Hi everyone!

• Remember this coming Saturday evening 2/4/2023 at 6:30pm we’re having our Awards Party at Specialized Fulton Market in the West Loop. More details here.
• The day before and earlier in the day, and the day before, the UCI Cyclocross World Championships take place in Hoogerheide, Netherlands. More details here: https://www.uci.org/competition-details/2023/CRO/68229 and here: https://wkhoogerheide2023.nl/

• Hey everyone… Happy New Year!!!

• Before you hunker down and go into cycling hibernation for the winter we’re having one more event… an Awards Party after all!
• Who: You, and us, and anyone who wants to join.
• What: 2022 CCC Awards Party
• When: Saturday February 4th 2023
• Where: Specialized Fulton Market (thanks Specialized for hosting us!)
• Why: Who doesn’t want to hang out with our cyclocross family with free food, dranks, and prizes?
• Food: Pizza & Salad
• Beverages: Beer and Non-alcoholic options 
• Raffle: Chances to win loads of cycling-related prizes!
• Series Winner Awards, announced by the greatest MC in Chicago – Kenny Labbe
• Schedule:
  • 6:30 pm Start
  • 7:30 pm Awards
  • 9:30 pm Closing Time
• Please join us! Get out of the house for a little bit. Free entry (just don’t make a mess of the place), and a chance to hang with the CCC community not in a sweaty or freezing cold pop-up tent.
• Please RSVP here –> https://forms.office.com/r/LdvWr8JqPP
• See you there!

And finally… Looks for details soon concerning the best cycling fundraiser ever… Afterglow – A Cyclocross Race… to benefit West Town Bikes and Blackstone Bicycle Works… happening sometime in May at Big Marsh!!

• Thanks to EVERYONE who helped make the 2022 Chicago Cyclocross Cup a success… from the racers, the riders, the teams, the sponsors, the coaches, the parents, the spouses, the significant others, the the mechanics, the doggos, the spectators, the hecklers, the officials, Kenny (of course), the land manager and park managers, the bus/sprinter drivers, and anyone else we may have forgotten. After 2 years off for COVID you all showed everyone why the CCC truly is the best amateur CX series in the country… probably the world if we’re being honest.
• Full Overall Series Results are posted here. We’re still updating team names and will post final team standings later this week.
• The USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships start today in Hartford, CT. Good luck to all competitors, especially those from the Chicagoland region who race with us.
• If you’re still in need of some Christmas gifts, please consider something from our amazing Series Sponsors.
• Speaking of series sponsors… Simple Endurance Coaching is hosting… The 2022 CCC Season Was Awesome, But I Want to Do Better! Join coach Paul for a free seminar/work session where he will review your training from 2022 and start making plans for 2023. You’ll review your season, your strengths and future needs, and then set up some goals for 2023. You’ll talk about how to set up your training in three periods: General Fitness, Bike Fitness, and Race Fitness. The seminar will be on December 13 at 7 pm on Zoom. From Paul, “I was honored to help sponsor the Chicago Cyclocross Cup this year, and I specialize in coaching cyclocross and gravel racers as well as trail runners.” Click here to register.
• And finally… We truly hope everyone had a great time this year and wish you all the best during this holiday season and into 2023. There may or may not be a few more updates here on the site this year, but if not… have a great Holiday season no matter what you celebrate and a Happy New Year!!!

• We hope everyone had a nice and relaxing Thanksgiving with family and friends.
• We’re not done yet though. The final race of the 2022 Chicago Cyclocross Cup, the Ald. James Cappleman Montrose Beach CX/Midwest Regional p/b Specialized Chicago will be held this coming Sunday 12/6/2022 at Montrose Harbor, hosted by Spidermonkey Cycling and Half Acre Cycling. Full course preview will be posted on Thursday morning.
• Please pre-reg on BikeReg.com here.
• This year Montrose will also be the MidWest Regional CX Championships, so expect a bunch of riders from not-Illinois. #OPEcx
• And finally, if you haven’t already blown your entire paycheck on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, whatever Sunday is these days, and Cyber Monday… remember today is Giving Tuesday. There are great local programs such as Blackstone Bicycle Works, West Town Bikes, and World Bicycle Relief that can always use our help, so please considering donating, helping, mentoring, or just sending a few dollars their way. Thanks!

• The final race of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup at Montrose Beach, the Ald. James Cappleman Midwest Regional p/b Specialized Chicago, is fast approaching, and the organizers Spidermonkey Cycling and Half Acre Cycling have a few early notes to munch on along with your turkey.
• Get a limited edition race poster designed by Half Acre Cycling’s own Matt Maniscalco. Purchase early at either Specialized Chicago retail location, series sponsor Tailwind Cycles, or when you register EARLY on BikeReg — and avoid getting it muddy when you pick-up your bib number EARLY on Saturday, December 3 at Specialized Fulton Street. Any remaining posters will be available at registration. 
• Also remember our friends to the east are holding Region Riot CX this coming Sunday; a great way to make sure your legs are ready to battle for midwest bragging rights! #OPEcx
• And finally… we here at the CCC wish everyone a fantastic and restful Happy Thanksgiving. Fuel up, the season isn’t quite over yet!

