• Here we go! The season officially starts this coming Sunday 9/29/2024 at Glenwood CX. Online pre-reg is open until Friday night over on BikeReg. After that you’ll have to reg day-of onsite. We’ll have more details on Thursday morning in the Course Preview.
• Thanks to xXx Racing for hosting Relay Cross two Sunday’s ago in Jackson Park. High-Fives all around and a great way to easy into the CX season.
• Because we know some of you just can’t wait to depart with your hard earned cash dollars… pre-reg is also open on BikeReg for ABD Sunrise Park, Quarry Cross, and Montrose Beach. The rest of the series races will open just as soon as the events are permitted by the race directors with USA Cycling.
• Speaking of rules, now would be a good time to review our Rules & FAQs page to refresh yourself on how the series, staging, CX racing age, results, podiums, etc. work. Need more info or have a question? Just email us and we’d be happy to help.
• Here at the CCC we match all registrant info from your USA Cycling license… so make sure all of your info, especially Team Name, is correct on your USAC license.
• We’d like to welcome back a bunch of our great long time Series Sponsors for another year! If you’d like to get involved please get in touch with us!
  • Pactimo
  • PSIMET
  • ABUS Mobile Security
  • Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (CBBEL)
  • Keating Law Offices – IllinoisBicycleLaw.com
  • Main Street Bicycles
  • Michael Heagney, SFR – Realtor IL and WI “Make Your Move”
  • Simple Endurance Coaching
• And finally… every year we like to remind ourselves and everyone else that we only have a short time to enjoy each other’s company and have fun racing our bikes. So let’s make the most of this cyclo-cross season, race well, and have a blast doing it together… Have a great CX season everyone!!!

Hey’all… we’re back! Happy Summer and welcome to 2021!!

We’re still ironing out the details of the 2021 CCC season, but we’ll be racing this year one way or another (assuming the COVID Delta variant doesn’t stop us). Like a lot of things, racing this year will definitely be different than in years past, but the core of the series will still be the same.

The CCC always runs from late September to the first weekend in December (with a break for Thanksgiving) and you should expect the same this year. Currently there will be 2 less events this season (no Saturday race of the double SCW weekend and one other race) so we’re targeting 9 events total… but as with most things over the last 15 months, the situation can and probably will change. We’ll be updating the site this week with all the tentative info we have and going forward as additional details fall into place.

As with every year we’ll need some help to make the racing happen and pay the bills, so we’re looking for series sponsors (all those step in-stakes that get broken don’t replace themselves for free). If you’re interested in joining the CCC family, please get in touch with us as soon as you can. Also, buy some merch.

Thanks again for everyone’s patience as we get this ball rolling and thanks for racing with us. We’ve missed everyone terribly and we’re really looking forward to seeing everyone again this September. In the meantime, enjoy the brief Chicagoland sunshine and warmth and make the most of this summer. Autumn will be here before we know it!

• Not many updates this week. Remember to check out the new race day schedule (more details here) over on the schedule page of schedules.
• We also updated the Wisconsin event schedule on that page as they were nice enough to list our races on their fancy new CX website. The new site looks rad y’all!
• Congrats to all the CCC shredders who melted faces at the Palos Meltdown over the weekend. If you’ve never seen it, friend of the series Chicago Aussie has a great video about the history of the area.
• And finally… while we’re always looking for new long-term partnerships of the commercial kind, we’re also always looking to make new friends and get more people involved with the series. If you’d like to be a series volunteer and peak behind the curtain of how the CCC happens every year, email us and let’s chat.

• We hope everyone had a relaxing and fun long Labor Day holiday weekend.
• The CCC series starts THIS COMING WEEKEND at Hopkins Park in Dekalb, IL. We are ready and we hope you are too. Look for the course preview Thursday morning.
• We keep the momentum rolling and next week is even busier than this week.
  • Thursday night 9/6 we’ll all be at the Rapha Clubhouse for the CCC Kickoff Party.
  • Saturday 9/15 during the day xXx Racing hosts their Sven-nado with Sven Nys and Sven Vanthourenhout. You must pre-reg for this clinic, please do NOT show up unannounced.
  • Saturday night the Trek Store in Wicker Park is hosting a free Night w/ Sven Nys.
  • And then finally Sunday we’ll all be back together at Caldwell Woods for the 2nd race of the series where riders will be showing off their Pactimo series leaders jerseys.
• Online pre-reg for Hopkins Park and Caldwell Woods have been open for a while on BikeReg, and the rest of the series races (except for a few that are finishing up their paperwork with USAC) are now open. Please pre-reg for races, it makes everything go much smoother, and you’ll received your results emailed to you from One2Go.
• And finally… we’re really looking forward to beginning the season and series with all of you this week. Before we get start though, let’s all remember we’re all out there to have fun and share some precious time with each other. We can all race hard, be aggressive, have differences in opinion, and have individual definitions of what it means to have a successful race. But we all know how to respect each other and be civil with each other. So let’s race our bikes, have a good time, and show each other what the Chicagoland CX community is all about. LET’S RACE!

