• #ABDcx The standard preview page here.
• Preliminary staging will be posted here.
• If you upgraded this week and want 1/2 your CCC series points to follow you to the next category, please contact us at ChicagoCrossCup at gmail by Friday. We will NOT automatically transfer your points.
• Parking on Foster Ave is allowed but on NORTH side only. There should be “No Parking” signs along the park (south) side. If not, please respect this. Also Parking is allowed on Struckman Blvd (better option), or at Sycamore Trails School (preferred).
• ABD will be awarding a Women Single Speed payout the same as the Men Single Speed.
• Payouts will be held until Pheasant Run. Any payouts not claimed after Pheasant Run will be donated to Bartlett Park District Foundation.
• North of the Border will be serving Mexican and American w/ veggie options.
• Kiddie race is at 2pm!
• No alcohol.  Sorry Park rules.
• The Course: Very similar to last year. As always the course can change between now and Sunday.

Time to Focus on the Limiters

After some intense CX races you probably have a good idea what “limiters” are holding you back from overtaking the guys and gals you have not been able to catch these last couple of weeks. You may be getting dropped after certain obstacles or through technical corners. Maybe you’re hitting a wall before crossing the finish line, or you can’t get the recovery you need after a power section.

It’s important to recognize and focus on these weaknesses during the appropriate training days. This may seem obvious but some of us go at our intense training days with a workout that makes us “feel” like we’re making the best of our time. Maybe we feel really strong when we increase that average power week after week when we train race pace for 45 minutes on the usual training loop. Or maybe the short, intense efforts are where we exceed, and anaerobic endurance intervals are the go-to workout.  Getting out of the comfort zone while no-one is watching is what separates the podium from the rest of the field.

There is plenty of time to improve on these weaknesses before the big end-of-season races. Here are a few suggestions from TBC:

CX SKILLS – If barriers are your enemy, you think sand should only be for beach-goers, or you think bunny hopping should be restricted to small floppy-eared mammals; work on these must have skills during your recovery days. We give some good pointers in this post.

MOTHER NATURE – Do you excel on dry courses or are you a cold weather racer? Get out and play in the rain to get used to the sloppy conditions. Hopefully the hot races are over, but next season get out in the August heat in case Trek CX is brutally hot again. And now is the time to train on those cold days to prep for the potential frigid racing this winter.

WHY CAN’T I RECOVER? – Implement VO2 Max intervals or AE intervals on your hard days. Workouts like Tabata intervals will help improve the acceleration out of the technical sections, and train your body to take advantage of those short recovery sections.

THE WALL BEFORE THE LAST 2 LAPS – When the tank is consistently empty before the race is over you may need to pick it up on that hard training day. Just be careful you’re not over training and your weekly routine is making race day tougher than it should be. We recommend one, maybe two hard days a week depending on the training block. Mix in the short intervals with active recovery, and use the duration of your race as a guide for time. Here is an example of something you may try if your race is 45 minutes:

• Mimic a start into a 4 minute Tabata interval.
• Three minute recovery (50% of FTP) and into another Tabata interval.
• 1 minute recovery into a 10 minute FTP interval.
• Two minute recovery into a Tabata interval
• Three minute recovery and into another Tabata interval.
• 1 minute recovery into a 10 minute FTP interval.
• Two minute recovery into a Tabata interval with an all-out finish.

Hit whatever goal is within your ability by improving your limiters during the middle of the season. Good luck and race hard.