• Anderson Park in Campton Township (5N180 Brown Rd, Campton Hills, IL 60175). Need directions? From I-90: Randall Road South, to Rt. 64 West, past LaFox Road, turn right onto Brown Road and park is on your left. There are other Anderson Parks in the Chicagoland area, so please go to the correct one. The map on BikeReg is correct.
• Another Costume Contest! Prizes will be awarded to the winners by the Campton event organizers. Kenny is in charge of the inaugural Thriller dance competition at 2:22pm, so listen for his decrees.
• Remember pre-reg on BikeReg closes Friday night.
• Preliminary staging will be posted here on Saturday. We’re moving to USAC’s new rider database, so please make sure you double check your preliminary staging.
• Sorry, but NO alcoholic beverages are allowed in the park.
• Please do NOT warm up on/around the soccer fields to the East of registration. The village has asked us to keep off the areas visible when you pull into the park. If you carefully ride North on Brown Rd for about 200 meters you can hop onto the Great Western trail, which is a great place to warm up. Thank you.
• There is plenty of parking on site. Please do not ride or drive on the grass surrounding the course.
• The Course: Will likely be a little different this year. Check out this animation.
  

• Hey everyone, thanks for coming out and racing on Sunday with us at Schiller Park hosted by xXx Racing! We had a great time and we hope you all did too!
• Full USAC Results are online here.
• We’ll have Overall Series standings updated here soon, with Women Cat 4 and Masters 65+ standings broken out separately. We’ll also separate out Masters 35+ Cat 4/5, Masters 55+ Cat 4/5, Masters 45+ Cat 4/5, & Women Masters 35+ Cat 4/5 broken out for fun.
• Next up, the CCC takes a the weekend off, but we’ll be back in action in 2 week on Sunday 10/16 at Glenwood Academy CX.
• Just a friendly reminder to renew your USAC annual license. There were a LOT of riders who had not renewed by Saturday before Schiller Woods. You must race in your USAC category and once you’re a Cat 4 you cannot downgrade to a Cat 5.
• If you are racing more than one category, make sure to pick up both/all of your bib numbers and wear the correct number in each race. You’ll get new numbers at each event throughout the season.
• Please, please, please pin your bib number on the SIDE of your jersey, specifically the LEFT side. Not your back, not your head, not your right side. We saw all three and then some this past Sunday (okay not on anyone’s head). Start by aligning the bottom of the number to the middle of the side panel of your jersey. Our scoring/timing pro Nikki and our USAC officials are really, really good at reading literally thousands of numbers flying by the finish line all day, but let’s help them out and make it easier on everyone and also guarantee more accurate and quicker results for everyone. Thanks!
• The image below is from Sunday and what the finish-line camera sees. It should be very clear who pinned their number well and who didn’t. Numbers 74, 85, and 91 are perfect. The others could be better.

• And finally… good luck to everyone heading up to Wisconsin this coming weekend for the Trek CX Cup!

• Hey everyone! The 2022 Chicago Cyclocross Series begins this Sunday at SCHILLER Woods (Picnic Grove #12), hosted by xXx Racing-Athletico. Note the venue change to SCHILLER Woods and not Caldwell Woods. We can’t wait to see everyone at SCHILLER WOODS!
• Online pre-reg closes Friday night 9/30/2022 at midnight, but please don’t wait until the last minute.
• We’ll have more info posted Thursday for the course preview.
• And finally… a friendly reminder to please make sure you have your bikes tuned up, tyres filled with air, USAC licenses renewed, online waivers initialed within BikeReg, and gear bags ready. It’s been a while since we all raced with each other, so let’s get back into the rhythm.

• Okay, we know its actually Thursday, but we’re trying to enjoy the last bit of summer too!
  
• All 7 series events are now up on: https://www.bikereg.com/events/Cyclocross/ILLINOIS/. Reg will open tomorrow, Friday 9/9 at 9am for Schiller Woods, Glenwood Academy, ABD Sunrise Park, Campton, and Montrose. Groundhog and George Garner Memorial will open for pre-reg as soon as they are permitted with USA Cycling.
  

