- ‼️‼️‼️ RACE IS CANCELLED TODAY DUE TO MAJOR FLOODING AND LIGHTNING. ‼️‼️‼️
- Pre-registration is open on BikeReg until tomorrow (Friday) night at midnight.
- Make sure your USAC license is renewed (if you’re Cat 4 or faster)! Yes we check and you’ll need to renew before you can pick up your number on Sunday.
- Staging: For the 1st race in the series everyone is staged by CrossResults.com points. See full staging protocols over on the Rules/FAQ page.
- Preliminary staging will be posted here on Saturday. Here’s your annual reminder that sometimes the link between BikeReg and CrossResults is not correct, especially if you forget your USAC license number, so please, please check your staging on Saturday and not Sunday on the start line. We will NOT be able to adjust incorrect CrossResults points on Sunday.
- Directions: Set your GPS to 11559 S Stony Island Ave, Chicago, IL 60617.
- Parking: (Obviously but…) DO NOT PARK in the handicap parking slots. There will be a few more reserved spaces for officials, timing, Kenny, etc. who are on site all day. If the parking lot is full, the street has plenty of space to park. You can drop off equipment, tents, etc. at the roundabout. Thanks!
- Food: The That’s a Burger food truck will have vegetarian and vegan options available!.
- Weather: Looks like rain, dress appropriately for before, during, and after your race(s).
- Bib numbers are always on your left side for all CCC races.
- xXx Racing has a dedicated page on their site too: xxxracing.org/cyclocross/xxx-ccc-series/
- Here’s a Relay Cross pre-preride video from Tony Pizza and a tentative map for this Sunday. As always, things can and probably will change before and maybe even during Sunday’s event.
- We hope everyone had a great time at Relay Cross at Big Marsh.
- Next up the series kicks off this Sunday at the first race, Big Marsh CX hosted by xXx Racing. Look for the course preview on Thursday at 9am. Register now on BikeReg by clicking on this link. There will be day of registration on site, but make it easier on our yourself and everyone else by registering online, but do so by midnight on Friday night.
- Most series events are open on BikeReg but we’re still waiting on a few to finish up some paperwork and they will open as soon as possible.
- The series is still looking for volunteers and sponsors. If you’d like to get involved to help out and ensure the series continues successfully into the future, please email us.
- And finally… let’s have a great season together filled with positive competition and friendship!!
- Hey gang, we hope everyone had a nice long Labor Day weekend, now back to work!
- xXx Racing Relay Cross is this weekend at Big Marsh. Sign up now on BikeReg. This is the official un-official kick-off to the CCC season, but is not part of the season, so no series points are on offer. Race, high-five, and have a great time!
- Series races start next weekend, also at Big Marsh and also hosted by xXx Racing.
- If you have questions about the series or want to help out in any way, please email us.
- Let’s go!
- Hey everyone, it’s been a while!
- Relay Cross is in 4 weeks, the series starts in 5 weeks. BikeReg pages will be open soon.
- We’ve updated the Schedule page:
- We have 10 events in the 2026 series.
- Two double weekends (Glenwood and Groundhog)
- One new venue at Lords Park in Elgin since Heritage Park in Wheeling is under construction.
- The Sunday event at Groundhog PSI-clocross on 11/08/2026 will serve as the Illinois State Championships.
- Besides Thanksgiving the CCC has 2 weekends without races. But there are other events to keep your racing legs sharp… Screw City, Pumpkin Hop, Midwest Championships.
- We’ll have one Open category.
- We’re still considering one more change to the race day schedule, but we’ll have the figured out by next week.
- Here’s our annual call for volunteers. If you’d like to help the series in any way, email us and let us know.
- We’re also always looking for series sponsors to help pay the bills and pad the swag pile at the awards party. Please email us and let us know if you are interested in being part of the CCC family.
- And finally… get your bikes ready now, not the week before Big Marsh. There are plenty of local bike shops that are willing and able to help get your race rig race ready. Stop in and give them some business!
- Hey y’all… with the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships taking place this past weekend, the 2025-26 CX season has officially come to an end. Congrats to everyone who raced in Hulst, and indeed everyone who threw a leg over their bike this past season and competed anywhere.
- The CCC website will be more quiet over the next few months until at least June or July, but we’ve already started planning for the 2026 CCC series. If you’d like to be involved or have input our email inbox is always open.
- In the meantime, if you’d like to be involved with local amateur bike racing, the Illinois Cycling Association (ICA) is hosting their annual Race Directors Meeting this Sunday Feb 8, 2026 during the bike swap at the Kane County Fairgrounds. Find more info here: https://illinoiscycling.org/race-directors-meeting-feb-2026
- And finally… thanks again to everyone who in 2025 raced, cheered, supported, volunteered, officiated, photographed, handed out hand-ups, set up, tore down, popped up tents, held jackets at the starting grid, glued wheels, lubed chains, waxed chains, did laundry, encouraged everyone to do their best, and all the other things that go into making the Chicago Cyclocross Cup great. We greatly appreciate you and look forward to racing with you again in 2026!
- Happy New Year! We hope you all had a great holiday season and are ready to get after it in 2026.
