Please post links to your Pix, Vids, and Race Reports below in the comments.

– This Sunday is the 3rd installment of xXx Racing’s CX Relay race. Pre-reg closed last night but there are still spots open in all categories except the 30+ and Co-Ed Open (last race of the day), both of which will have Day-Of wait lists. Day-Of reg incurs a $15 late fee… so bring your cash dollars. See your competition and all the crazy team names here.

– Also, be sure to read the tech guide for all the specific rules that apply to this unique event. Check xXxRacing.org or Facebook/RelayCross for more info.

– Still looking for a buddy to high five? Leave your request in the comments below and maybe you’ll get lucky.

– Due to some restrictions and other events taking place at the park the venue for this year’s course is across Hayes drive to the South from last year.

– Also, for some reason the CPD will not allow anyone to park in the boat ramp parking lot. YOU WILL BE TOWED! Let us repeat that… DO NOT PARK IN THE BOAT RAMP PARKING LOT right next to the course. Sure you can drop off people, or equipment, or your 23 pairs of wheels, but then you have to park across the street. Parking is available on the streets, the lot north of Hayes Dr. (last year’s location), and the lot east of Lake Shore Drive.

– Remember the parking lots around Jackson Park are metered, but only costs about $10 for all day. We don’t want anyone getting a ticket, so you’ve been warned. However, did we mention the boat ramp lot south of Hayes Drive is off limits?

– This should go without saying but PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN CROSS THE STREET FROM THE PARKING LOTS TO THE RACE COURSE!

– Please note the Chicago Triathlon will again be taking place along the Lakefront Path on Sunday morning. xXx and the CCC urge all CX’ers riding down to Jackson Park for the race to exercise due caution and courtesy when traveling along that route. If traveling by car, you should probably try another route besides LSD especially North of the city.

– Like every year the CCC and xXx Racing are trying to be green… take a look under the floor mats of your car, dig into to seat cushins and bring your own safety pins to properly attach your bib number. But how will you remember to bring pins each week? Purchasing a patch kit, patch all those tubes you’ve been meaning to patch for months, put all your pins in the little plastic box, keep the box in your gear bag… done.

– Looks like we’re in for some weather on Sunday. Dress appropriately for before, during, and after your race, and learn to make friends with a tent… or a large umbrella.

– Speaking of gear, if you need CCC socks, embro, or coffee mugs we’ll have a few for sale onsite. If you want to make sure you get some email us and we’ll make sure to reserve your items for you.

– Podiums will be awarded immediately after the conclusion of each race and before the start of the next race. So if you finish in the top three head straight to the podiums (look for the CCC flags) after your race so we can stay on schedule.

– Before we start racing… let’s review a few rules of engagement (the same every year). Yes, we’re all racing, yes many of us are aggressive, yes you will fall down, yes the officials might not get your placing correct, and yes tempers might flair here and there… but remember first and foremost we’re all out there to have some fun and enjoy each other’s company. So please smile, have a lot of fun, and enjoy this precious time we have together. Oh, and don’t forget the high fives and handups… even if you’re not racing.

– As with previous years, the Relay Cross has a LeMans start, where one teammate runs to the transition area to get their bike.

– The CX relay course will look about like this, but not exactly. xXx Racing did a great job planning out the course using as much of the park as possible, but there’s not a lot of park to use in the first place. The NEW Jackson Park course is a combination of power sections, turns, and barriers. Run mostly on grass, there are a few paved areas as well as some tight turns among the trees. The new location, SOUTH of Hayes Drive, is spectator-friendly, allowing viewing of 75% of the course from the start-finish area.

– Just a quick update today as we’re super busy just like the rest of your getting ready for the season.

– Last call for Sponsors!!! We want to get our series sponsors lined up for the season so we can get the series t-shirts printed up before Jackson Park. If you’d like to be a series sponsor, please contact us ASAP. We can still accept sponsor after 8/31/12, but your logo(s) will not make it on the t-shirts and flyers.

– This weekend Chicago CX season unofficially kicks off at xXx Racing‘s CX Relay. This is a great event to ease into the CX season, or just CX in general if you’ve never raced or experienced a CX event before. Look for fast racing, lots of friendly smiles from people you haven’t seen since December, likely a little shenanigans, and loads of fun. Pre-reg closes Wednesday night (that means pre-reg now before you forget/miss it) and check back on Thursday for a full Course Preview.

