• Its election day. We will never ever ever discuss politics here on the site but if you’re >=18 years old, a US citizen, and not a felon (and/or Chicago mayor)… Get out and vote!
• PSIMET and crew put on another great event in Woodstock on Sunday! All the results you are looking for are here. Snowymountain Photos are here.
• PSIMET and crew put on another great event in Woodstock on Sunday! All the results you are looking for are here. Snowymountain Photos are here.
• Next up the CCC travels to Bloomingdale for the series’ only double weekend at the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort (ILR). Each race is part of the series but still its own individual race, so that’s reason for separate BikeReg pages, entry fees, staging, etc. We will update series standings and CrossResults points Saturday night so Sunday’s staging will be affected by Saturday’s race. Look for the normal course preview on Thursday morning.
• If you are still looking for discounted room rates at the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort, please call Marilyn directly at 630.523.5326. Just mention you are coming to the Cycling Race. UPDATE: We are being told there are no more rooms available for the weekend.
• The following weekend the series races at Melas Park in Mt Prospect. Chris Henning and crew are in need of some volunteers who will race for free & receive lunch on race day. Please consider helping out and signing up here.
• And finally… speaking of helping out… the CCC series directors and USAC officials can’t be everywhere and see everything. If you see something going wrong or have an idea for a way to improve the series let us know. Leaving comments here on the site is great (thank you, we read them all) but sending us an email at ChicagoCrossCup at gmail is even better. We can’t promise miracles overnight and we might not necessarily agree with you, but we do listen to all feedback. Also, if you’re going to leave comments here on the site, be an adult, have some skin in the game, and use your real name. Thanks!

• Wow, its November already… how did that happen so quickly? Wouldn’t know it based on the weather though.
• Campton Cross was a ton of pain and fun as always. OMG the costumes. You all really outdid yourselves this year. As usual all the results you are seeking (USAC, CrossResults, Lap Times {coming soon}) are linked here: https://goo.gl/8X0QiE
• Our friends and series sponsors Snowy Mountain Photography were out on Sunday catching all the hot costume action… and the racing that happened in between. Remember the holidays are coming soon and people like love pictures of themselves!
• Psimet’s Groundhog Psi-clocross in Woodstock is up next, just a little farther North and West. Yes, you read that correctly, Psimet has decided to rename the event from “Psi-clocross for Life” to “Groundhog Psi-clocross“. We’re still not sure exactly why, but if Jingle Cross can be in September, why not… eh? We’ll still be using the hashtag #psiCX though. MORE

• ABD Sunrise Park once again was windy, hard, fast, competitive, and did we mention windy? Thanks again to Jim Nowak and the ABD team for putting on another great event. As always all the results you are looking for are linked here.
• Up next the CCC heads a little farther West to Campton Cross. Its the day before Halloween, so take that for what you will.
• Speaking of upcoming events… this just in from our Friends at Big Marsh, “Save the Date for these upcoming events at BIG MARSH! You’ve been waiting… patiently… really really super patiently… and the time has come for the BIG MARSH BIKE PARK OPENING! Join us on Sunday, November 6 @ 11AM CT for a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with the Mayor! (If you’re not racing CCC, of course.) This date marks the official green light to ride all the awesome park features. The following Saturday, November 12 there will be tours covering the ecology, recreation, history and future of the park and its surroundings. And a larger grand opening event is being planned for Spring 2017. MORE

• Looks like everyone had a great time in the mud at the this past weekend’s Carpentersville event. Thanks to everyone who helped and thanks for everyone’s patience as we had to switch venues at the last minute. Feedback from the village of Carpentersville and area residents has been positive and given the construction and changes at Carpenter Park we may be back at the Woodland school again next year. Check back next summer for details.
• Results from this past weekend are here except for Overall Standings which we’ll have up shortly.
• Snowy Mountain Photography went to great heights to take some great pics which are here.
• John Gatto has another video for everyone at: vimeo.com/187789731
• Speaking of results… we’re very sorry the One2Go emails weren’t delivered until later in the day on Sunday. Apparently Gmail put One2Go in the penalty box for sending out so many emails this weekend (they were also at the GP of Gloucester which had 1k pre-reg’d riders both days) and wanted to check they weren’t spamming half of the CX racers in the country. We’re working with One2Go to avoid this scenario in the future, but in the meantime, get yourself on Twitter where results are also tweeted in real time and there are no such restrictions on the number of tweets sent out. You can also follow along on LiveLynxResults.com.

