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

This is the first of our posts that will focus on helping you maximize your time while training for the Chicago Cross Cup series.  If you have questions shoot over a note to [email protected].  My methods are based on the Training Bible system of periodization as developed by Joe Friel, as I have been lucky enough to learn from and work with the master himself.  Joe is regarded as the foremost authority on training endurance athletes in the English-speaking world and , very literally, wrote the book.  We also hope to have input from other coaches invested in this area and race series and so if you fit that description and have an interest send an e-mail to that same address.

If you race cyclocross it’s time to get back on the horse.  A proper base is crucial in making it to the end of the season both physically and mentally dialed in throughout the Chicago Cross Cup series.

A transition period (see more here) is made of little to no riding; maybe some cross training of some sort and a mental vacation from the rigors of training.  Take at least a week off to that end before jumping back into a regimented program.  And then……

Most are coming off of a summer of racing or just riding for fitness and fun and so should begin with less aerobic focus than is necessary following a long period off the bike like you’d take on mid-winter.  Two aerobic threshold rides per week mixed into your schedule for this first phase of training is normally enough.   Training should be set up in blocks and the most common rhythm is 3 weeks of focused training followed by 1 week of recovery, and this first block should include a healthy dose of aerobic endurance intervals.

Start with heart rate as a gauge and then feed in your wattage as you go along.  Aerobic threshold is built at the high end of zone 2, and look here if you need to identify your heart rate zones.  If you do not have a power meter then just go by heart rate.  This level of effort may sound like a cake walk, but they are not easy!  The intervals are:

Warm up for at least 15 minutes.  60 minutes at the high end of zone 2 heart rate.  Warm down for at least 10 minutes

Warm up for at least 15 minutes.  75 minutes at the high end of zone 2 heart rate.  Warm down for at least 10 minutes

Warm up for at least 15 minutes.  90 minutes at the high end of zone 2 heart rate.  Warm down for at least 10 minutes

Click here for more detail in regard to these intervals.  Solidifying a 75 minute effort with no decoupling – when heart rate rises while power remains the same (see more here) – is enough for all but those in the 1/2/3 races.  If you are going to line up for a 1 hour cross race then take it up to at least 90 minutes.  If you are using heart rate alone you can use speed and/or gear ratio in the place of wattage.  Not as exacting, but will give you an idea of how your output (heart rate) measures up to your input (power) as you progress.

You’ll want to have a consistent effort and so these are best done on the road or a stationary trainer; with a road bike or cross bike with some slicks.  Add in recovery rides and not-so-tough rides off road on the cross bike and you have a solid week of the type of training necessary for this period.  A typical week will look something like this:

Monday – completely off or strength training

Tuesday – 60 minute aerobic threshold interval, 1.5 hour ride total

Wednesday – off road on the cross bike for 1 – 2 hours, easy to medium intensity

Thursday – 1.5 hour recovery ride, or strength training and a 30 minute recovery ride

Friday – completely off

Saturday – 2 – 3 hour long slow distance ride on the road, off road or a combination of the two

Sunday – 60 minute aerobic threshold interval, 1.5 hour ride total

Don’t underestimate recovery!  It is as important as the hard rides.

Good luck!  If you are interested in buying a training plan that will take you through the entire CCC series that incorporates this and much more see here.

Rob Kelley

TRAINING BIBLE COACH

www.ROKcoaching.com

– New this season the CCC website will feature a Coach’s Corner post every Wednesday from ROK Coaching with articles on training, racing, recovery, etc. Coach Rob Kelley has been in and around cyclocross for a long time and has developed a 16 week CX training plan here which starts this week. Take a look to get stronger and faster for the CCC.

– The xXx Racing-Athletico CX Relay race is coming up this Sunday in Jackson Park. Even if you can’t or don’t want to race, the venue is so close to the city you should swing down and check it out. Pre-reg has filled for Juniors and the Coed Open fields, but there are still a few spots open in the other categories. Please pre-reg on BikeReg.com for this event before it closes tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11:45pm CST. Good luck to all the teams racing, especially those named ‘Hurt Ponies’ and ‘Kevin/Tom’.