• We’ve been making a bunch of website updates so take a look around and see what’s new. We’ll have some more significant updates next week.
• Do you have any feedback from last season you’d like to share with us? We’re always trying to make the series better and want to hear from anyone and everyone. Email us and let us know!
• Second call for Series Sponsors and Volunteers. Email us if you would like to be involved this year.
• And finally… UPB is hosting a UPB Juniors CX Camp on Sunday 8/19 from 9am-12:30pm in Willow Springs. Details are here and registration is over on BikeReg. There is NO ON-SITE REGISTRATION for this clinic/camp. Time to get RAD!oactive!

• Hopefully you used proper eye protection yesterday watching the eclipse and are reading this instead of sitting in the optometrist office. Seriously, safety first. Speaking of… if you’re riding your bike without a helmet on (its is a USAC rule) at a CCC event you can be disqualified.
• We’re looking forward to seeing everyone on Thursday at the Rapha Clubhouse for our CCC Kickoff Party. See you there!
• The Half Acre CX Eliminator at Big Marsh is on Saturday and the xXx Relay Cross in Jackson Park is on Sunday so brush up on those CX skillz
• Online pre-reg for all CCC events is hosted on BikeReg.com. All events with the exception of Melas will be up on BikeReg later this week. A few notes:
  • Pre-reg for Caldwell Woods will open next Monday 8/28 at 9am.
  • All remaining events except for Melas will open the following Monday 9/4/17.
  • With the category changes this season we had to make quite a few tweaks and we’re only human. So if you see something we missed, shoot us an email at ChicagoCrossCup at gmail so we can fix it. Thanks!
  • Please pay attention to field limits as some have changed this year based on field sizes last year. We do our best to accommodate everyone and give everyone a chance to race without having overly enormous field sizes. When a field limit is reached its waitlist will then open. You are not charged an entry fee for a race until you are moved off that waitlist, which could be the day after online pre-reg closes (once we clean up the data). If you don’t receive an email before race day saying you got moved into the race from the waitlist, come to the race ready to pay since the race promoter can NOT charge your credit card through BikeReg at the race.
  • In cases where 2 categories are on course at the same time there is a combined field limit. Once that combined field limit is reached, both categories are closed and the waitlist for both open (see above).
  • Up until now CCC race promoters have absorbed the cost of all service fees (BikeReg is a business after all and their employees have to finance their cycling gear and racing too), baking those fees into the cost of the race. Starting this season rather than raising entry fees outright those BikeReg service fees (<$3) are being passed through to you when you pre-register. Yes, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation is low, but it still occurs and CCC entry fees have remained the same for many, many years. None of our race promoters are retiring to St. Maarten with the money they make from hosting an amateur pedal bike race. But one of our series goals is to have all race promoters stay out of the red so they can host their race again and again and again for many years to come.
• We’re still looking for series sponsors and volunteers. Email us at ChicagoCrossCup at gmail if you are interested.
• And finally… with all that’s going on in the world remember we’re all here to have fun and ride our bikes. In the words of Bill and Ted, “be excellent to each other.“

• 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

• Online reg for Labagh Woods opened over on BikeReg yesterday morning. All other CCC events will open on BikeReg on Monday September 5th at 10am.
• Interested in being a CCC series sponsor? Read our sponsorship proposal and email us at [email protected].
• Rad lady and all around CX badass Maria Larkin sent us some info about the Trek CxC Cup Junior Girls Cyclocross Clinic…
  • Where: Trek CxC Cup @ Trek Factory Headquarters, Waterloo, Wisconsin. Registration and meet up will take place at the chalet near the back parking lot on McKay Way. Please allow plenty of time to navigate traffic leaving Chicago on Friday evening.
  • When: 5.30pm, 9/16/16. The clinic will last 1 hour with some time for questions for Kaitie after we’re done.
  • Cost: FREE
  • You must be:
    • – A junior girl aged 9-18 Cat 2/3/4
    • – EXCITED ABOUT CYCLOCROSS!
  • You must bring:
    • A cyclocross bike (preferred) or Mountain Bike.
    • A helmet.
    • A USAC license (if you don’t have a license you can purchase a one day license online when registering or day of)
  • We will supply:
    • The Trek CxC Cup Course. You will be doing drills and skills on the challenging UCI course set up for the weekend’s racing.
    • Multiple time (junior and U23) National Champion, and 2015 World Cup podium finisher Kaitie Antonneau (Cannondale Cyclocrossworld)
    • PIZZA. We know you’ll be leaving after (during) school on Friday so we will provide water and snacks for the riders after the clinic. If you have any dietary restrictions please email us; [email protected]
  • Registration Link: https://www.usacycling.org/register/2016-2699
  • Other Info:Trek has gone to great effort to provide a learning and racing environment for girls at the CxC Cup. We encourage you to make the most of the weekend and get yourself and your daughters signed up to race. The skills that Kaitie will be teaching are best put straight into practice!
• And finally… want to help out with the series or maybe just have a comment or idea? Email us directly at [email protected].

