Photo: SnowyMountain Photography

• Holy cow was ABD Sunrise Park hard and a blast and also really hard. Its subtle, but we think ABDcx is the hardest race in the entire series. Sure there are no hills, no sand, no flyover, no wind (this year) but there is just no place to recover along the entire track. When we mentioned this to race director Jim Nowak on Sunday his reply was “Good. I want riders to finish and have absolutely nothing left in the tank.” It was the perfect race for all our newly upgraded Cat 2’s, Cat 3’s, and Cat ‘4s to test their mettle… so well done to all of you! Results links are here.
• This Saturday “Higher Gear is getting the band back together – for the third year in a row! The Rhythm and Blues Revue Cyclocross Race is back – bigger and even better! Ghouls and goblins will fill the field at the third annual Rhythm and Blues Revue, hosted by Higher Gear. Join them on Halloween, Saturday October 31 for one of the most fun CX races in Chicagoland.” More details here.
• Next up, the CCC travels just a little bit farther West to Campton (NOT Compton) CX, hosted by Bicycle Heaven and series sponsor Training Bible Cycling. Its the day after Halloween, so please dress appropriately. Campton CX is also increasing payouts for both the Men & Women Cat 1/2/3 to $700 for each field paying 8 deep.
• Speaking of payouts, please pick up your payouts at the venue! The CCC standard minimum payout schedule is here, but most race promoters will only hold on to unclaimed winnings for a few weeks before donating the money to charity.
• Speaking of charity, remember the CCC is accepting donations through each race’s BikeReg page for our end of the year lump sum donation. You can also donate your winnings back at the race or send us an email if you want to go big. This year we are directing all funds towards Big Marsh, West Town Bikes, and Blackstone Bicycle Works. Donations have been very lite this year, so we can only assume you all must be paying off all those GoPros and fancy carbon wheels you keep breaking.
  

  Photo: SnowyMountain Photography

• And finally… since we can’t seem to get through a single week without unnecessary drama about something, just a few bunch of words about heckling. Whether you love it, hate it, or don’t care, heckling is a part of cyclocross. Full stop. What makes our niche sport so great for spectating and taking photos, i.e. the slower speeds of the racers (vs. road, track, etc), close proximity to the race track, riding our bikes in the park, hanging out with all our friends, being able to read racer names on their helmets, etc… also allows for the heckling. For better or worse, we can’t have one without the other. Its part of the culture and if done correctly is a beautiful, wonderfully funny thing that helps riders make it through the race. So to the 98% of you doing it correctly, thank you. But, for the rest of you, and as we have said over and over and over and over… there should always be more cheer than jeer. If you wouldn’t say it in front of your grandmother or wouldn’t want it on the front page of the Monday morning NY Times… don’t say it in a public space where a.) there are impressionable kids, b.) everyone has a camera and is recording you, and c.) other people who have no idea what CX is will hear you and think everyone else at the event is also a jerk. All that being said, if some dude (and lets face it, its always a dude) is truly being rude, unruly, stoopid, or otherwise making a fool of himself, kindly ask him to stop… in person, right there, at the venue. Put a little skin in the game and don’t wait until the next morning to vent here in the comment section or on the Facebook, or Twitter, or your MySpace page. The CCC has not been made great or horrible by any one person. We all have a responsibility to make the CCC the best CX race series it can be, so please do your part, on both sides of the tape. Okay? This will be the last time we discuss heckling here this season. So let’s all just be cool and race our bikes, and let other people race their bikes too.
  

  Photo: SnowyMountain Photography

• #ABDcx  Remember to check out 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).
• $25 prime to the winner of first partial lap of each race (other than Cat 4/5). Payouts will be held until Campton Cross. Any payouts not claimed after Campton Cross will be donated to Bartlett Park District Foundation.
• North of the Border will be serving Mexican and American w/ veggie options.
• Other Brother Coffee will be there with your warm beverage in the AM.
• Kiddie race is at 2pm!
• No alcohol.  Sorry Park rules.
• The Course: Nearly identical to last year but with a new start chute.

Cyclocross is unique in its’ physical demands.  It’s all-out, shut down completely for some twisty turns and then on again at full tilt.  The very fast and fun course at Randall Oaks (thanks Main Street Bicycles and crew) was a good example of this.

Chicago Cyclocross Cup (c) Liz Farina Markel/Tipping Point Photography

Recover when you can’t pedal……It seems pretty obvious but takes some discipline when you’re so fried that you can’t even spit correctly.  Break the course down in your mind during your warm up laps and remind yourself to back off when the course necessitates during the race.  Use those precious moments to breath and collect your thoughts.

