Since we’re nearly at the end of the US CX season we’ll be updating the site a little less often. However, check back often or add the CCC to your favorite RSS reader since we’ll still be sending out updates every so often. Thanks again for a great 2009 season and Happy Holidays!!

– A few local CCC’ers traveled west for a chilly CX Nationals in Bend, OR. Congratulations to Holly, Scott, Ben, Mike, Steel, Kevin, and Bob for a great showing! Did we miss anyone? Full results are here. Congrats to Julie too. UPDATE: Amy Dykema was also out in Bend taking lots of great pix.

– A huge congratulations to SuperGirl for being named this year’s recipient of the 2009 OISCACA.

– A further congratulations to the winners of this year’s Yojimbo’s Fuji Frame Raffles… yes, those free raffles pay off in the end.
Juniors = Luke Arrigoni
Women = Brittany Barran-Stanley
Mens = Matt Bennett

– Please pre-purchase your tickets to the CCC Awards Banquet on BikeReg here. This will help us and EJ’s better plan for the event. Please remember that each “registration” is for one person… so if you’re bringing your significant other or kids you need to “sign up” more than once. Sorry, no dog or cats allowed. We’ll have more info about the event after the holidays, but we’ll generally follow the same format as last year; Overall series awards, Door prizes, Buffet dinner, Cash bar, and lots of socializing in a warm, cozy restaurant.

– Thanks again to everyone who made a donation this year to World Bicycle Relief. Through your direct donations and t-shirt purchases the CCC will be able to donate $3,400 to WBR! With WBR’s 1 for 1 matching of donations through January 31st that means you, the riders of the CCC, have contributed $6,800 to a great and noble cause. That’s enough for over 50 bikes!

– We still have a few T-shirts to get to their rightful owners. Please email us at [email protected] to arrange a hand-up (in either Wicker Park or the Loop).

– Word on the street is that 3 great local photographers are indeed assembling a 2009 CCC coffee table book. We’re sworn to secrecy, but let’s just say we may have seen a sample and if we actually did see that sample then… well… you will NOT be disappointed. We’ll post details as soon as we’re allowed.

– Itching to get racing in 2010? We haven’t heard any details yet, but we’re hoping Team MACK holds their annual Tour de Groundhog CX race in February. Did I hear “Road Trip”? If you’re done with CX (hopefully just for a while), then look for details on the ICA site soon about Half Acre’s Kevin’s Crits and Burnham Racing’s Spring Super Crit.

– Don’t forget this Saturday evening is the unofficial 2009 CCC End of Year party at the Elbo Room featuring Newt Cole’s band Los Borrachos. In addition to the great music we’re told there will be 1$ beer specials and CCC hand downs from stage. We’ll see you there!

– Standard dollar bills and cupcakes are sooo last season. Someone needs to show those New Englanders how its done… oh wait, you all already did this year!

– And finally, if you’re looking to get a head start on gear for the 2010 season then check out this crazy sale.

Congratulations to Holly Klug (Courage) and Scott McLaughlin (SRAM Factory) for winning the B Women and B Men 40+ races out in Bend, OR. Also congratulations to Kevin Klug (Courage) for taking a close 2nd in the B Men 30+ race. Full results are here.

OMG, where to begin…

Continuing with his 4th installment documenting the CCC, Paul Michna presents “Pain and Pleasure”.
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Bradley got some major air!
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Masters 30+ First Lap Carnage
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Men 1/2/3 First Lap Carnage. These guys are the Pro’s… right?
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And finally… Ted Berger shows us how its done!
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Montrose promoter Chuck Judy asked us to share the note below with all of you. Also, if you were in the money in the expanded prize list and didn’t pick up your reward, please contact Chris Mailing at Turin ([email protected] or 847.864.7660 x 16).

To all Montrose Illinois State Championship Racers and Participants

On behalf of Turin Bicycling Society as this year’s promoter of the Illinois Cyclocross Championships, I would like thank everyone whom helped make this race a wonderful success. This includes, The Chicago Cyclocross Cup for having an great series of events and providing me with their guidance through the race promotion process; Our sponsors whom came forward with their generous support; The Officials for running the races; The Volunteers who helped in every aspect of this event, to which no race could be possible without. The Spectators for your fantastic support and enthusiasm. Special thanks to you the Racers whom came out and gave it your all. What more can we say, its all for you!