Peter Kelley

• Thanks to the Sasquatch Squadron and Main Street Bikes for another great, if drier than expected, Carpentersville race on Sunday. Turns out ground that hasn’t been rained on in 4 months absorbs a lot of water. All the updated results you are looking for are on the CCC Overall Standings GoogleSheet.
• Next up the CCC travels to Barlett for the ABD Sunrise Park (#ABDcx) event. Veteran CX hero Jim Nowak always has a few tricks up his sleeve to create one of, if not the hardest courses in the series. Online pre-reg on BikeReg closes Thursday night. Looks for the usual preview Thursday morning.
• Hotel rooms for $92/night are still available but filling quickly at Pheasant Run. Here is a link to make your reservation, or call the hotel at (630) 584-6300 and use the code ‘cyclocross’.
• Speaking of registering, online pre-reg for 2018 (i.e. this season) CX National Championships in Reno, NV opens in just under 2 weeks on Monday 10/30/17.
• Have you recently upgraded and need to transfer to a different race? Have you ever signed up for the Cat 4 race but then realized you need to be home in time for Crazy Aunt Sue’s 83rd birthday party? You can now actually transfer yourself into another category directly through your BikeReg rider profile. Its true! Just log on to your BikeReg rider profile and follow the directions. You’ll automatically be charged any difference in entry fees. You can also transfer your entry to someone else.
• Speaking of upgrades, remember you must upgrade before this weekend if you want to take 1/2 your points with you to the next category. See all the rules here.
• Did you know you can also update your contact info, emergency contact info (please, please do this), etc. yourself through your BikeReg rider profile? That is also true. Be aware however that we match all first names, last names, USAC CX categories, and team names to the USAC rider database. So those we will change for you.
• Did you start the season on a One Day license and have since purchased a USAC annual license because CX is so rad? No problem. Just update your BikeReg rider profile (and any races you’ve already pre-reg’d for, see above) with your license number. Then email us that number and we’ll update our data so you are staged properly (based on your USAC annual license number). Otherwise we won’t catch the One Day and Annual license difference.
• And finally… we’d like welcome back to the CCC Sponsor and Partner family CMIT Solutions of Chicago. CMIT Solutions is an IT consulting firm organized to support midsize & small businesses with offices in downtown Chicago. They take care of all hassles associated with computers and networks and offer a predictable flat rate service delivered by a friendly local team – sometimes by bike.

School is back in session at Woodland Elementary in Carpentersville and the MSB Sasquatch Squadron is fixin’ to learn you a thing or two about cyclocross.

• This weekend’s CCC event, Squatch Cross p/b the Main Street Bicycles Sasquatch Squadron, will be held once again at 770 Navajo Drive in Carpentersville. If you arrive at the shuttered Woodland Elementary School, congrats! You’re doing it right. If you’re at Carpenter Park or Randall Oaks… well… try again.
• Hashtag #CarpenterCX will be your gateway to social media fame.
• Preliminary Staging will be posted here Friday morning. Please double check your points at that time, not Sunday morning.
• Speaking of staging, we are switching the start order of the Women Cat 4/5 and Junior 9-14 fields. This Sunday and the rest of the season the Women Cat 4/5’s will start first, followed by the Junior 9-14’s. Please email us directly if you have any questions or comments.
• Numbers go on your LEFT SIDE, always in the CCC.
• Kiddie Cross TBD! Parents need to sign a waiver. Ages 10 and under.
• Petting Zoo is out again, but if you stop by the MSB tent and ask nicely, we’ll have puppers to pet
• Food/Water: Food Vendors will be on-site / Water available on-site
• No Alcohol permitted on the property
• Food: The Toasty Cheese food truck will be there – good stuff. Dave’d Slow Food could not make it.
• Tent Cities: Same spots as last year as well as the new opportunity to set up at Heckle City. It is a hike up a small hill so bring a cart and drop off gear at the Western Drop Off.
• Parking: The school has a small lot so an area will remain open there for tent drop off, and we will have parking volunteers helping to guide folks in the morning. Please be courteous as it is early for them, too.
• Otherwise, plenty of street parking surrounding the school – please respect the posted parking signs. If need be, the Sunny Hill School lot is available on Helm Rd.
• The Course: Runs Clockwise. It’s been a year and we Squatches have mechanized. Chainsaws and tillers came out to spice up the course and make the most of our venue’s modest size. Now we’ve got a layout fit to satisfy any Millennial’s wanderlust—a mix of wide-open plains, verdant forest and even some sandy beaches make an appearance. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for sasquatches around the course because, no matter what, we’re always squatchin’ you.