– And finally… we’d like to remind everyone (one last time) that as unsanctioned, uninsured, unofficial CX practices start up around the city and suburbs, please be kind and courteous to any and all park users you may encounter (come to think of it that’s a good rule to always live by). All it takes is one angry non-CX, non-cycling friendly person to complain to a high ranking government official and all of the CCC races in the area could lose their park permits… thereby shutting down the entire series… and no one wants that. So keep it safe and fun… for everyone.

– Holy cow, the weather has made a turn for the worse better in the last week. We went from 90+ degrees and the worst drought in 80 years to 60’s, rain, wind, more rain, lots of clouds, and more rain. CX must be on the big man upstairs mind!

– The CoEd open field is filled up for next weekend’s (wait, what, already?) xXx Racing CX Relay Race. There are still plenty of spots in all other categories, but please, please, please, please, please Pre-Reg and don’t wait to reg day of. Pre-reg is always easier on everyone, but its especially helpful at the Relay.

– Speaking of BikeReg, make sure to update your rider profile now, especially your USAC license number. PENDING is not a valid license number!

– Calling all Sponsors. While we’ll gladly accept sponsors any time during the season, we need to finalize the sponsor list by August 31st in order to get everyone’s logos on the t-shirts. That’s the long way of saying, if  you’d like to sponsor the series, please get in touch with us as soon as possible!

– Hey, did you all hear there’s a big race in Louisville next year… and that a certain someone will be there?

– And finally… when did you all get so creative with your team names?

– One more week closer to the season. Are you ready for the #YearOfSpeed?

– We’ve had a bunch of NEW Series Sponsors sign up this year and will continue to accept new sponsors until the end of August. We’ll mention all of our sponsors later on when more people are reading the site, but take a look now and support those businesses that support the CCC series.

– Remember all USAC category upgrades are processed through the USACycling.org website. The CCC does NOT handle upgrades and CCC series points are NOT USA Cycling upgrade points. Take a look at the Series Rules & FAQs page and the USAC Rulebook to learn more. If you have enough points to upgrade, log on to USAC and go for it!

– Speaking of logging on… please remember to update your BikeReg.com rider profile, especially your USAC license number. We match all USAC license numbers to the USAC rider database, so make sure your license number is in your profile and correct! If not your results may not be correct, and you’ll be causing a whole bunch of unneeded headaches for the officials.

– Speaking of BikeReg, Patriot CX online registration is now open. Hey Ladies…. promoter Karl C is giving you incentive… the first 20 registrants will get a $10.00 refund at the race… but their must be at least 20 racers.

– Speaking of pre-season races… pre-reg for xXx Racing‘s Relay CX will be open soon, but find yer pawtner now!

– We’ve set online pre-reg for all regular season CCC series races to open at noon on September 1st… so relax, you won’t miss it. Now go ride your bike.

– Any finally… the Brits are giving new meaning to the term “hottie pants”.

– The heat came back in a big way this past week but we’ve seen plenty of you out and riding hard in preparation for THE CX season. Funny how cyclocross used to be what riders did in the “off season” to stay in shape and now so many people skip road and mountain bike races to get ready for CX. Not that we’re complaining.

– CCC superstar and series volunteer Ellie Blick recently wrote a riveting review on Chicago Women’s Bike Racing about this year’s changes to the Women Category 3 races. Ladies, if you haven’t heard or even if you have, please read Ellie’s summary.

– Don’t forget that before the official 2012 CCC #YearOfSpeed season takes off on Saturday September15th in Jackson Park there are two warm-up races in late August and early September. xXx Racing starts things off in a fun way with their Relay Cross race on Sunday August 26th, and Wildcard Cycling hosts Patriot Cross for the 2nd year on Saturday September 8th in Rantoul, IL. More info will be available as soon as the promoters have their race flyers approved by USACycling.

– Speaking of, Patriot CX promoter Karl C. has boulders (see at left) for sale. Please contact him directly if you’d like to purchase one (or more).

– A number of Series Sponsors have already signed up for the 2012 season. If you’d like to be involved see our proposal document first and then shoot us an email.

– Email us at ChicagoCrossCup at gmail if you’d like to stock up on SockGuy socks, Contigo coffee mugs, and/or Mad Alchemy embrocation. See the store page for details. 2012 series t-shirts will be available before the season starts.

