn’t post my whole response the first time so here’s the rest:
Everyone is out there to have fun (and I would argue almost everyone does have fun) and everyone paid. Everyone is welcome and should always feel welcome. I hope you can help us keep it that way.
If you make friends with those of us who happen to always be at the back then we are also more likely to be looking for you and avoid being in the way when the time comes. We may even cheer you on. If you get a bad rep we just might forget how to to dismount and go over obstacles smoothly in front of you. *shrug* I’ve heard that kind of stuff COULD happen. 😀
I guess what bothers me most is people bringing a cat 3 mentality into the cat 4 race. Cat 4 should strike that balance of competition and chaos. It should be hard but it should be fun. Particularly now that there’s no “party at the back” 4/5 race.
I only bring it up because the incident I witnessed was not the only one I heard about from yesterday’s cat 4 race. Like most of the world’s problems it kinda all boils down to “don’t be a dick.”
A love letter to the front of the grid…..
If you don’t like the lines the person in front of you is riding…. pass them
If you’re too slow to pass them… stop chirping
It’s embarrassing to see a grown man throwing tantrums after the race ……wearing a bib number and EMC2 kit
A real mood killer for what should have been an awesome race
If you really want to be clever just pass the lapped traffic right before something technical so your competitors get stuck, that’s real skill 🙂
As someone who has been at the pointy end of many races over the years I’ve found lapped riders definitely like you to be vocal just do it politely. Announce “Leaders!” with plenty of heads up, bonus points for letting them know “Passing inside next turn” ultimate champions might even say “thank you, keep it up” as they pass the lapped rider.
Be the person you want to be passed by.
A few more pictures. https://www.flickr.com/photos/196855838@N06/albums/72177720312797741
Single Speed (Just a few); Women’s Masters/Cat 4/5; Cat 3/4; Women’s Cat 1/2,3/4; Cat 1/2/3; Cat 4; Cat 5
Nice shots thanks!
CCC comments section is so back :’)
Can anyone tell me how tall are 3 2×4 stacked on top of each other???? URGENT
7 inches. 2×4 is 1.5×3.5
There are two correct answers to Marlar’s question, but 7 inches is neither of them.
Could it possibly be 4.5 inches or 10.5 inches?
Correct. 6.5 or 8.5 inches would also be acceptable answers if we’re nitpicking, and obviously we’re nitpicking.
Ha! Thought she said 2 2×4’s. 🤷♂️
I’m surprised to see so much praise for the course…which brings me to mention. Look how high the DNF rate was in some races. That’s broken bikes and bodies. A rider wound up needing hospital transport and another drove themself. I understand this stuff happens every once in a while. Many riders DNSd the 3/4 cause they didn’t want to risk it. The day was fun, my mom even came and my 5yo enjoyed themselves enough. I don’t want to make this post too long. I appreciate and understand the effort it takes to host a race. I think that course needs a couple substantial changes to be safe enough for the riders participating (on 33mm tires).
Modern dimensional 2×4 lumber that is dry should be 1 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ It will fluctuate 1/16th” and often be a little small.
I wasn’t there but from the videos that course looks super dangerous. Heard of quite a few injuries which seems abnormal.
I think there were a few areas which could be improved and I know Jolstein and the crew are extremely concerned about safety so I’m sure they’re working on it for next year. Particularly the transitions from gravel in the corners, end of the start straight eg. a few races had large crashes in corners 1 or due to riders moving up in traffic. Also the wood berms obviously caught quite a few people out. I think some of the containers could also be padded to reduce the risk of hitting the corner at speed. Also the location of the finish might cause issues if two riders came to a sprint on the gravel. All areas for improvement.
I do think that overall the level of technical riding in the CCC could be improved. Naturally a lot of the races have a very similar style due to our terrain. A lot of grass riding and adding corners to increase difficulty. More variety like having a unique venue will help to improve everyone’s skill level. Striking a balance between a brand new Cat 5 rider or junior and the riders at the front of the 1/2 is obviously tricky. I think the race did their best to offer safe alternatives by offering an A and B line in the particularly difficult areas. I think they learned a lot from the race on Sunday and it’ll show next year. Other race directors have had years to smooth out the problem areas on their courses and it shows.
