• We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
• Half Acre Cycling and the Chicago Cyclocross Cup have made the difficult decision to cancel Montrose Beach — Illinois State Championship on December 7, 2025. It was not an easy decision, but the safety of everyone involved is paramount.
• The combination of the recent deep snow, the forecast for more snow, and severe cold all week/weekend (turning the snow to ice), makes us err on the side of caution – both for racers, but most of all for the volunteers/officials who would have to endure these conditions all day. We hope you understand, and we are already looking forward to Montrose Beach in 2026!
• For the 144 of you that already registered (thank you for not waiting until the last minute!) while all series events have a no refund policy, Half Acre Cycling will refund entry fees (sorry service fees are never refundable) for anyone already registered if they would like it, since the race is not happening. Please contact Half Acre Cycling directly to request your refund. Conversely, if anyone would like to donate their entry fee to help defray the costs already outlaid by the team (Chicago Park District fees are no joke), Half Acre Cycling would be greatly appreciate it. Any remaining funds will be go towards next year’s Montrose Beach event, the team’s BIPOC and Gender Equity Grant programs, as well as other racing events in the future.
• In lieu of racing, event sponsor Reed’s Local (who was to host the number pick-up party), will host a race memorial party where you can pour out a Malört for good ol’ Montrose 2025 and get your poster. Details to come on Half Acre Cycling social media accounts.
• While this is a bummer for everyone and a really hard decision to make after months of planning and anticipation, HAC and the series appreciate your understanding. No team or individual should ever feel the need to endanger themselves, their volunteers, officials, racers, etc. just to put on an amateur bike race… nor should they have to go into the red and lose money to host an event. In the last 15 years this is only the 2nd time we’ve cancelled an entire day (2015 Melas being the other) which was also due to heavy wet snow. And we did cancel part of the day for 2 other events (2010? Carpentersville and 2013 Indian Lakes Resort #2) due to tornado warnings/thunderstorms. So we’ve had a good run so far.
• But… the season is not over yet. We still have the Awards Party at Specialized Fulton Market to look forward to on Saturday January 10, 2026. More details to come shortly.
• And finally… good luck to everyone heading to Fayetteville, AR for the USA National Cyclocross Championships next weekend. Represent the CCC well and make the midwest proud. Have some fun too!