I am also grateful to the clubs and individuals whom pitched-in helping us with the course breakdown and park clean up. Although not without a trace, we did tread lightly and the park looked better than I could have imagined. This goes along way in securing this park and other Chicago Parks for the sport of Cyclocross in coming years.

I’m not quite certain how Jason and the rest of the CCC gang do this week after week. I was exhausted in the end but this truly was a rewarding experience. I learned a great deal and received loads of appreciation and encouraging feedback on the race. I look forward to continuing my efforts with the Turin Bicycling Society to make this event even better in 2010.

Thank you all,
Chuck Judy
Turin Bicycling Society

ICC Committee:
Anne Barnes
Matt Hollihan
EJ Lenzi
Chris Mailing
Alex Randhava
Meredith Shull
George Vargas

– That’s right… give yourselves a big pat on the back. Following the last race of the year at Montrose we’ve been getting lots of emails and posts on the site about this person did this, and that person did that to make the season so great. Well, there would be no CCC at all without all of you who show up week in and week out to race, heckle, give handups, give postups, be awesome, do whatever this guy’s doing, crash, get back up again, and ride your bikes like there’s no tomorrow. If you look back at our very first post ever on this new site we said “The ChiCrossCup is all about you, the racers…” Well you all ran with that idea and transformed our little Sunday party into something truly special. So for that, we at the CCC THANK YOU!

– The 10th and final race of the CCC at Montrose was amazing. We figure there were probably 300 people watching and heckling the 4B’s at the end of the day… just crazy. Big thanks again to Turin for putting on another great race and for wrapping up the IL CX season in style.

– While we’re all winners at the end of the day… congratulations again to those riders who earned a few more points than everyone else in their respective CCC overall categories. We have something special for each of you at the CCC Awards Banquet on January 10th at EJ’s Place in Skokie. Tickets are on sale now here!

– Congratulations also to the IL State CX Champions.
Masters 40+ – Christando Lombardo (Verdigris Cycling)
Masters 30+ – Eric Sondag (The Pony Shop)
Masters 50+ – Wayne Simon (Verdigris Cycling)
Women 1/2/3 – Debbie Dust (Roscoe Village Bikes)
Men 3 – Ron Bridal (Bloomington Cycle & Fitness Racing Team)
Women 4 – Gina Champion (Team Mack)
Junior Boy – Brandon Feehery (South Chicago Wheelmen)
Junior Girl – Jessica Prinner (ABD Cycling Team)
Men 1/2/3 – Scott McLaughlin (SRAM FACTORY)
Men 4 – Jason Rassi (Proctor Cycling Team)

– In case you still want more CX before the holidays, CX Nationals are being held this coming weekend in Bend Oregon. We know at least a few CCC’ers are heading out west… so good luck to you (Holly, Scott, Ben, Mike, Steel, Kevin, and Bob) and anyone else we don’t know about!

– If you didn’t pick up a t-shirt you ordered or left anything else at the race (or any other race), please contact us at [email protected] to arrangement a handup (in the Loop or Wicker Park) . We have a very small random assortment of extra t-shirts left over. If you can fit into a Men’s XL (Blue) or Women’s M (Blue or Orange) we have a shirt for you. Main St. Bikes, MOX Multisport, The Pony Shop, and Tati Cycles have a small inventory of shirts on sale as well.

– And finally… would you like to be part of the team that makes the CCC happen in 2010? Please email us at [email protected] to get involved.

We leave you for now with a few pix from Montrose…

SuperGirl and Jacob

Photo: Amy Dykema

Flannel Mike

Photo:Liz Novak

The 3 stages of CX… Riding, Running, Falling

Photo: Arnold Klein

Pretty

Photo: Luke Seemann

Mmmm Bacon (see what West Coasters have to say here).

Photo: Luke Seemann

Betcha didn’t know a chicken could lay a dollar bill did ya?

Photo: Amy Dykema

Thanks to the 474 starters who bravely stormed the beach to make Montrose the largest CCC race ever.

Full Results here.
Final Overall Standings here.
If you didn’t pick up your t-shirt or left anything else at the race (or any other race), please contact us at [email protected] to arrangement a handup.
Also… don’t forget to purchase your tickets for the Awards Banquet on January 10th.