On preriding/course recon. Naturally racers are taking some areas at race pace for the very first time while racing and that can lead to crashing (in every field). I’m thinking about the barriers at ABD that used to be on a slight downhill and in the case of the wood berms at Sunday’s race. Often people have just one window to take a lap and do it slowly to make sure they know the direction of the course. I would encourage racers to try to preride at least twice if they can. One slow, stopping to look at features, maybe riding a feature two or three times to feel comfortable, then one faster lap with no stopping to get a feel for the entire course. For A vs B line. Do you close those features for the least experienced fields? We’ve had that chat a few times. But it was also not just the least experienced riders who crashed.
I think the attrition level at this race was simply due to it being a new course, raced for the first time, and with slightly more technical challenges than everyone is used to. Looking forward to the changes and racing it next year 🤞
The course was raw and rough. I was giggling the entire lap I did at 7:30am.
Our scene isn’t used to courses this demanding. Our collective skill set to a huge multivitamin Sunday.
Here’s an important thing to keep in mind. Never overski your abilities. Not talking about any specific incident. Just noted on my course recon that there were multiple places that were beyond my skill set at full speed. Self control is actually strength, not weakness.
Can’t wait till next years. Hope we get some of that rain that came a day too late. Just like Maria said.
It was the best crescendo conclusion to a five week block we could have ever dreamed up.
“Everyone is out there to have fun (and I would argue almost everyone does have fun) and everyone paid. Everyone is welcome and should always feel welcome. I hope you can help us keep it that way.”
This 10 x 110%. CCC, or any series, should be inclusive to new riders. There is no reason to be a jerk when you are between the tape on a CX course. “On your right” or “On your left” is all you need to say. Anything else is not needed (unless it’s a compliment or a request for a hand-up).
We want new riders to continue to come out to events and be part of the community. “PMA – No Jerks” are on our local course barriers. Maybe we need to do the same?
Race safe!
Echoing Maria and Kenny — my biggest takeaway is that the venue gave us *surfaces* not seen at any other CCC venue, or other regional venues. And I’m not even referring to the grandiose features (i.e. wood berms, straw bale stairs) but more the surfaces like loose/large gravel and wood chips. We don’t get many opportunities to practice or race on anything but grass and therefore were not prepared — but that is what makes cyclocross, cyclocross!
Yes, there are some changes that will improve the overall experience, but opinions from veteran CX folks tell me that this is a viable venue. I don’t believe any club/promoter worked harder this year than Sarah/Jostein and the EMC2 club, and I know they will continue to do the same in the future.
An aside to all of this; promoting clubs are finding it increasingly difficult to produce events as public entities are becoming much more conservative/conservation-forward with their parks, and do not understand what it is we do. Therefore, we need to work find and keep more private venues like this. I would caution some commenters above in posting opinions without correlative substantiation.
The thing that I loved about this course is that it had so many surface transitions. It was so bumpy. It utilized every bit of off-camber available. It challenged people at actual bike handling and was not just an FTP test like a lot of our races are. When I was out there Saturday doing recon laps, the things I relayed most in our team chat was the start was going to be crazy, it was very bumpy, and the surface changes meant tire pressure was going to be more important than tire tread. The run up and the wood bridges and the berms all had safe routes for anyone who did not want to risk it and, I thought, weren’t the things to focus on.
I know the berms probably caused the most injuries on the day, but I saw a lot more people go down (myself included) on the 180 from limestone road to dirt single track in the last quarter of the lap than I did on the berms, but that is because we were all pushing the limits of our equipment and abilities to take that turn as fast and smooth as possible, which is what cyclocross is all about, and why I commend Jostein for laying out a course the way he did.
I also think the fact that we had the biggest fields of the year so far, including a fair amount of riders who aren’t from our local scene, also could have been a factor. A lot of the people out there racing this season don’t know what it’s like to be on the waitlist for a full 120 person 4/5 race and may not be as comfortable racing/passing with so much traffic.
If you enjoyed racing this course, or want more practice racing on technically demanding terrain, come check out the Big Marsh short track series this summer. 🙂 It’s some of the best racing experience you’ll ever get. This year will be even better and more accessible thanks to Half Acre Cycling who has adopted the series.
The course was excellent and offered something for every rider, I would like to see elements of it incorporated into the fat bike race at The Forge this winter. It’s unfortunate anytime someone gets injured, but none of the features were mandatory and even offered a B line. Outside of 3/4, the DNF rate was in line with what you would find at your average MTB or gravel race. If anyone was humbled by some loose gravel or a small section of pump track then perhaps they can devote some time to improving their riding skills.
If you’ve watching the Kortrijk races this morning, you have heard the announcers talk about the technical challenges of having multiple surfaces changes in a single corner (•‿•)