– Speaking of BikeReg, right after the CX Relay please make sure to update your BikeReg.com rider profile with, at the very least, your USAC license number (we use these to score the regular season CCC races) and all other relevant info. Even if you had a USAC license number in the past but are racing on a One Day license this year, keep your USAC license number in your profile. If your info is not correct in BikeReg we can’t score the series correctly. The reg pages for regular season CCC races will be online soon.

– Speaking of pre-registration and specifically entry fees for Junior races, all CCC races will charge entry fees for Junior races during the 2014 season. As much as we didn’t want to have to do this, last year we found a large number of Juniors (way more than any other category) pre-registered and then did not start (DNS) their races. In some cases 50% of Juniors DNS’d. With the Women Cat 4/Junior field selling out at many venues this led not only to some women not being able to pre-reg, but also large lines at the reg desk as waitlisted riders who showed up to race had to wait again to get in the race. However, since we do not want to penalize the Juniors who actually do show up to race, the CCC is instituting a reimbursement policy. If a Junior (racing in the Junior races) pre-reg’s for >= 4 races and actually shows up to race at least 75% of those races, at the end of the season they can request a reimbursement from the CCC for the full amount of the reg fees of the races they actually raced. We’ll have more details spelled out on the Series Rules and FAQs page soon.

– Also speaking of BikeReg, Half Acre Cycling is hosting a Women’s & Tran’s Beginner CX Clinic. If you have never raced or have one or two under your belt and want to brush up on your skills, join the Half Acre women’s cx squad for a fun morning in the park! Raffle prizes and snacks included!! Mmmm, snacks.

– Even more concerning BikeReg, as promised last week, here is more information about Beverly Bike/Vee Pak’s Saturday 10/11/14 schedule. The Beverly HILLS 5K trail run will begin at 10am on the same course as their cross race. You can register on RunReg here. At 12:00 the fun gets real with the half day cyclocross schedule. The course will be a slight variation of Sunday’s and will include a bunny hop competition! Think of a reverse limbo on a bike. Let’s see who can really fly! Registration for Saturday’s cross race will be open when Sunday’s CCC race goes live, sometime in the next few weeks.

– And finally… we hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of summer. Cross will be here soon enough so by all means practice your remounts, and turns, and starts, and heckles… but before you have to explain to both your non-cycling friends what cyclocross is every weekend and why you have so many bruises on your legs and are walking a little funny… please enjoy the summer weather before it is gone all too quickly.

– The CCC has many returning series sponsors for 2014 but also a few new friends we’d like to welcome to the family. More are on the way as well, but in the meantime, say hello to…

 ABUS Mobile Secuirty – Whether you want to secure your bike against theft, protect your head in a fall with a bike helmet or simply transport a few items without damaging them. ABUS provides the right solution for all these tasks. From basic protection to high-tech locks to protect you against theft. Or from the first bike helmet for your child to helmets for professional cyclists. Or from the wide range of sportive, elegant and functional bike bags.

  Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (CBBEL) is a full-service consulting engineering and surveying firm specializing in civil, transportation/highway, municipal, traffic, construction, water resources, environmental, structural and mechanical engineering. CBBEL is committed to delivering consistently accurate, timely, and cost-effective solutions to a wide range of engineering and environmental challenges.

 Lauri Novak Photography – Event & Fine Art photography capturing unique views and perspectives. Lauri sees the world in photographs and love that her photography helps others to see the world around them in a new and different way.

– Word in the dirt is Bevery Bike/VeePak is not only putting on their usual CX mayhem Sunday 10/12/14 at Dan Ryan Woods but are also opening up the course on Saturday 10/11/14 for a half day of non CCC-series racing. The reason for only a half day of cyclocross… because in the morning BB/VP is hosting a 5k trail run on the same course. So save the date and break out your running shoes too. More information will follow next week.