– And finally…  We’ll repeat this before and during the season, but the CCC would like to remind everyone that we’re all just out there to have fun and ride our bikes with our friends. Sure we’re all competitive, but at the end of the day we’re all just amateurs (at least until CCCNYR) who have to get up and go to work or school on Monday morning, so there’s absolutely no reason to get yourself all in a tizzy about something silly. Keep it fun, keep it positive, and keep it realistic. If you have a problem with the series or a race, email us at [email protected] (we’ll get back to you within 24 hours, we promise) or better yet talk to one of us, the promoter, an event volunteer, or a USAC official at the race. Please don’t get all passive-aggressive on the Facebook, Twitter, some other social media site, or the comments section here on the site. That doesn’t help anyone and only makes you look immature. K, thanks… now let’s go have some fun!!!

– While everyone is watching the TdF or trying not to melt we’ve been busy prep’ing for the 2012 season deep in the CCC evile lair. We don’t have too many public updates this week but look out in the weeks to come.

– Calling all sponsors!!! If you’d like to join the CCC sponsorship family our 2012 Series Sponsorship Proposal is now available.

– Speaking of family, we’re always looking for a few dedicated series volunteers to help with various activities on race day. If you’d like to join the fun and race for cheap let us know.

– Need gear? The CCC still has a decent supply of SockGuy socks, Contigo coffee mugs, and Mad Alchemy embrocation. If you’d like some goodies check out on the store page and then shoot us an email at ChicagoCrossCup at gmail.

– And finally… Congratulations to CCC rising star Paul Mumford who (among other high placings this summer) finished an impressive 9th at last weekend’s USAC Cross Country mountain bike national championships in Sun Valley, ID. Fire It Up!

– Just a quick update for this Tuesday, which is kind of like Friday due to the holiday tomorrow, but is still just Tuesday since we all have to go back to work on Thursday, which is kind of like Monday, but then its actually is Friday… oh bother, let’s get to it.

– Due to another large event schedule at the park, the first race of the 2012 CCC season at Jackson Park has been moved to SATURDAY September 15th. Mark your calendars and don’t show up on Sunday.

– Patriot CX is happening again this year on Saturday September 8th.

– Since several of you asked… Yes, every race in the series counts towards your (and your team’s) overall score… and Yes, we will again be staging by CCC points (which do expire at the end of the season) and CrossResults.com points (which never expire and roll over from one season to the next). At Jackson Park we will likely use some sort of random component for the front row of 8.

– Think the 5 CCC directors just stand around babbling into a megaphone? We do a little work sometimes.

– Local junior phenom David Lombardo was profiled in his local paper.

– And finally… Happy 4th of July!

– Hi gang! Rather then tell you its been a long while… and we’re sorry for not posting more information sooner… and we were really, really busy… and… oh nevermind. Let’s get to it, in chronological order.

– This Sunday July 1st (early in the morn), the CCC directors are getting together at Main St. Bicycles in Carpentersville, IL to play Tetris with all of the CCC equipment and trailer. We’re also going to make videos about how to properly set up a staging grid and equipment pit. If you’d like to help, or just stand around and watch like a state highway worker, stop on by… everyone is welcome.

– Speaking of staging grids, the CCC will be UCI compliant starting (pun intended) in 2012 and going forward. Instead of the 10 lane wide staging grid we’ve used for the past 3 years all CCC races will now use the UCI/USAC legal 75cm wide 8 lanes. Sorry 9th and 10th place, you’ve had a good ride… now race faster!

– Concerning racing… the 2012 race day schedule is now posted over on the Schedule page. We’ve made one small addition for all of you derailleur-challenged racers out there. While several of you have raced without gears for years, the CCC will now have a dedicated Single Speed category. Since we’re not sure how many SS’s will show up, and we’re always crunched for space on the course (because so many of you want to race) this will be an experimental category for 2012. If things go well we’ll keep the party going in years to come. Single Speeds will have their own staging (behind the ladies and old guys) AND overall title. We still encourage Single Speeders to race their trusty gearless steeds in regular categories as well. Also, bear in mind the SS category will not be all fun and games. You’ll be racing on course at the same time with some of the fastest women and angry old dudes in the area. If you’re too far behind you may be pulled early (but still placed). If you’re looking for the party, race the 4B’s.

– Another category we’re adding for 2012 is a separately scored Women Category 3. Since three quarters of the Women 1/2/3 field is Cat 3’s anyway we felt it would be good great to recognize the Women Cat 3’s riding hard every week but not hitting the podium. Points will be awarded on a combined basis, meaning if a Cat 3 wins she gets 1st place points but only 3rd place points if she is the first Cat 3 but 3rd finisher on course. The same goes for the Cat 1/2’s. We need to do it this way to make the combined staging work. Payout will also be combined unless the individual promoter decides to award more or a separated prize list for the Women Cat 3’s.

