• Hi everyone. We home you all had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and/or danced around the Festivus Pole with vigor last week.
• There’s been lots of great CX racing in Europe over the last few days so hopefully you have been able to watch at least some of it.
• While it may seem far away now, don’t forget the last USA Cycling national championships of this decade will take place here in Chicagoland in just over 11 months in Cantigny Park. We’re looking forward to seeing you all there.
• And finally… speaking of seeing you all there… the 2019 CCC Series Awards Party (don’t call it a banquet) will take place Saturday February 1st 2020 at the Rapha Chicago Clubhouse in Wicker Park. We’ll have cowbells, awards, tacos, juice boxes, and some adult beverages as we celebrate and award our Series Overall Winners. We hope you can make it there if you can to officially finish off the season.

• Another Sunday, another great Wheeling Heritage Park CX. Thanks again to the Northbrook Bicycle Club for hosting a chilly if fun event and to the Wheeling Parks District for allowing us to use their park.
• Links to all series results, lap times, and CrossResults.com are over here.
• Next up, the CCC travels to Saint Charles for its one and only official double race weekend at the Pheasant Run Resort hosted by the South Chicago Wheelmen. This weekend has a SATURDAY and a SUNDAY BikeReg page, and one page does not reg you for both days. So please make sure to register for the correct (read: both) day or days. Online Reg on BikeReg closes on WEDNESDAY Thursday so the SCW can get ready for Saturday… So get on it! Look for the regular course preview on Thursday at 9am.
• PRR has discounted room rates of $92 per night for this weekend. Call Pheasant Run at 630-584-6330 and use code “cyclocross” for the discount.
• Looking ahead to Montrose Beach… Have a large team with a lot of stuff? Or just want a VIP experience? On the BikeReg registration page for the Montrose Beach event you can make a donation to access VIP parking within the Simonds Drive road closure. One vehicle per space suggested @ $50. Multiple spaces may be combined for trailers, etc … This donation helps offset the expenses associated with the race venue.
• And finally… Our series sponsor ABUS Locks‘ sweepstakes to raffle off 3 of their Bordo locks, hand painted by the rad folks out in California at Squid Bikes, ends this Friday. Proceeds will benefit our friends at Blackstone Bicycle Works and West Town Bikes. All the details over here: https://go.rallyup.com/abus-lock-raffle

• Wow! What a weekend. A double weekend of State Championships and Groundhogs.
• Wow! What a weekend. A double weekend of State Championships and Groundhogs.
• Thanks to Keating Law Offices (also a series sponsor) for being the presenting sponsor of the Illinois State Cyclocross Championships in Woodstock, IL hosted by PSIMET Racing. The Illinois Cycling Association along with our amazing MC Kenny Labbe presented 23 state champ jerseys on a cold and windy buy sunny day. All results are posted on USA Cycling‘s website and IL State Champions are here on the CCC site.
• Then we did it all again, but in reverse, on Sunday at the 7th round of the CCC at Groundhog PSI-clocross, also hosted by PSIMET Racing. For those following along at home this was the 3rd CX race hosted by PSIMET this year. Links to all series results, lap times, and CrossResults.com are over here.
• Mike Nauman was out again but is still recovering from the double weekend CX hangover. Mike has some photos from Sunday up here, but look for more from Saturday later in the week. Snowymountain was busy hosting racers state champions and catching up on sleep.
• Next up, the CCC travels East to Wheeling for Wheeling Heritage Park CX hosted by the Northbrook Bicycle Club. Though this event has changed locations many times over the years, it was more or less the original CCC event way back when. Look for the normal course preview on Thursday morning.
• Here’s another friendly reminder/PSA that you can train and workout all your want, but you’re not going to have a good race if you don’t take care of your bike(s)! Get them into your local bike shop for a clean and tune so you can race the best you can. We have many, many great local shops in the area, many of which are series sponsors, who are ready, willing, and able to keep your bike(s) in tip-top running shape.
• And finally… we don’t really need to tell you its cold outside. But it is. Winter has come early to Chicagoland this year. Please, do what you have to do to stay warm and safe. Stay inside. Ride Zwift if you have to (GASP!!!), but be safe. We want to see all of you at the races, preferably without frostbite. See you all on Sunday!