• A bunch of changes to note for 2022:
• We have two related changes to the race day schedule. The Cat 3 time slot will now be Cat 3/4 and the Cat 4/5 time slot at the end of the day will now be just Cat 5.
• We’re keeping the Masters age group races as open category (i.e. Cat 1-5) but will unofficially score the Cat 4/5’s separately in the Series Overall Standings.
• xXx Racing will host the first race of the series at Schiller Woods… not Caldwell Woods. Its not that far away, but please don’t show up to Caldwell Woods which is undergoing construction.
• We unfortunately will not have leader’s jerseys for the series (inflation and supply chain issues affect everyone) but we will award winner’s jerseys at the end of the season.
• Speaking of inflation, race entry prices have increased +$5 across the board and +$10 for juniors. The CCC has kept entry fees constant for a long, long time but need to increase to pay for lots of things. Want to race for cheaper? Get in touch with the race directors through BikeReg… they’re always looking for an extra volunteer hand on race day.

• What’s NOT changing:
• You know him, you love him, and this year he’s got a brand new, extended range wireless mic… Kenny Labbé is announcing the entire series from the ‘Not Reg’ tent. Send playlist requests his way.
• We won’t have One2Go running the finish line camera this year, but our local rockstar Nikki Cyp (who ran timing for all our events over the past several years anyway) will be behind the ICA’s new FinishLynx camera providing timing and lap times. We won’t have LiveLynx live results, but you’ll still have your results emailed to you shortly after each race assuming your pre-reg’d with a valid email address.
• Numbers on your left side, always.
• Staging by CrossResults.com points for the first race, then the first row (8 racers) by series points and everyone else by CrossResult.com points. You need to be pre-reg’d with your correct USAC license number for us to pull in your CrossResults points. Day of Reg’d racers will be staged at the back, unless you’re in the top 8 (because we’re good at spreadsheets). We’ll post preliminary staging online the day before each event… please check at that time to make sure you’re staged properly, not the day of the race!
• Email us at ChicagoCrossCup@gmail.com any time with questions, suggestions constructive criticism, praise, & random thoughts in the middle of the night. We don’t have a Patreon, although we do accept fine baked goods… just show up and race your hardest!
• Good vibes, fair and enthusiastic competition… just like a big, weird, family.

• And finally… Cross is almost here! Get yourself and your bike(s) ready now. Obviously, support your local bike shop(s)! Let’s have another great season and enjoy each other’s company on both sides of the course tape. See you soon!

• Hey’all are you ready for cyclocross season? #crossiscoming

• We’re still looking for a few Series Sponsors to help make the series go, so if you love the CCC and/or have some dollars burning a hole in your pocket… get in touch with us at ChicagoCrossCup@gmail.com!
• Speaking of sponsors… longtime friend of and racer in the series, Paul Warloski has a coaching service called Simple Endurance Training and a new strength training e-book. Check him and it out online and at the races! http://www.simpleendurancecoaching.com/
• We realize it’s a little late in the season, and the CCC is not the decider here, but we have a website that lots of people look at with their eyeballs, so we’re helping get the word out. There are two entries being considered for the 2022 Illinois State Cyclo-cross Championships and the Illinois Cycling Association (ICA), who is the governing body that decides, needs your input. Team leaders/admins should have received an email about casting a vote by this Wednesday 8/24/2022, so if you haven’t received that email or cast your vote, please get in touch with the ICA ASAP.
• Our CX friends down and mid-state in the Heartland of Illinois CX (HICX)series are running a “Dungaree competition”. Check it out, make some cool art, and win some cold hard cash dollars:  https://hicx.us/dungaree/

• If you haven’t already reg’d… get on it!!! xXx Racing Relay Cross is THIS WEEKEND 8/28/2022 in Jackson Park at the usual spot.
• Relay CX Transportation Logistics & Parking:
• The Chicago Triathlon will be operating on Lakeshore Drive, the Lakefront Trail, and other roadways in and around downtown near the lakefront on Sunday. Plan accordingly and leave yourself PLENTY of time to get to Relay Cross.
• All southbound lanes of Lakeshore Drive will be closed between Randolph Street and Hollywood Avenue between 5am and 12pm.
• The Lakefront Trail will be clogged with Chicago Triathlon runners, aid stations, volunteers, and spectators between Randolph Street and 31st Street.
• PARKING at Relay Cross:  Parking at Jackson Park for Relay Cross is available in the parking lot on the NORTH SIDE of Hayes Drive (6300 South) just west of Lakeshore Drive. Street parking may also be available. NO parking is available in the parking lot on the SOUTH SIDE of Hayes Drive just west of Lakeshore Drive. Relay Cross attendees may drop off equipment in the lot, but parking is not permitted. Parked vehicles will be ticketed and towed by the City of Chicago.
• Let’s kick off the Chicagoland CX season in the best way possible. See you all this weekend!

• And finally… we’re still getting over our 2 year COVID hangover, and making a few changes here and there to host the best series we possibly can. We’ll post updates and changes here in the weekly updates, but please make sure you review the schedule and rules/faqs pages to make sure you’re up-to-date. We’re excited to get back to a more “normal” season and can’t wait to see you all out at the races!