MORE

• Hopkins Park was again well worth the drive out to Dekalb. Thanks to Comrades Cycles Racing for hosting the event. All the results are here. We know we’re missing the Cat 4/5’s and the Women Cat 3 need to be fixed. Stupid Microsoft auto-updates have us running to the pits but we’ll have all those loose ends tied up later this week.
• Speaking of results, if you have upgraded from a Cat 4 to Cat 3 since LaBagh Woods, please email us and let us know so 1/2 your points will follow you to the next category. Also, if you upgrade before Carpenter Park, please email us. Otherwise you will not be staged or possibly awarded a Pactimo Series Leader jersey correctly.
• Speaking of being correct… the CCC matches all team names to what you have listed as your CX team or club name in the USAC rider database. If its not listed there, then we don’t print it. If you need to make a change or update your CX team name, please call USAC and kindly ask them to change it. We can manually change team names for LaBagh and/or Hopkins if need be, but otherwise its up to you to update your info accordingly.
• Next up the series heads back to the South side of the city for Dan Ryan Woods. Plenty of power sections, tricky bits, and hills. Look for the course preview at the regular time on Thursday.
• Series sponsor Tipping Point Photography has some updates over on the TPP blog including race pics from Hopkins Park, news about pre-holiday family portrait and headshot sessions, and an opportunity to purchase a custom framed print of “Colder Days Ahead”–the iconic snowy Montrose Harbor shot from a few seasons back. Read more here.
• Series sponsor Snowy Mountain Photography also takes some rad photos, check them out over at snowymountainphotography.com
• And finally… GREAT NEWS from our friend over at the Bonebell… Construction at Big Marsh is nearing completion and park opening will soon be upon us!!! If you would like to get a first-hand look prior to official park opening, join Friends of Big Marsh and partners this Saturday morning, October 8 in a volunteer effort to lay woodchips on the first hiking trail. Sorry, there will be NO BIKE RIDING at the park yet, although you are encouraged to ride to the event.
  And it’s not too late to be a CHAINRING DONOR with your name permanently emblazoned in the bike park as a magnanimous grassroots supporter! And finally, those sexy and slimming Big Marsh KITS will be available for sale again soon for delivery by the holidays with all proceeds benefiting Friends of Big Marsh for continued build-out of park features. Check for updates at our Facebook page.  #buildbigmarsh #putaringonit
  Volunteer Event: goo.gl/Ji4jMQ

  CHAINRING DONOR: bigmarsh.org/#build

  Facebook: facebook.com/bigmarshchicago/

• Lots of great racing over the last week. Congrats and well done to everyone who raced, supported, drove, spectated, heckled, and took in the big shows at Trek CXC Cup, Cross Vegas, and Jingle Cross. Lots of results, videos, interviews, picture, etc all over the interwebs so too many to link here.
• The CCC picks back up this coming Sunday 10/2/2016 in lovely Dekalb, IL at Hopkins Park. Online Pre-reg is still open until Thursday.
• For those of you who like to travel, remember this Saturday 10/1/2016 is the Beer City Growler Cyclocross and 5K Steeplechase in Wilcox Park in Grand Rapids, MI! http://www.usacycling.org/register/2016-2085
• Up North across the WI border we received this note yesterday from the race director about their race NEXT Saturday:
  • Grafton PumpkinCross is Saturday, October 8, 2016 at Lime Kiln Park, 2020 S. Green Bay Rd., Grafton, WI. We’re proud to announce Grafton PumpkinCross is back for 2016 and more rad than ever! We will have ridiculous payouts and awesome course features: a several hundred meter paved start & finish, PRO only section, a grueling sledding hill climb with a DJ hillside, a stretch through the beer tent to quench your mid-race thirst, and lastly, the death grip slalom descent!
  • Local food vendors, Hop In Smoke BBQ, Blue Cow Creperie, Slow Pokes Slow Food & Grocery Store will be serving up deliciousness and our title sponsor, Body Renovation Physical Therapy will be on hand in our expo area providing injury evaluations and pre & post race tune ups!
  • If that’s not enough the FIRST TWO riders to use the promo code: “TOLL” gets free entry to PumpkinCross. Take our prize money! If you weren’t quick on the draw, “CCC” gets $5 off entry fees.
  • Flyer & Registration: http://www.usacycling.org/register/2016-2558 Technical Guide: goo.gl/VzVlxH
• And finally… wouldn’t that be grand?