• That’s what we’re talking about! Pulaski Woods CX almost didn’t happen, but everyone made it happen. That was great. You all went above and beyond, and quite frankly that’s pretty much what we’ve come to expect from this little CX community we call home. Oh, and there was some pretty great racing as well. Links to all the results you are looking for are here.
• SnowyMountain Photography and Mike Nauman were out at the races and snapped some rad pics. Not that you guys were showing off or anything.
• Next up, we head to Carpentersville for the Woodland School Cyclocross. We’re not going to say it, and you shouldn’t either. Don’t jinx it. Look for the course preview at 9am on Thursday.
• We’re sure there are some other updates we need to tell you, but we’re exhausted and going to sleep for the next 18 hours.
• And finally… thank you. Everyone. Every last one of you. You know who you are.

• Major thanks again to the entire Comrades Cycles crew for being flexible and hosting another great Hopkins Park CX, this time at Indian Lakes Hotel. Conditions were wet and soggy and grassy in the morning, but dried out as the day progressed, and the weather was absolutely cross-tastic! Congrats to everyone who raced and continues to make the CCC the Best Amateur CX Series in the Country.
• Results and links are posted on the CCC Overall Series Standings GoogleSheet.
• Still looking for pictures of yourself from the weekend? Check out both SnowyMountain Photography and Mike Nauman for great pics from Sunday. See also the pics post for other rider galleries and videos. Thanks to everyone who populates those posts with #content!
• Next up, the Beverly Bike and Region Racing crews take us to stop #3 of the 2019 CCC at Pulaski Woods in Palos… for the first time ever. Although Palos has a deep history of cyclocross racing, and as Kenny likes to remind us every.single.week. the very first USA National Cyclo-cross Championships were held there in the 1960’s. We’re just as interested as you to find out what the new venue has in store for us.
• Online pre-registration on BikeReg closes per usual at midnight on Thursday. Look for the course preview at 9am on Thursday morning. We’re also going to hold on to the previous #hashtag of #drwcx, just because.
• As of right now there are no plans or expectations to change venues again (despite Internet Twitter rumors). That being said, there is rain in the Friday forecast, so check back here often, watch your inboxes for emails via BikeReg, and follow us on the Twitters for real time updates.
• Does your bike need some love after 2 weekends of mud and wet? We know Tailwind Cycles and The Pony Shop have clean-up specials and we’re pretty sure any other local bike shop would be more than happy to help you out for a few dollars. Get those machines in to your LBS and cleaned up and ready to race again!
• And finally… just a friendly reminder that everyone needs to check-in at every race, even ladies with series long bib numbers. Everyone also needs to check-in AT LEAST 30 minutes before their scheduled race start time, even if you pre-reg’d online. If you just show up to the start line without checking in you will NOT be staged properly and you will not be allowed to race. So please go see those nice folks volunteering at the Reg desk AT LEAST 30 minutes before you race.

• Wow, what a day. Thanks to everyone who made it to Caldwell Woods Bunker Hill Indian Lakes Hotel/Resort. xXx Racing made the 11th hour effort to make the race happen and you all made some incredible efforts racing in the mud. So thank you and congrats to everyone!!
• Full and official results are on USACycling.org and all the links you are looking for are on the Overall Series Scoring GoogleSheet, including CrossResults and LapTimes (provided by One2Go). Please bookmark this Sheet for future reference.
• Looking for pictures of yourself on the Internet? Friends of the series SnowMountain Photography were out on Sunday to snap some great shots. Please consider making a purchase or at the very least give them credit if using their photos.
• Next up, the series heads West to Dekalb for Comrade Cycles’ Hopkins Park. Look for the usual course preview details on Thursday.
• Just a reminder to sign your online USAC waiver in BikeReg so you don’t have to fill out a full waiver on race day. We’ll be sending email reminders this week.
• Speaking of emails, please, please, please make sure emails from BikeReg are making it past your spam filters. Just in case we have any last minute announcements again. And always check our homepage or Twitter feed, either directly or over there on the right side of the page for last minute updates.
• And finally… here’s a friendly reminder from our One2GoResults crew… please pin your bib number correctly on the side of your jersey/skinsuit… NOT your back. See examples below. #31 is perfect, the others, not so much. The finish line camera is set up to read the side of your body, not your back. And when things get muddy like these did on Sunday, it becomes even more difficult to read underneath mud on your back. Also, please put any long hair up in a pony tail. The camera can’t read through hair either.

