– Its August, CX season is almost here!

– Speaking of, xXx Racing hosts the unofficial kick off to the season with their funasallgetout ‘JACKSON PARK TAGTEAM TWO PERSON RELAY CYCLOCROSS RACE‘ on Sunday 8/25/13. Grab a partner, throw a few High-5’s, and get into the CX swing of things. More details to follow and online pre-reg should be open soon opens Fri morning at 12:01am on BikeReg.

– Speaking of BikeReg, make sure to update your rider profile with your USAC license number (no, PENDING is NOT sufficient), and then take a look here and set your alarm clocks.

– Rob Kelley has developed a training program via Training Peaks for the the Chicago Cross Cup. See here for the training plan and Rob’s website at www.ROKcoaching.com. Rob has coached a bunch of folks through the CCC for a few years and he says he has a lot of confidence in his schedule. The core philosophy is based on Joe Friel’s method of periodization…tried and true.

– Spots are still available for the Tim Johnson/Pete Webber CX clinic. Sign up today or be chasing your competitors around all season.

– UPDATE 1: Verdigris is also a hosting a Junior CX Clinic on Saturday, 8/17/13 from 10AM – 12PM at Melas Park in Arlington Heights with David Lombardo. Space will be limited to 30 juniors. More details to come.
– UPDATE 2: Reg is open on BikeReg here! David Lombardo will share some of his Euro Cross Camp & other high level junior experience to lead the camp with the assistance of Chris Lombardo, SRAM’s Scott McLaughlin, Tim Boundy, and other VVCX team members. Topics discusses will be equipment fit, bike handling, barrier technique, training tips, etc.

– A group of downstate race promoters are starting the Heart of Illinois Cyclocross (HICX) race series.  Most races will be on Saturdays. See the Facebook page here. The first race in the series is Patriot CX in Rantoul on 9/7/13 and reg is open. This is the third time Wild Card Cycling is hosting this race. This year along with the usual great prizes, all racers will get raffle tickets for a set of Easton Carbon 38mm clincher wheels. Other races are:
Peoria on 10/26/13 by Bushwhacker
Peoria on 11/9/13
Bloomington Miller Chill 12/15/13

More information to follow as the races get closer. HICX is also working on adding additional races.

– If you’d like to be a 2013 CCC series sponsor please get in touch with us ASAP. Details are here.

– And finally… We know many of you are already heading out for mid-week CX practices in your local park or forest preserve. While the CCC does not promote or condone these practices we would ask that you use good judgement and common sense when using our public spaces. Don’t ride after a good rain, don’t buzz or ride exceptionally close to other park users (especially children), stay away from chronically wet areas, etc, etc, etc. We all share these public spaces and it only takes one disgruntled, very vocal, non-CX’ing park user to make it difficult for our race promoters to host their races in other parks. Make sense? Cool! Plus, its still summer and you can do your intervals on the road!

– Two weeks in a row!

– They’re back! For the 4th year in a row Iron Cycles returns as the 2013 CCC Series Title Sponsor. Thanks to Brandon and his crew for stepping up yet again. We’ll have more announcements regarding Iron Cycles in the weeks to come.

– Also back for another year, but now officially, the Beverly Bike-Vee Pak crew will be the official EMS and First Responders for all CCC races. If you fall down go boom, just look for the white medic tent near the BBVP tent. Oh, and these guys race hard too, so thank them for taking care of your boo-boos.

– Spidermonkey Cycling sends in an update concerning the Tim Johnson & Pete Webber CX Clinic and tells us there are only 14 spots left for the advanced, 15 for intermediate/beginner tracks. Also this clinic is of course open to junior racers and Tim Johnson’s MudFund will support four scholarship spots  for athletes ages 14-19… two girls, two boys. To apply, send an email to [email protected] describing how a scholarship to the camp would help you reach your cyclocross goals. Include the event you are applying for, your name and contact information, CX race age for 2013, actual age, racing category and racing history. For riders under 18 actual age, please include your parent’s contact info. Please apply as soon as possible, final deadline for applications is 14 days prior to each camp… which is Friday 8/9/2013 for the Chicago clinic.

– Ultimate Pro Bikes in Countryside, IL is seeking a part-time sales associates and service techs. Candidates must be passionate about cycling and be dedicated to excellent customer service and quality of work.  Please submit resume with salary history and references to [email protected].

– And finally, we are always amazed how many people volunteer and work tirelessly behind the scenes to make all the races in the CCC happen every year… but the series could always use a little extra help. If you have some time to lend a hand, especially to help set up before racing begins or afterwards to help break down, please let us know. There is no monetary compensation, but we can make race discounts happen.

– Its 90 and humid outside… so of course you’re thinking about CX season, right?

– Staging: The CCC is considering applying the State Championship staging procedure to all races. Essentially, if you’ve never raced in a category you would be bumped up ahead of the first rider who has lower CrossResults.com points than you. The idea is to give riders a chance to try other categories and not be staged at the back of the field if you’re fast enough to start closer to the front. Or if you are out of town for the first few races, but we know that would never happen. However, the bump up would only be granted once. After that each rider is staged by his/her CCC series points, then by her/his CrossResult.com points, then by order of registration. We want to know what you think. Please leave your comments down below.

– Feel like traveling? Minnesota is hosting a CX clinic with current USA National Champ Jonathan Page.

– Want to stay closer to home? Spidermonkey Cycling presents – Cracking the Code: Tim Johnson’s Cyclocross Secrets.
Date: Saturday, August 24
Location: Chicago (exact location TBD)

– Village-Verdigris CX is also planning a Junior focused clinic for mid August. Stay tuned for details.