Cyclocross takes longer to learn than most endurance sports.  There are so many little things to remember and execute and all while you’re almost completely out of your mind.  So as with anything that we do – barriers, start, turns, etc. – you’re wise to work on this aspect as well.   These are tough!  So do them on a day that makes sense to have hard intervals:

Warm up for at least 20 minutes in zones 1-2 heart rate/power

Do as one continuous effort: 10 seconds race pace (120% or more of your FTP power/race pace), then right into a technical section of turns that take 10 seconds to complete x 9 efforts back to back = 1 interval .  So each interval is 3 minutes in length (20 seconds x 9).

2 minutes of recovery between intervals.

X3 intervals = 1 set.

Take 5 minutes off between sets.

Warm down with at least a 20 minute spin in zones 1-2 heart rate/power

Two or three sets for a 4/5, four or five sets for a cat 3 and six or seven sets for the 1/2/3 bunch is a good hard day on the bike.

As with pyramid intervals the recovery is as much a focus as the power.  Train your mind and body to relax in the technical section.  As with most learned skill repetition is your friend.  It will become a natural thing to do on race day and that is going to provide you with more power where it’s most beneficial.

Rob Kelley

TRAINING BIBLE CYCLING

• From everything we heard and saw Randall Oaks was a resounding success. Results and links are here but we are still working out a few discrepancies. Hold tight and we’ll have everything fixed in a few days and certainly before next Sunday.
• Next up the CCC heads to Barlett, IL for the always windy sufferfest fantastic ABD Sunrise Park.
• Remember if you want 1/2  your CCC series points to follow you to the next category you MUST upgrade this week before the next race. And by before the next race we mean before Thursday night when online pre-reg closes. Submit your upgrade through USACycling.org and then forward your confirmation email to us at ChicagoCrossCup at gmail.
• Regarding upgrades, there is no glory in being a sandbagger and being that guy/gal no one appreciates being in the race because they are racing below their true achievement level. Remember there are
  rules and the series can and will point out mandatory upgrade candidates to the USAC upgrade coordinator. So if you are a Cat 3 or 4 (man or woman) do the right thing and upgrade when appropriate.
• And finally… just a reminder the comments section of this website is public and while we are not in the business of censorship we reserve the right to reject any comments we wouldn’t read alou to our grandmothers. You can still disagree with someone without being a jerk, so please keep the language clean and civil

• #RandallOaksCX
• Preliminary staging will be posted here.
• This is a one-off CX venue as we wait for the dust to settle at Carpenter Park, so a rare chance to race the rolling hills of Randall Oaks. If you have trouble reading maps, search for the “Randall Oaks Petting Zoo” or set your GPS to 1180 North Randall Road, West Dundee, IL 60118.
• Randall Oaks Park is hosted by Main St. Bicycles Sasquatch Squadron (owned by CCC series director and all-round awesome guy Jeff Provisor). Main Street Bicycles started  hosting their event in 2005!
• Registration is on the South side of the park.
• Bib #’s always on your left.
• No dirt rollers, or corn maze, but a great variety of rollers to conquer, with a good mix of speed, off camber, and punchy climbs.
• The driveway that takes you to the parking area is one way, and crosses the course twice in close succession, so please drive slowly and watch for the course marshal’s directions.
• Parking will be a little tight, so please carpool if you can.
• Dave’s Slow-Food will be serving up their awesome fare.
• There is a no alcohol policy in the park, please respect park rules.
• Porta-johns will be near registration.
• There is a fee to visit the petting zoo, but there is a nice playground near the course and potentially a kiddie Strider event hosted by the park.
• The Course: Obviously totally different from past years since the event is in a different park.

One of the Best Descents….Ever

It’s October. If you’re somewhere south this means you’re just getting a jump on next year’s road season. If you reside close to the best amateur CX series in the country , it means you’re getting ready to pull out the winter gloves and buy some thermal insulated boots. Maybe you’re searching for a great coach to help maximize your potential during the next race season. Hopefully you’re not hanging up the spandex for too long while implementing daily donuts into your diet.

Whatever you’re doing you should also be racing cyclocross. Yeah. Cyclocross. That sloppy, wet racing with the funky bikes that look like glorious road bikes but aren’t really glorious road bikes. That weird, chaotic sport where you might have to actually run with your bike (gasp!) or grow a beard. “Why?” You ask. Why should you race cyclocross?

Because You Don’t Want To Be Paolo Bettini, That’s Why.