• Grandpa always said, when life gives you lemons, make orange juice… or something like that. Without a ton of terrain to work with at Pheasant Run the South Chicago Wheelmen built a fun course and along with a “helping hand” from mother nature the weekend turned out to be one of the hardest of this year’s series. Thanks to everyone who came out to race and see the spectacle. Links to all the results you’re looking for are at the bottom of the page here.
• In the Overall Series Standings GoogleSheet riders in yellow have already secured their overall series titles by accumulating enough series points so they are >60 points ahead of the next placed rider, making it mathematically impossible to be caught. That being said, many categories are very, very, very, very close going into the final race, in some case less than 5 points separates the top 3 riders! So Montrose should be just as exciting as ever!
• But before we get to the last race, the series takes a quick pause to give thanks and spend some quality family time with the people we may or may not have seen since early September. So no matter how you celebrate Thanksgiving, please enjoy this coming weekend off the bike.
• If you’re in town and still want to keep the racing edge sharp, our Region Racing friends just over the border in Indiana are hosting Region Riot Cross on Sunday. Online pre-reg closes Friday.
• And then the week after the CCC returns and finishes up with 2018 Illinois State CX Championships presented by Rapha at Montrose Harbor in downtown Chicago. Plenty of details to discuss, but we’ll get to those next week. If you want brush up see the static race page here.
• Please RSVP for the Rapha number pickup party the day before the Illinois State Championship p/b Rapha Chicago and come to the race with your number already pinned! There will also beer beer and food, as well as 25% off the store for all pre-registered riders.
• Also for Montrose, there are still some paid parking spots available right next to the start and finish areas. Close parking is somewhat limited at this venue and with the possible weather conditions, being close to the start and finish, before and after your race is nice. Guarantee this spot will be available at any time. Purchase spots on BikeReg when you register. Larger teams can purchase multiple spots for trailers, RVs, etc … by contacting Spidermonkey Cycling directly. [email protected]
• And finally… Just a quick comment about poorly positioned bib numbers and long hair obscuring bib numbers. If One2Go and the USAC officials can’t see your number, at best it disrupts scoring and makes generating results longer, and at worst you don’t get scored and may get fined real, actual money. Please, please, please follow the example of a properly pinned number in One2Go’s pre-race email and please make sure to put that long hair in a pony tail. Thanks!!!