– Since we’ll now have 4 categories on course at the same time (W1/2/3, 50+, 60+, SS) during the 10:45am time slot we will have to limit Pre-Reg in those categories. However if each category does NOT fill on pre-reg its still first come first served on race day. We’ll also run wait lists as always on race day and everyone should have a chance to race. Just pay attention to BikeReg.com!

– Everyone should also pay attention to the Series Rules and Facts page. Take 10 minutes and read it now. There’s lots of good info, even for hardened CCC veterans who think they’ve seen and heard it all. Cat 3’s should pay special attention to USAC’s reworded upgrade criteria.

– Going back to Payout, the 2012 standard payout for all categories will remain the same as 2011 (with the addition of a Single Speed payout). However, since the CCC continues to grow each year, for 2012 we will introduce increased payouts for the Cat 1/2/3‘s scaling with the number of total pre-reg’d riders for each event (not just the Cat 1/2/3’s). We’re still working out the math, but in a nutshell… the greater number of rider’s pre-reg’d across all categories, the greater the payout to the Cat 1/2/3’s. Stay tuned for more details.

– Each year the CCC seems to figure out one or two little things that really make races run smoother and riders happier. At last season’s New Year’s Resolution we found out very quickly that we had never set up nor maintained proper Equipment pits (if anyone needs to borrow 600 feet of garden hose, let us know). National level CX racers demand that sort of thing and we thing you all do too (the pits, not the garden hose). That’s why this year we plan to institute correctly organized equipment pits. No more little sections of grass off to the side of the course, that were an afterthought, and have a few spare wheels. SRAM neutral service won’t be at every race dishing out Zipps like, well, bacon… but our pits will look better in 2012. This also means you as riders, mechanics, and spectators will need to respect the equipment pits more. The entire area should look, feel, and be pro.

– Speaking of pro… congratulations to the Schneider family. Last weekend the 2011 CCC Women Cat 1/2/3 overall champion Sam Schneider won the USA Cycling U23 national Criterium AND Road Race championships while the the 2011 Junior 10-14 overall champion (and Sam’s younger sister) Skylar won both the Junior Girls 13-14 Criterium AND Road Race championships as well. The CCC’s own Gina Johnson also finished 3rd in the 13-14 Road Race and 4th in the Criterium.

– 2012 is shaping up to be another great season in the Chicago Cyclocross Cup. Hopefully everyone worked out the kinks of an extended season last year and is ready to go that extra month longer this year. Remember CX Nationals are again just over our Northern border in Verona (Madison), WI. Master’s World Championships are again in Louisville, KY but a few weeks later this season to correspond to the week before the Elite World Championships. That’s worlds-worlds for those of you in the know. We want 2012-2013 to be the Year of Speed. We want to see everyone racing to their highest potential while still having the time of their lives. Oh yeah, and bacon and Twinkies too.

– And finally… the weather is great, if a little hot, right now in Chicago. Don’t be stressing about CX and certainly don’t train on your rollers in your garage. Get out there and enjoy the next few weeks of summer! See you soon…

Knock, knock, knock… is this thing still on?

– Hi all, its been 3 months since our last update and we hope you have all enjoyed the Chicago winter that wasn’t, and the cold and wet Spring. Seems mother nature got a little confused after the extra month of CX season. In any event, even though we haven’t posted any public updates in a while, the CCC directors and local promoters have been hard at work behind the scenes ensuring the 2012-13 season is a success. We won’t be back to full weekly updates just yet, but keep an eye on the site for more to come.

– Just a friendly reminder the Chicago Cyclocross Cup New Year’s Resolution will be back again this season as a 2 day, UCI C2 event. The CCCNYR dates are Saturday 1/5/2013 and Sunday 1/6/2013 to again coincide with the weekend before the US National Championships in Verona, WI which take place from 1/9/13 – 1/13/13.

– CX Masters World Championships take place 1/29/13 – 2/1/13) and take place the days leading up to CX World Championships (2/2/13 – 2/3/13). The Belgians are coming and promoter Joan Hanscom is working super hard to make this not Louisville’s CX World Championships, but America’s CX World Championships.

– And finally… Got Photos? Long time CCC series sponsor Tipping Point Photography has lots of great spring/summer deals for CCC riders. Check back this afternoon for links. See TPP’s packages for Team Photos, New “Bike Love” Sessions, Headshots, and since CX is so family friendly… Family portrait sessions. Tipping Points is now booking for June and July, and June is almost full!