– Remember xXx Racing’s CX Relay is in 1.5 weeks and the team name competition is in full swing. The CoED category is already full, but we’re not sure if Bert Wellens and Sylvie Uyttendaele are really coming over from Antwerp to race with us.

– And finally… we want to try a little experiment this season. We know many of you have GPS computers on your bikes and just about everyone has an Internet connection, so let’s have some fun with Strava. Read through our instruction page and let’s see what happens.

– We are pleased to announce The Pony Shop will be the 2014 Chicago Cyclocross Cup Title Sponsor. After 5 great years Iron Cycles is handing the reigns to the gang at the Pony Shop. Shop owner and CX team manager Lou Kuhn is no stranger to the Chicago CX scene and has been a mainstay in the CCC series since its inception 11 years ago. The team has had multiple series overall winners and state CX champions over the years in nearly every category from masters to men to women from Cat 1 to Cat 4. Swing by one of the multiple Pony Shop tents this season and say hello to the guys and gals who call The Pony Shop home. From Lou, “The Pony Shop is honored to be a part of the CCC and help it continue to grow as one of the premier cyclocross series in the United States.  The Pony Shop has been in Evanston since 1969 and is proud to be recognized as one of the many Chicago area shops that truly specialize in and love cyclocross.  Our team has continued to grow for 2014 especially in the junior ranks, and we look forward to seeing these kids develop the same love we all have for cyclocross!”

– Saturday September 6th Spidermonkey Cycling and SRAM are bringing Pete Webber & Meredith Miller to Chicago for the latest installment of Cracking the Code, a CX mini camp and clinic. Leave your pledge pin at home and come learn CX from 2 of the best in the business. Register here.

– Also on 9/6/14, the Michigan CX season kicks off with the Alma Grand Prix of Cyclocross p/b Eclipse Cycling, which is the first race of the Tailwind series.  As a special offer for Chicago racers the race promoter has again created a coupon on the USAC registration page good for $5 off your pre-registration ($25 pre-registration, $30 day-of).  This coupon code expires on Sunday, August 31 at midnight EST and is limited to the first TWENTY uses.  E-mail Brian ([email protected]) for the coupon! There are a handful of hotels in the area in Alma and Grand Rapids (80 minute drive…) and double up with a Kiss Cross race on Sunday(September 7) in downtown G.R. on your way back home. Early number pick up on Friday night is at the Alma Brewing Company in downtown Alma. Spy photos of the course (and a history of the venue) are available on the Facebook page. More information is available at www.AlmaGP.blogspot.com or www.Facebook.com/AlmaGrandPrixOfCyclocross. Any questions please e-mail Brian: [email protected].

– The CCC 2014 minimum payout schedule is here.

– Just a reminder the xXx Racing CX Relay race is less than 3 weeks away. Online pre-registration opened on BikeReg yesterday and the team name competition is just getting started.

– Speaking of xXx Racing-Athletico, if you hadn’t already noticed on the Schedule page, the Jackson Park CCC series race is moving venues this year to Caldwell Woods. Since xXx Racing had no other options for using other parts of Jackson Park they up and found a newer, bigger, better, location just North West of the city, still easily rideable to via Milwaukee or Elston Aves. However, even though we’re sure you all can’t wait to hit the dirt in the new location, xXx Racing urges all racers and teams to refrain from practicing at Caldwell Woods between now and race day.  By avoiding Caldwell Woods until late September we are assisting the Cook County Forest Preserve District in their land use management plans. Thank you for your understanding.

– For all you newbies out there, CX National Champion Jeremy Powers explains “What is Cyclocross“.

– And finally…  the organizers of Illinois Women Cyclists in collaboration with the Illinois Cycling Association and xXx-Racing are hosting the first ever Women’s Team Open House at Relay Cross! The group would like to offer a bridge for women navigating through the rush of finding a team that they can call family and Relay CX is the perfect setting! If your team would like to participate, please fill out this survey by Saturday August 8.