• Thanks to the entire Beverly Bike crew for hosting yet another leg buster on the hills of the Dan Ryan Woods. All the results you’re looking for are here. We had a little mix up in the Single Speed results (which are now corrected), but please check your results, no matter which field you raced in. Our goal is 100% accuracy, but we’re all human and make mistakes everyone now and again.
• Next up the CCC heads Northwest to the banks of the Fox River where race director and series director Jeff Provisor and the Main Street Bikes Sasquatch Squadron host stop #4 of the series in Carpentersville. We’re back at the Woodland Elementary School again this year (same as last year) where Jeff and the guys have found some new terrain to use. Look for the usual preview on Thursday. Online pre-reg for #CarpenterCX closes Thursday evening on BikeReg.
• Another friendly reminder, please do NOT sit up at the finish line. One2Go reminds us they are having a bit of trouble reading bib numbers of riders sitting up at the finish line, especially with the juniors. So parents, coaches, etc., please remind your juniors to keep their hands on the bars until after the finish line.
• And finally… a big, big, big, big, big shout out to our series announcer Kenny Labbe for keeping us all on time, playing DJ, providing great color commentary, and most importantly presenting and organizing the best podiums in CX. Make sure to swing by the Kenny Kompound and say hello, throw a Hi-Five, and show him a little extra CCC love. Thanks Kenny!!!

Please post links in the comments to your pictures, videos, and race reports.

• This weekend’s CCC event, Beverly Bike CX, is at Dan Ryan Woods on Chicago’s South Side, hosted by… Beverly Bike. The name may have changed to Beverly Bike CX, but we’re still using the #hashtag #drwCX.
• Preliminary staging will be posted here sometime Friday. Please let us know if you see any errors.
• Keep in mind the series rules concerning upgrades. If you have upgraded in the last week please email us so we can transfer 1/2 your points to the next category for staging and overall standings.
• Beverly Bike has secured a free beverage for the first 350 preregistered riders from their local restaurant/watering hole Horse Thief Hollow. horsethiefbrewing.com. Note the beverage is available either at the venue or at Horse Thief Hollow.
• Tacos? Yes, please! Pollo Locuas www.pollolocuas.com  will be on site with their cart. Oh yeah, elotes too!
• Plenty of parking, please use it.
• The course: Beverly Bike brings yet another different course. Counter clockwise (numbers always on your left side). You will see on Sunday what’s in store.

• Thanks to Comrade Cycles and the entire crew that made Sunday’s race at Hopkins Park in Dekalb a success. The course was both flowy and turny depending on which side of the park you were on. And that log jump! All the results you’re looking for are updated here.
• Next up the CCC travels to the South side of Chicago for Beverly Bike CX at Dan Ryan Woods hosted by Beverly Bike. Online pre-reg on BikeReg closes Thursday night.
• Remember the Chicago Marathon is happening Sunday. Please plan your travel times accordingly.
• If you want more Hopkins Park-esque goodness and are into road trips… The Beer City Growler Cyclocross is heading into it’s second year on Saturday 10/7/17 in Grand Rapids, MI. There’s $2500 in cash prizes up for grabs, including a $1500 Women’s Open prize purse. The Hopkins Park flyover of yore lives there now, and the beer garden will be flowing all day long! One2Go Event Services will be running timing, and the course will be fast, flowy, and hard with at least three unavoidable dismounts (unless you are Cody Kaiser). Register at https://www.usacycling.org/register/2017-1496!
• Slightly closer to Chicagoland, Grafton PumpkinCross is also on Saturday 10/7/17 at Lime Kiln Park, WI. They will have great payouts and awesome course features: paved start & finish, freshly minted off camber river bank run up & woods section, a grueling sledding hill climb with a DJ hillside, and a stretch through the beer tent. Local food vendors, Boneshaker BBQ, and Blue Cow Creperie, will be serving up deliciousness and their title sponsor, Body Renovation Physical Therapy, will be on hand in our expo area providing injury evaluations and pre & post race tune ups! The FIRST TWO riders to use the promo code: “TOLL” gets free entry to PumpkinCross. Take their prize money! If you weren’t quick on the draw, “CCC” gets 25% off entry fees. Registration: https://goo.gl/8X5844
• And finally… ladies (and guys), if you have long hair, please please please make sure it is up off your back and more importantly your bib number. We’re not asking just to be difficult. As you can see from the finish line camera images below from One2Go, it is very, very, very difficult to score you when we can’t see your number. Bib number placement has generally been great, but please get those long locks in a pony tail. Also, please do NOT sit up at the finish line. Thanks!!!