– The 2013 CCC Series Sponsorship proposal is finally ready.

– And finally… Now is a great time to update your BikeReg.com rider profile with your USAC license number. Also, make sure your USAC license has your correct team information. Did you know you can race for different road, mountain, and CX teams?

Hello…!

– Lots of rain and cold weather this spring in Chicagoland, so its felt somewhat like CX weather the entire time. But now that it is officially summer, no one is really doing any road racing… and we just ordered 500 plastic step in stakes… we figured we throw out an update for you.

– The tentative CCC schedule is up (actually is been up since Feb 8). All 12 races (11 venues) are back again for the 2013 season. Note however that due to Thanksgiving being so late this year, there is NOT a week in between Jackson Park and Hopkins Park. So you’ll have full on racing action every weekend from September until the end of November. The former USGP Madison race will take place the weekend before Jackson Park.

– We’re making a few tweaks to the race day schedule to better accommodate everyone. Specifically, the Single Speeds will now start behind the Masters 30+ and the 60+ will start with the 50+ (overall scored separately). In this way there are never more than 2 races on course at once (except for the W4/Juniors). Also, the Cat 4A’s will now be just the Cat 4‘s, and the Cat 4B’s will be Cat 4/5‘s.

– The CCC is planning a pre-season get together, where we can all hang out, live, and in person. Stay tuned for details!

– If you’re planning on getting your body in shape, Morning Bird Studio has a few spots left in their Engine Building Turbo-CX classes starting July 15th.

– And finally… CX Magazine has a series of articles chronicling what happened to the USGP series, what is happening with the individual races in 2013, and what it all means for CX in the USA.

Photo: CXMagazine

– This is what it’s all about. What a great way to end the season. Congratulations to everyone who raced and supported Chicago Cyclocross this season!

– The US CX season continues in two weeks at Cincinnati Kings and then ends at Masters World Championships and World Championships on 2/2/13 – 2/3/13. Buy your tickets now for the big party.

– And a party it will be… Verdigris-Village CX‘s David Lombardo was selected (just yesterday) to represent the USA in the Junior 17-18 race. Good luck David, we’ll all be cheering for you!

– And finally… the CCC website will be winding down over the next few weeks. We will still post updates here and there but don’t expect much until late spring or early summer. That being said we always want to hear your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, heckles, etc. So send us an email if you are so inclined.

– This year’s Nationals course in Verona, WI is the same as last year but ground and weather conditions are vastly different. CX Magazine has a great review here and here. USA Cycling‘s page is here.

– Good luck to everyone heading North this week/end to race

– Thanks to everyone who braved the cold, the wind, the Saturday snow, and finally the (gasp!) Sunday sun this past weekend and came out to race, spectate, and heckle at the final Chicagoland CX races of the season at the New Year’s Resolution. We had a great time putting on the event and loved seeing all the locals battle on course with plenty of out-of-towners. We hope you all had fun too and felt it was a great way to end the local racing season. Many local racers maintained or improved their fitness from Afterglow with some great results. We had several locals hit the podium and grab kisses from our podium presenter Kelly Riordan… with a few taking the top step. Congratulations to you all!

– Speaking of putting on a race… the NYR would never happen without the tireless and dedicated work of our numerous volunteers. We are always amazed at how many people step up and help us out at the races and we are simply humbled at the fact that so many of you take time out of your day to lend us a hand. Course set up took longer than it should have because we had to pre-drill holes in the ground for nearly every stake lining the course (seriously, we were out there with hand drills), but our volunteers got it done. Its not a lot of fun to stand around for several hours in the cold at a course crossing or waiting for riders to finish so they can pee in a cup, but our volunteers got it done. Indian Lakes is notoriously windy and can tear a course (or pop-up tent(s)) to pieces, but our volunteers kept the course tape in perfect condition. And at the end of the day, when we’re all exhausted and just want to sit down and put our feet up, our volunteers tore the entire course down and we were closing the doors to the equipment trailer exactly 2 hours after the last UCI Men’s racer crossed the line (true story). Absolutely amazing! So again, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you to our volunteers for helping to make the NYR happen again.

– Speaking of again… this was the second and last year of the CCCNYR. We always intended for the race to serve as a tuneup race for Nationals in Madison. So with Nationals moving away from the Midwest next year we doubt anyone will want to come to Chicago first and then to Boulder. It looks like these guys already have the ball rolling though, so let’s see what you’ve got Colorado! We’ll send a riders your way!

– Speaking of Nationals… racing action in the midwest continues this week at USA Cycling’s CX National Championships in Verona, WI on 1/10/13 – 1/13/13. Based on the results we saw this past weekend at NYR the CCC will be well represented in nearly every category from Juniors to the really old guy Masters. Good luck to everyone!

– We know of a few people looking to share rooms and rides at Nationals so if you have any room at all please let us know and we will connect you. Thanks!

– After a 2 week break the US CX season heats up again with Cincinnati Kings and then ends at Masters World Championships and World Championships on 2/2/13 – 2/3/13 Louisville,KY. We know of several Masters riders heading down to these events and wish them luck as well. Then, we hang out with the Belgians and watch the best of the best of the best race for the rainbow stripes. Bring your heckles and we’ll see you in Louvul.

– And finally… Machinery Row Bicycles is having a party this Friday night before Nationals where you can rub elbows with a few pros. Check out the details here.

– And finally, finally… CX Magazine just put up a video showing news coverage of 1985 Nationals with a young Tom Stevens.

Please post links to your pix, vids, and race reports in the comment section below.

Remember everyone gets a new bib number tomorrow. Do NOT wear your number from Saturday or you will NOT be scored properly. Thanks!