- Even though we don’t have any cyclo-cross races for 9 months, Paul Warloski at Simple Endurance Coaching is hosting a free Webinar on 1/14/2026 at 6:30pm covering:
- Strength training can make or break your gravel racing season.
- Most masters athletes don’t know what actually works.
- 5 essential exercises for gravel racing
- How to fit strength into busy schedules
- Live Q&A for your specific questions
- Join masters athletes learning how to train smarter.
- Register here: https://grow.simpleendurancecoaching.com/blank-live
- No fluff – just practical advice for serious gravel racers.
- And while we may not have any more CX races this season, we still have some awards to hand out at the 2025 Chicago Cyclocross Cup Awards Party at Specialized Fulton Market this Saturday January 10, 2026. Please RSVP here on BikeReg so we know how many of you to expect. Similar to years past we’ll have food, drinks, a raffle for some rad swag, and of course we’ll award the overall series winner cowbells and jerseys.
- 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!
- Some absolutely 6 7 excellent weather and the best Quarry Cross course yet this past weekend! Results are here. Thanks to the DuPage Cycling Foundation, EMC^2, and The Forge for hosting the event.
- Speaking of results, if you look through the GoogleSheet you’ll notice a handful of riders are highlighted in yellow. This means they have mathematically secured the overall series win for that category since they are at least 40 points ahead of 2nd place. Congrats to those riders for racing well and consistently so far. That being said, there is still plenty of racing still to be had at the last event in the series.
- But before we get there… this week the series takes the weekend off to celebrate Thanksgiving and spend time with family and friends.
- But after that the series returns for one last weekend of racing at Montrose Beach and the Illinois State Cyclocross Championships hosted by Half Acre Cycling. The weather looks to be turning colder and snowier… and Montrose is unique in our series with the amount of sand… so batten down the hatches and get ready.
- But wait… there’s more! Since the Christmas holiday season is already filled up, we’ll have our Awards Party again in the new calendar year at Specialized Fulton Market on Saturday January 10th. More details to come, but expect the format to be similar to previous years with jersey and cowbell awards, pizza, beverages, a raffle, and general merriment.
- And finally… We truly hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving and extended holiday weekend with their family and friends… just don’t eat too much turkey or PO TA TOES!
- The 3rd annual Quarry Cross at The Forge is hosted by EMC2 / Elmhurst Masters and the DuPage Cycling Foundation Sunday November 23rd.
- Saturday, November 22rd: Open Practice 10am-4pm. The course will be fully set up. A great chance to familiarize yourself and practice the unique features.
- Venue provided by The Forge Lemont Quarries forgeparks.com
- Online pre-registration on is open until midnight Friday: https://www.bikereg.com/quarrycross
- Preliminary Staging will be posted here Saturday morning.
- The Forge ’s Kids Adventure Zone adjacent to the race is $20 for an all-day pass. The new Mini Golf area will also be open.
- Team tents are welcome, and can even be set up on Saturday. Note that the shallow bedrock makes tent staking difficult, so weights are recommended. The Forge has three huge permanent tents that can host up to 500 people. If there is one race to not haul your team tent to, this will be the one.
- 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 gravel drive in.
- Parking: There is plenty of parking, please park in designated lots and do not block entry/exit roadways.
- No vehicles are allowed to drive across the bridge. This is per the The Forge’s insurance policy. Also, please do not ride bikes on the fenced-in, re-seeded areas in front of the main stage. Let’s not jeopardize our welcome at this great venue.
- 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 Thanksgiving Swag.
- The winner of the Cat 5 race will win the third annual Golden Turkey Trophy sponsored by Honey Acre Woods.
- All racers 21 and older will receive a ticket for a free beer provided by Pollyanna Brewing of Lemont. Other adult beverages are available at The Foundry on site, where you can also find The Creamery where they sell concession food.
- The Flyin Hawaiian food truck promises tropical comfort food and vegetarian options. https://www.flyinhawaiianchicago.com/
- The noon local event is an Adaptive Cycling Demonstration Race, in cooperation with The Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. If you pre-ride at this time, remember these riders have the right-away!
- The Course: Runs counter clockwise. The course has about 20% new lines due to the wood berm area has been changed. Expect some gravel straightaways, woodchips, off-camber, Belgian Stairs, and singletrack.
- One wooden berm is relocated to the laser tag area, and the single track has three wooden bridges. Each wood feature has a “B’ line around it, so please race your ability and take the flatter, safer option if you are not confident you can ride the planks safely.
- If any of the wood features are deemed too slick, the “B” line will be the only option.
- The large pit area is accessible twice per lap.
- 2025 course map link: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1qXiCe4SR0nl4nEFwong0KBpVr8IIONc&usp=sharing
- Another great race day and course at Wheeling Heritage Park. Cold and windy, and you all made the best of if. Per usual, all results are here.
- Next up, the series heads south of Chicago to Lemont for Quarry Cross at The Forge hosted by DuPage Cycling Foundation & EMC2. Look for the course preview at the regular time on Thursday. Online pre-reg closes Friday night over on BikeReg.
- And finally… Remember next week (after Quarry Cross) the series takes a week off to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends. Then we’re back at it for the 9th and final race of the 2025, which is also the Illinois State Cyclo-Cross State Championships at Montrose Beach.
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