– So its almost August, road season is basically over, the Tour de France ending has all the roadies in a funk, and we’ve already fielded multiple emails from newbies asking lots of questions, so it makes sense we should have a big update. Look for more important updates over the coming weeks.

– First up, after 5 years of essentially the same race day schedule (except for the addition and jostling around of the SS category) the CCC is having its first major race day schedule change in a while to both accommodate the increases in rider performance and help everyone be more competitive at the local, regional, and national level. Due to everyone wanting to race and not enough daylight in December, there are no easy decisions when it comes to deciding on a CX race day schedule, but thankfully we have plenty of historical data to guide our choices. We looked at total rider counts and even the age and category breakdowns for every race in last year’s series to help us decide what is best for everyone… riders, race promoters, officials, parents. spectators, parks, pet greyhounds, you name it. So we put our heads together and spent literally weeks analyzing the data, thinking about where we’ve come from, where we’d like the series to go in the future, and after about 80 or 90 emails came up with the following race day schedule. We know we can’t please everyone all the time, but we managed to keep all categories from last year while adding some new features. The major changes are as follows:

1. The race day will start 15 minutes earlier and end 25 minutes later.
2. The Women 123 will have their own dedicated 45 minutes of course time immediately before the Cat 1/2/3 race.
3. Added a short 15 minute course inspection time immediately before the Cat 3 race.
4. Changed the Masters categories age minimums from 30+, 40+, and 50+ to 35+, 45+, and 55+. We reviewed the data from last year and found there were not as many 30-34 year olds as we assumed. See here.
5. Masters races are now shortened to 40 minutes.
6. Masters 35+ will start off the day by themselves (since older masters can always race down in age).
7. Masters 45+ will lead the 2nd start wave of the day followed 2 minutes behind by the Masters 55+.
8. Lengthened the Junior 15-18 race to 35 minutes while shortening the SS race to 35 minutes. Fitness and skill wise the Junior 15-18’s are closest to the majority of Single Speed racers so it made sense to combine these 2 categories.
9. Keep the Women Cat 4 and Junior 9-14 together.
10. Cat 3, Cat 1/2/3, Cat 4, and Cat 4/5 race lengths remain the same.

So after all of that the 2014 CCC race day schedule looks like this:

08:30 am   Masters 35+  (40 minutes)
09:25 am   Masters 45+  (40 minutes)
09:27 am   Masters 55+  (40 minutes)
10:20 am   Junior 15-18  (35 minutes)
10:22 am   Single Speed  (35 minutes)
11:10 am   Women Cat 4  (30 minutes)
11:12 am   Junior 9-14  (30 minutes)
11:40 am   Course Inspection  (15 minutes)
11:55 am   Cat 3  (45 minutes)
12:55 pm   Women Cat 1/2/3  (45 minutes)
01:55 pm   Cat 1/2/3  (60 minutes)
03:10 pm   Cat 4  (30 minutes)
03:55 pm   Cat 4/5  (30 minutes)

We’re putting this schedule out now so no one is surprised at the first race of the series at the end of September… so tell your teammates, tell your parents, tell your team managers, tell your shop owners, and be on time for your category’s race. Payouts are also changing and will be updated next week.

– And finally… the xXx Racing-Athletico Jackson Park TagTeam Two Person Relay Cyclocross Race is scheduled for Sunday August 24th, less than 4 weeks away. This is a great way to get ready for the CX season and always brings a few more crossers into the mix. So secure your teammates soon and get ready to high-five!

– Hey there! How’s everyone enjoying July? After the winter we had we didn’t think temps would ever get above 80° this summer, but we’re sure glad they did. While you may just have started thinking about CX season, the CCC series directors have been tinkering away in our evile lair and are just about ready to unveil our latest creation… but we’re going to make you wait until next week!

– In the meantime, make sure your BikeReg rider profiles are up-to-date and most importantly include your USAC racing license number, which should also be up-to-date.

– What we can share with you now is the updated schedule page. Unfortunately Psycho Cross in Wauconda will NOT be back for the 2014 season. Given the CX season is already long enough as it is the CCC will NOT be replacing this race and therefore the series will include 11 races instead of 12. Please plan accordingly.