• Hey everyone, its September… so series CX racing is right around the corner. As of right now pre-reg for all CCC series events is open on BikeReg. Remember to have your USAC annual license number in your rider profile or you will be automatically charged $15 for a One Day license. Also, if you are trying to reg for a category you aren’t allowed to race in you’ll need to write in a reason before pre-reg’ing.
• If you’re reading this on the Internet and not through an RSS reader, you’ve probably noticed the CCC site has a new look. We have lots of fantastic photographers and figured since everyone is riding carbon bikes with disc brakes, one-by drivetrains, and electronic shifting that it was time for a site upgrade as well. Let us know what you think in the comments below. Don’t worry, you can still leave all the comments you want and all the historical content is still available. At the very bottom of the page either click the ‘Older posts’ link, use the ‘Search’ box, or use the ‘Archives’ drop down.
• Calling all sponsors, if you want to be a 2015 CCC Series Sponsor we need to know by 5pm today, at least if you want your logo or name on the t-shirts. Contact us at [email protected]
• Speaking of sponsors, we had a few companies officially join the CCC family this year.

– From the mind(s) behind the first and second ever CX billboards a new venture is lighting up, quite literally, the Chicagoland landscape.

– Ultimate Pro Bikes is a full service shop located in Countryside, nearby Palos Forest Preserve where most of us have spent at least a few hours climbing hills or shredding trails.

• And for those of you keeping track at home, nearly all of last year’s sponsors have returned in one form or another.
• And finally… for all you slacker patient riders who have been holding off to purchase or renew your USAC annual license, USAC has a special offer for the 2015 and 2016 season.  So now you really have no excuse not to own an annual license.

– Back for another year the CCC will again have Pactimo Leaders Jerseys… this year with a women’s cut version for the ladies.

– In case you missed it 2 weeks ago the 2015 and 2016 CCC series will be “Powered by SRAM“.

– All 11 events in the 2015 CCC will have One2Go timing, lap times, and new for 2015 real time LiveLynx Results. Please make sure to search for LiveLynx Results and not just LiveLynx… just trust us on that one. Because of the increased accuracy of having a camera running all day long the series is also increasing the self imposed 100 rider field limits of a few categories. No this is not a money grab, we’re just opening up a few more spots for the fields that tend to sell out on BikeReg.com so there are fewer waitlists to deal with.

– Speaking of BikeReg, the individual race directors are working on getting their races permitted with USAC and we’ll have pre-reg pages up on BikeReg sometime around the end of July or beginning of August and open pre-reg for most if not all events at the beginning of September.

– All 11 events will also include SRAM Neutral Race Support as well as Kenny Labbe announcing all day long.

– Speaking of all day long, the CCC series directors thought long and hard and tried to figure out a better race day schedule, but without any luck. There are just too many people in too many categories who want to race CX from September to December where we have less daylight to work with. Despite a few predictions to the contrary we think last year’s schedule worked as well as any could have. Considering the new staging changes (see below) and raising of field limits we feel leaving the race day schedule unchanged from 2014 will work fine again.

– Speaking of same schedules, the same 11 events from the 2014 season will be back for 2015 with the exception of Carpenter Park. Due to construction at Carpenter Park the crew at Main St. Bikes and the Sasquatch Squadron are temporarily moving the event 3.5 miles to the West to Randall Oaks Park. Race director Jeff Provisor tells us Randall Oaks has more space and even though there may not be a corn field (or Chubby Spud) the racing will be just as rad. We’ll update the series Google Map soon.

– No changes to the series minimum purse. Some events may increase payouts if they have the means, but given the scoring upgrades, neutral support, announcing, etc… and the fact that entry fee prices have remained the same for at least the last 5 or 6 years, all riders in the series are getting more bang for their buck than ever before. Remember payouts for the Men & Women Cat 1/2/3 races already scale up with the overall number of pre-reg’d riders.

– If you are interested in becoming a 2015 CCC Series Sponsor please review our 2015 proposal and contact us at [email protected].

– And finally… we did some spreadsheet magic (see Hopkins and Montrose, all races to follow eventually) and found that CrossResults.com rankings are actually very indicative of where riders should be staged during the entire season, regardless of CCC points. That being said this is still a series with series standings so it wouldn’t make sense not to use them at all. We initially considered staging the first 2 rows by CCC points for the whole season, then all others by CXR rankings, but then we thought that staging mid/downstate riders no better than the 3rd row at Montrose didn’t make sense either. Since riders good enough to win the state championship could probably win from the 4th row (see 35 seconds in) we decided staging the first row by CCC points and all other rows by CXR rankings for the entire season was a good compromise. Long story short, if you’re fast but not racing the entire series and earning CCC series points (traveling to far off lands, injury, ate too much ice cream, etc) you’ll be staged no worse than the 2nd row. Also CrossResuts rankings already handle DNF’s so those of you who have asked over the years to have your worst placing thrown out kinda, sorta get what you’ve been asking for. The Series Rules & FAQs page will be updated soon.