Thanks @TrekCXCCup @CrossVegas @JingleCross @ChiCrossCup . See you next year. pic.twitter.com/VcG2lQp7qZ

— Sven Nys (@sven_nys) September 26, 2016

• Quick update for another off/rest week.
• Yes, we are aware the results from LaBagh still need some fixing. We’re working on it and will have everything squared away by Hopkins Park. Sorry for the delay.
• We saw some great results from CCC’ers up at the Trek CXC Cup. Congrats to everyone who raced. Lots of videos up from the weekend here.
• Cross Vegas is tomorrow (Wednesday 9/21). The live stream starts at 9:15pm CDT here.
• Jingle Cross is this coming weekend. Safe travels and good luck to all Chicagoland racers, parents, support staff, etc heading out to the event. Being a World Cup event there should be a live stream as well.
• The CCC starts back up next weekend (10/2) at Hopkins Park in Dekalb.
• And finally… a quick word about passing etiquette and behavior during a CX race. Yes we’re all excited and its totally fine to race aggressively. However, it is NOT okay to use foul/abusive language, throw elbows, or lord forbid purposely hit someone. That’s not only NOT cool, but you risk being suspended, fined, or someone calling the real police. We all get hot under collar sometimes once the adrenaline starts flowing, but let’s keep it civil and fun. Okay? Now please enjoy the rest of the CX season.

• Thanks to everyone for coming out to LaBagh Woods and helping us kick off the 2016 CCC season in style with xXx Racing-Athletico. We picked up right where we left off last season with plenty of fast racing, good times, and great friends.
• Official results are on USA Cycling here, our Overall Standings GoogleSheet is updated here, lap times as provided by One2Go Event Services are here, and CrossResults.com has general ranking points (which we use for all staging after the first row). Or you can just go to THIS PAGE where we have links to all of the above and more.
• Remember OFFICIAL results are always on USAC, not the emails you receive or tweets you may see on race day. We want results to be correct and posted as soon as possible on race day even more than you do, but we can also correct them after the fact. That being said, please always check the results posted at the race and if there is a problem see the USAC chief judge (in charge of scoring). If you forget to check at the race because you spent too much time in the beer garden, email us at ChicagoCrossCup at gmail. Your tweets and comments here on the website might not be answered as promptly as you’d expect.
• Remember CCC series points are NOT USAC upgrade points. There are rules for all that kind of stuff. We know you all are smart and know how to read. So see USAC CX rules here (see 1E.6) and our CCC rules here. Still have questions? Shoot us an email at ChicagoCrossCup at gmail.
• We know our good friends and series sponsor Snowy Mountain Photography will be busy processing photos from Sunday for a while, but look for pics on their site here soon.
• Prefer video? John Gatto is back to his drone ways: https://vimeo.com/182485508
• We had a mix up in the schedule and incorrectly started the Junior 15-18’s  before the Single Speeds. We’ll flip-flop those categories and start the Single Speeds first for the rest of the series.
• Up next, the MidWest CX scene heads to Waterloo, WI for the Trek CXC Cup this Saturday AND Sunday. Good luck to everyone heading North for the big show. The event is partnering (again) with the Chicago Cuttin’ Crew to offer a junior girls pre-ride clinic with Kaitie Antonneau. There will also be a similar pre-ride clinic for Cat 4 Women. Pre-reg ends tonight Tuesday 9/13 at 5pm.
• Then next Wednesday all the big guns head to fabulous Las Vegas for the Cross Vegas World Cup.
• And then if that wasn’t enough travel, all the pros have 2 days to get themselves and all their gear back to this part of the country for the next World Cup at Jingle Cross in Iowa City, IA from 10/22 – 10/25. Yikes, all that traveling makes us glad our farthest-away race is only in Dekalb. Good luck to all the CCC’ers heading to one or all of these events.
• Speaking of Dekalb… the CCC series picks back up in a little under 3 weeks at Hopkins Park in Dekalb, IL hosted by our friends at Comrade Cycles (see what we did there?). Online pre-reg is open on BikeReg. We’ll see you all there!
• And finally… just in case you didn’t stick around for the Cat 4/5 race on Sunday at LaBagh Woods and/or you aren’t on Twitter, we may or may not have had something to do with introducing the Svens to Chicago Style Handups. Thanks for being great sports about it and so generous with your time.