Congratulations to our 2009 Chicago Cyclocross Cup Overall Winners

Masters 40+ – Scott Arrigoni (Verdigris Cycling)
Masters 30+ – Eric Sondag (The Pony Shop)
Masters 50+ – Wayne Simon (Verdigris Cycling)
Women 1/2/3 – Jessica Hill (The Pony Shop)
Men 3 – Ryan Cooper (Flatlandia Cycling Team)
Women 4 – Jannette Rho (L’équipe Bouledogue Tout Noir)
Junior Boy – Brandon Feehery (South Chicago Wheelmen)
Junior Girl – Gina Johnson (Smart Cycling)
Men 1/2/3 – Scott McLaughlin (SRAM FACTORY)
Men 4A – Russ Kuryk (Iron Cycles)
Men 4B – Bryan Lee (The Pony Shop)
Team – The Pony Shop

We’ll have a full Montrose and Season wrap up next week after you all have had a chance to upload your photos. But here’s a little taste…

Yes we had a sighting (note blurred photo)…

And a decapitation?

This is it!!! The 10th and final CCC race of the year… and it just happens to also be the Illinois State CX Championships. Turin Bicycles of Evanston with promoters Chuck Judy and Chris Mailing at the helm are aiming to make the Montrose Harbor race the best yet. The race will certainly be one of the largest with 391 of you pre-reg’d.

• Please review our previous post about State Champion Rules. IL Technical Director David Fowkes confirms that if you purchase an annual license now (after December 1st) it is good for all of 2010.
• Our USAC officials have again asked when pinning your number to your jersey this weekend to position them as in the photos below. The officials are NOT on a platform or stage and can’t read your number if its high up on your back (or on the wrong side). So please help the officials out so they can score everyone correctly. Thanks!
  
• Both 4’s fields have filled up, but there are usually a bunch of riders who are no-shows. We’ll start a wait-list Sunday morning and get those riders in on a first come, first served basis.
• Turin has brought in sponsors EJ’s Place, Lake Cycling, and Craft to create an enhanced prize list here. For the Men 1/2/3, Masters 30+, and Masters 40+ categories the Illinois State Champion will win a $200 dining card to EJ’s Place. The first rider who is not the Illinois State Champion will win a pair of Lake cycling shoes. The IL State Champs in the Masters 50+ and Women 1/2/3 will also win a $200 dining card to EJ’s Place.
• Turin is still selling Jay Ryan designed race posters here.
• Turin is collecting non-perishable goods as part of a food drive to benefit the Chicago Food Depository. Drop items off at the store by Tuesday, December 10th or bring your canned goods to the race on Sunday, December 6th.
• K-Bars will again be a the race with samples of their delicious energy bars. They’re also helping out with the prize list.
• We’ve heard of some people shopping at Costco for hand-ups this weekend… and we’re guessing there will also be some sort of pork product. Just remember to keep it safe and do NOT interfere with any riders who are ole’ scrooges and don’t want to partake in the hand-up fun.
• The weather forecast is calling for slightly chillier temps than we’ve been racing in recently… so make sure to dress warmly!
• Speaking of clothes… we’ll have all of the pre-ordered CCC t-shirts at the race. Please pick your shirts up from the series director near the start/finish area after the Masters 30+ race. And don’t forget to heckle Joe Kallo for designing the shirt this year!
• Remember, anyone dressed up like Santa (beard required), Mrs. Claus (beard optional), or a Christmas tree (or Chanukkah bush) will get a special call up after the top 10 in the overall standings.
• We at the CCC would again like to request that everyone plan on making a day of Montrose… meaning we want to see all of the 40+, 30+, 50+ Masters AND all of the 4A’s and 4B’s… and the Men 1/2/3’s, Women 1/2/3’s, Men 3’s, Women 4’s and Juniors lining the course all day long. 2009 has been such a great CX season here in Chicago and we’d like to see everyone together for the entire day. Heck, maybe someone will take a group photo?
• If you missed it earlier this week, TheBoneBell.com posted a great interview with one of the CCC’s celebrities “Flannel Mike“.
• Below is a estimate of what the course should look like… but as always, the course is subject to change due to weather and ground conditions. Cricket Heckle Hill should provide some good spectating, but last year most people seemed to congregate in the sand just opposite the start/finish line. Either way… it should be a fun day! Due to the proximity to the city Turin has asked that we do NOT pre-ride the course before Sunday. There’s a security deposit involved and Turin would like to hold the race at Montrose again next year. Thanks.

• And finally… the 2009 CCC Awards Banquet will be held at EJ’s Place in Skokie on Sunday January 10th 2010 from noon to 4pm. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for Juniors in advance and on sale now on BikeReg here.

Take your pick…