– The CCC is always looking for a few good men and women to be series volunteers. If you would like to be involved and race at a very hefty discount, please contact us at [email protected].

– The CCC is also starting its 2014 series sponsorship drive. If you or your business want to be part of the CCC family, let us know.

Hi everyone,

We hope you’ve been enjoying the loverly Spring here in Chicagoland and even though its only the beginning of road season we’ve already been thinking about and planning for the upcoming ‘cross season and wanted to give you a few updates.

1. First the CCC will be making a few schedule changes in 2014. Masters will no longer need to wake up at the crack of dawn, the Cat 4’s and 5’s won’t be last, and the Elite Men and Women fields will be in the prime time slots.
2. Next we’ll have a few new categories, each with their own start times; Juniors will be split into 2 year age groups 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, and 17-18… all with separate boys and girls fields. We’ll also have expanded Masters categories 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, and new for 2014 60-61, 62-63, 64-65, 66-67, 68-69+. But don’t think we forgot about the ladies… we’ll run the same age groups for women as well, run separately of course.
3. Speaking of women, not only will the Women Cat 4’s have their own start time and the course all to themselves, but we’ll also have a separate Women Cat 3 field as well as separate Women Cat 2 and Women Cat 1 fields, all with their own start times and with no one else on course at the same time.
4. And since we want to be as pro as possible each race will feature a 20 minute course inspection prior to each and every field… so please, do not warm up on the course while the previous race is finishing up, you’ll have plenty of time see the track.
5. Speaking of being pro, every race director has already committed to having a full size UCI equipment pit, complete with power washers and neutral support.
6. And to be fully pro, the CCC has also contracted with One2Go Event Services for finish line timing at each event and will be handing out Google Glass to everyone who wants a set so you can get your split times during your race and results before you even finish.
7. And to get ready before your race and cool down afterwards each venue will also have heated and wind-proof warm-up tents large enough to accommodate 85 riders with brand new Lemond turbos, licensed masseuses, beer and frites vendors, vegan everything, and fully stocked bike wash stations directly adjacent.
8. Staging will be slightly different than last season, but 100% fair with everyone receiving a front row call-up.
9. And finally… because every race must have an end, we’ll also have expanded podiums for 2014 and increased payouts across the board (both higher in dollar value and a deeper number of places). We’ve already had some big name sponsors sign on so all categories will be paid out equally and the total purse payout at each event will increase to $250,000 raising the total purse for the entire series to $3mm. We’re confident this increase in payout will attract all the best riders from around the world.

We know that’s a lot of changes, but we feel the CCC is ready for them and will only make the entire series better. How will we successfully make all of these changes? Well, we’re not really concerned about that… we’re sure someone will figure it all out. Have a great April 1st!

– Hi everyone, we hope you are doing well and keeping warm during this 2nd blast of the polar vortex. We know you are all a hearty bunch, but if you are outside, especially on your bicycle, be safe and keep warm. If you’re inside on your turbo getting ready for next season, then good on you!

– Congratulations to everyone who raced at USAC CX Nationals a few weeks back. We counted 2 podiums for Chicago area riders and many more great rides and finishes. What a great way to round out the domestic season!

– But the pros are still racing! This coming weekend is the CX World Championships in Hoogerheide, The Netherlands. Our national champions Katie Compton and Jeremy Powers as well as a large contingent of other great riders will be competing for the Arc en Ciel. Watch the action here on the UCI’s YouTube channel or better yet, wake up really early and head to Heritage Bicycles to watch with your CCC friends.

– There’s also a #Sportsball  championship this weekend.

– And finally… the CCC site is going into hibernation for a few months, but mtb & road season is either on the horizon or already in full swing depending on how you look at it. Good luck, be safe, and most importantly have fun out there. We’ll start posting updates about the 2014 CCC season here sometime in late May or early June.

Happy New Year to everyone in CX land.