• Thanks to everyone who came out to race, cheer, and eat candy at a chilly yet sunny Wheeling Heritage CX. Links to all the results you’re looking for are at the bottom of the page here.
• Next up the CCC heads to Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL for the series’ only double race day weekend hosted by the South Chicago Wheelmen. There are 2 separate event pages on BikeReg (Saturday & Sunday), so please make sure you sign up for the correct day if you aren’t racing both days (although we’re not sure why you wouldn’t just race both days?!!?!). Online pre-reg will close at the regular time Thursday evening. Look for the course preview here on Thursday morning.
• If you’re planning to spend the night at Pheasant Run Resort, there are discounted room rates of $92 per night. Call Pheasant Run at 630-584-6330 and use code “cyclocross”.
• Also at PRR. We’re a little short staffed this Saturday and need help taking podium pictures for Twitter. If you have a mobile phone with a camera and can help out, please email us your podium pictures as soon as you take them. Thanks!
• There are only 3 races left in this year’s series, but still no one in any category has locked up their overall titles. That means the racing will be fast and exciting all the way until the State Championship at Montrose Harbor.
• Speaking of Montrose, the host club Spidermonkey Cycling just announced our friends over at the Rapha Chicago Clubhouse will be sponsoring the event and having a pre-race soiree at the clubhouse. Look for more details to come.
• If you’re not traveling for Thanksgiving, our friends just over the Indiana border are hosting Region Riot CX on 11/25/18 in Crown Point, IN. Details for USA Cycling’s CX National Championships in Louisville, KY are updated, and the Afterglow hosted by the Chicago Cuttin’ Crew is happening Sunday 12/9/18. Links to all these events and more are over on our Schedule page.
• And finally… another reminder the 2nd annual Women’s Networking Event hosted by UPB Juniors will be held Saturday 11/17/18 at 2:15pm in the UPB tent at Pheasant Run Resort. As part of this event, UPB will also hold the Ultimate Pro Racer Raffle to benefit a Women Cat 3/4/5 at Montrose. Proceeds will go towards the 2019 Juniors CX Camp. The raffle tickets will be on sale 9a – 12pm Saturday and Sunday as well as during the networking event. Warm drinks and treats at 2:15 pm on that Saturday. All women racers are welcome to come and visit. UPB’s juniors are hosting and will be mingling.

Photo: Tim Radcliff

• Trick or Treat and thanks to everyone who came out to Campton Hills to race, cheer, and show off their best costumes. The Marching Band won the best costume contest and Tony Rienks (along w/ Joe Castello this year as Daft Punk) was given a lifetime costume achievement award. Links to all the results and lap times you’re looking for are here.
• John Gatto may not be racing, but he still came out to Campton with his Drones and GoPros and gave us this video gem. Special mention also to Nathaniel Allen for this Instagram video.
• Next on the calendar this SATURDAY is PSIMET’s Pre-Deja-Vu-All-Over-Again 2019 State Championship Course Preview Race. This is not a CCC series event. And as we mentioned last week, this is the preview for the 2019 State Championship, NOT this year’s (i.e. 2018) state champs which are at Montrose Harbor. PSIMET always hosts great events so don’t miss your chance to see next year’s state champs course early, which is completely different than the CCC series race on Sunday. Please pre-reg here for Saturday.
• Speaking of Sunday, the CCC series continues on SUNDAY with Groundhog PSI-clocross at the same park in Woodstock but on a completely different course. The normal course preview will be up at the regular time on Thursday. The normal course preview will be up at the regular time on Thursday.
• We haven’t heard of anyone going to the Pan-Am Championships in Canada this weekend, but if you are, good luck!
• It seems we’re getting similar weather to last season, which has meant a decent amount of rain, and usually on Sunday. Show your bike some love and and take it to your local bike shop to keep it in tip-top shape. Many shops are running specials/deals for the CX season, so don’t wait until sometime breaks!
• And finally… Our guy behind the lens Robert Clark is moving on to bigger and better things, meaning shooting larger UCI races for the rest of the CX season. We’re supper bummed (for us) but also super happy and excited for Robert. We’ve been very lucky to have Robert at our first five series races and will miss him the rest of the season. Check out his photos from the CCC series as well as several other cycling events over at robotfresh.com and if you see a photo you like consider making a purchase. Good luck Robert!!! If you consider yourself a shutterbug and would like an all access CCC media pass, please email us.

• Thanks to Main St Bikes and the Sasquatch Squadron for yet another great race out at the Woodland Elementary School. Links to all the results you’re looking for are here, including lap times.
• Robert Clark has pics up over at robotfresh.com/ccc4.
• Next up, the series heads to Bartlett for ABD Sunrise Park. The course preview will be posted Thursday at the regular 9am time.
• Here’s your friendly reminder that if you’d like to upgrade and take half of your series points with you up to the next category, you need to do so before this coming weekend. Upgrades are handled through your USAC rider profile on USACycling.org but also email us so we know.
• And finally… just another reminder that our friends up in the great white North at Silver Goose CX are hosting the 2018 Pan American Cyclocross Championships November 3rd & 4th at Little Lake Park, Midland Ontario. If you’re thinking about going please email us for discounted entries.