We’re not talking about version 2006 of Paolo Bettini. That guy won the world championship and deserves to do whatever he wants. We’re not talking about the 2007 Paolo Bettini here, either. That guy won the world championship for the second straight time and deserves to do whatever he wants twice-over with a side of full-fat whipped cream.

What we are talking about is the 2008 Paolo Bettini. The man who, having twice won the world championships, appeared to eat all the donuts. And the whipped cream. We’re talking about the one who ate all the cheeseburgers and then retired. That Paolo Bettini went from being at the top of his game to being un-competitive pretty quick. Sure, he had some injuries. On the other hand, once he decided he would retire, he sure didn’t seem very motivated.

Motivation is a tricky thing. Nobody is saying you have to race cyclocross with the same discipline, gusto, or intensity that you attack road season. On the other hand, a couple of Sunday CX races a month very well may keep you intrigued enough to avoid eating all the cheeseburgers. Some CX racing worked into your off-season program can keep the bottom from completely falling out from under you.

MORE

UPDATE: The CCC would like to re-address the events that happened during the cat 4/5 race on Sunday. We did not mean to downplay the significance of what happened at all and we’re sorry if it seemed that way. We put the comments at the bottom of the update so it would be the last thing everyone read and stuck in everyone’s mind longer. As a number of people have pointed out to us the events that occurred were actually assault which has absolutely ZERO place in society in general and more specifically at CCC events. Hindsight is always 20/20 and the correct course of action would have been for someone (a racer, race director,  USAC official, anyone) to call the police and file an assault report immediately. We are sorry this did not occur. However, we at the CCC are committed to making cyclocross events in Chicagoland a positive and safe experience and we are dedicated to creating the best racing environment possible for everyone. We are extremely embarrassed such an assault happened at one of our events and would ask that anyone who has questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, etc. reach out to us directly at [email protected].

Photo: Jill Curty Photography

• Oh man that was a tough one! Thanks to BBVP and everyone who made (both days at) Dan Ryan Woods another successful event! John Roberts, the Chief of Police for the Forest Preserve of Cook County was out on Sunday and really enjoyed and supports the event. He had the same feeling last year and was happy to see that the Caldwell Labagh Woods Forest Preserve property was used too. Chief  Roberts is extending an invite for everyone to join the Trail Watch Program. They are having an event at Dan Ryan Woods in November and another on the North side. Dates are not yet posted but check it out here: http://fpdcc.com/trail-watch. Results in all their various formats are consolidated here for you easy viewing enjoyment including lap times from One2Go.
• Speaking of One2Go… they are great and might respond anyway, but there is a reason all of their emails say in big bold text at the very top “PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL“. One2Go are at the races to provide timing services, not approve upgrades, not to provide directions, nor to look up the weather forecast. If you have results issues you need to speak with the USAC officials at the race and if you have series scoring issues, questions, etc… email us, NOT One2Go. Thanks!
• Next up the CCC heads NorthWest to Randall Oaks Park. The venue has moved temporarily down the road but the crew is the same bunch that has hosted Carpenter Park since forever. Look for details at the normal time on Thursday. #randalloakscx
• Speaking of Randall Oaks Park… if you are thinking about upgrading (from Cat 4 to Cat 3 or Cat 3 to Cat 2 [men or women]) Randall Oaks will be your last race to earn points. You’ll then need to upgrade BEFORE ABD Sunrise Park. CCC Series Points are NOT USAC upgrade points. Read the rules here (page 21 & 22) and apply for your upgrade on USACycling.org. After you receive your upgrade confirmation forward it to us here at the series and we’ll transfer your points. PLEASE contact us as soon as possible… and by that we don’t mean the Saturday night before ABD Sunrise Park as we won’t have time crunch the numbers. Thanks and good luck!
• And finally… and we can’t believe we even need to say this any more… but when riders are on course, racing just as hard as anyone else, no one should interfere with anyone else’s race. This includes moving stakes, leaning too far into the course tape, out right standing in the middle of the course, etc. Creative and funny heckling is obviously still allowed and encouraged. 99.99% of all of you know what to do and set great examples, but there is always one bad apple out there that spoils it for everyone. In particular we’d like to address an incident this past weekend where a man by himself in plain clothes was up on the last hill making lewd comments to the ladies racing the Cat 4/5’s and slapping them on the bum as they rode by. To be clear as Belgian mud, this is not only just plain creepy, but unacceptable and inexcusable. Maybe this guy wasn’t a rider or even associated with the CCC, but if he was and we find out who he is, he will be asked not to return. We’re all out there just trying to have fun, right? Let’s keep it civil, clean, and respectful to all riders. K, thanks!

Photo: Jill Curty Photography