Introducing @sven_nys @svenvth to #handups #labaghCX pic.twitter.com/4B0SydENtA

— ChicagoCyclocrossCup (@ChiCrossCup) September 11, 2016

Enjoying #labaghCX w/ Chicago style handups @sven_nys @svenvth #handupsarenotacrime #atleastnotifyouareaworldchamp pic.twitter.com/JwCQtzJdFt

— ChicagoCyclocrossCup (@ChiCrossCup) September 13, 2016

#labaghCX @sven_nys #worldchampionhandup pic.twitter.com/fdu1M9oVfS

— ChicagoCyclocrossCup (@ChiCrossCup) September 11, 2016

#labaghCX @svenvth #worldchampionhandup pic.twitter.com/1wjVC6sXTP

— ChicagoCyclocrossCup (@ChiCrossCup) September 11, 2016

• Holy cow its September, all the Labor Day sales have passed, Road is Officially Dead, its still hot as 7 inches from the midday sun, and CX IS.FINALLY.HERE.!!!
• Reminder that the first race in the CCC series is THIS SUNDAY 9/11/2016 in LaBagh Woods hosted by xXx Racing-Athletico. Online pre-reg is open on BikeReg and there is still room in all categories, but please, please, please don’t wait until the last minute to reg. The weather looks great for Sunday and pre-reg is so much easier on everyone than reg’ing at the venue. Look for the course preview on Thursday.
• Speaking of online pre-reg… all CCC races are now open on BikeReg if you’d like to part with your hard earned cash dollars now.
• If you didn’t see the announcement on their website, due to a scheduling conflict xXx Racing-Athletico had to reschedule the cyclocross clinic with the Svens from Tuesday 9/13 to Sunday 9/11 (the Monday 9/12 clinic will proceed as scheduled). Immediately following the last race of the day on Sunday at LaBagh Woods, the Svens will host a skills clinic right on the race course, focusing on mounting and dismounting, cornering, picking fast lines, barriers, shouldering, equipment setup, and other techniques. All funds from the clinic go directly to the Pieter Ombregt Scholarship Fund at Columbia College with the Svens volunteering their time as a favor to the Ombregt family. The Sunday clinic will be 2.5 hours long (4:30-7:00 pm) and is $125. Limited spots are still available! Also, Sven and Sven will may be hanging out starting around noon, so if you want autographs or the Svens to be on the podium with you, this may be your chance. Still no word on whether they will racing the Single Speed category.
• CCC Alumnus and all around cycling enthusiast Christopher Jensen sends us this note from Michigan… Great fun coming up on October 1, at the Beer City Growler Cyclocross and 5K Steeplechase. $2500 in cash prizes (equal payout between the Open Men and Open Women), a beer garden, The (original CCC) Flyover, One2Go Timing and Results, and a 5km run in the morning Also a special prize for the fastest combined run and “open” category CX finish time for the men and women. October 1, Wilcox Park in Grand Rapids, MI  –  http://www.usacycling.org/register/2016-2085
• The CCC would like to welcome 2 new series sponsors partners to the CCC family:

Achieve Orthopedic Rehab Institute Sports Medicine – We pride ourselves in personal attention, through each step of the process. You literally feel the difference, every day.

Stio – Designed and tested in Jackson Hole, Stio clothing blends modern mountain style with technical performance. The Stio Mountain Studio™ at 1719 N. Damen Ave is bringing mountain soul to Chicago.

• And finally… before we get started with the season a quick PSA; its cyclocross, we’re all excited, we’re all competitive, there’s plenty of #hype… but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little lot of fun. Let’s keep the egos, attitude, foul language, and any behavior unfit for public display in check and enjoy the season with each other. We only have a little bit of time so we should use it the best we can. Now let’s race CX!

• Looks like everyone had a good time at Relay CX. Results are on xXx Racing’s site here. Remember your Relay CX results do NOT count towards your CrossResults.com points.
• Only 2 more weeks until the Chicago Cyclocross Cup series begins on 9/11/16 at LaBagh Woods, also hosted by xXx Racing. The website still says Caldwell Woods, but the event is definitely at LaBagh Woods. Online pre-reg is up on BikeReg here: bikereg.com/labaghcx
• Online pre-reg for all other series races will open next Monday (9/5/16) at 10am on BikeReg here to give you plenty of time to make a coffee or get a Rocket Sauce, house a doughnut,  and settle in.
• Looking to tear it up this season? Consider a training plan by series sponsor Training Bible Cycling. Check it out on Training Peaks here.
• Lots of series sponsors from years past are back again this year, with a few new partners joining the “CCC Family”. Looks for updates over the next few days/weeks as we welcome a few new friends into the fold.
• Where’s everyone on social media these days? Snapchat? Twitter? Instagram? Facebook? MySpace? We want to know so we can keep see all of the photos and stories you are sharing. Let us know in the comments below.
• And finally… Jon Gatto is back at the drone controls and bringing us recaps of races. Check out his view of Relay CX here: vimeo.com/180671066