– Lots of news on the series sponsor front. Please help us welcome the following companies/organizations below to the CCC family. Remember, if you’d like to join in too, please let us know by August 15th.

– EJ’s Place in Skokie – Juniors race free (again) thanks to EJ’s!
– Psimet Wheels – Custom handbuilt wheels.
– MOX Multisport – Bikes and more in downtown Chicago… with Mox Appeal.
– Van Wagner – For all your outdoor advertising needs… did someone say another CCC Billboard?
– Tipping Point Photography – ChiCross Photo Collective co-founder Liz Farina Markel takes pictures of things besides bikes too.

– Online registration is now open for the Sunday August 29th xXx Racing Relay Cross race here. Find info on xXx’s site here including the very important  race bible/tech guide. Make sure to take note of the specifics of the “high-five” rule, and that there will be LeMans style starts for each race. Many of the same categories as normal CCC races will be run, but the schedule is a bit different with the Cat 4’s race in the middle day, and what looks to be the main event, the Coed Open, finishing out the afternoon. And while this isn’t an official CCC race (so there are no series points), we’ll just go ahead and consider this the official kick off to the Chicagoland CX season. Get your cowbells and luchador masks ready… this one promises to be a wild event!

– Online registration is also open for the Sunday August 15th IIT Cyclocross Clinic with Jeremy Powers & Randy Warren. Jeremy and Randy have years and years of proven CX experience… and even better know how to transfer that accumulated knowledge to you. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn from two of the best. Rumor also has it that Adam Myerson will be in town and might be convinced to stop by for a little bit. Make sure to send Adam a note on twitter at @adammyerson to let him know how much we’d all like him to be there!

– There’s a new CX race up North on Saturday September 18th, the day before the Jackson Park CCC race. See the WCA schedule here. From promoter Ron Knaflic: “Saddle up, CXers as Lake Country Endurance brings you a new venue this year. After 13 years of Lapham Peak we are moving to a new pasture. We present to you The No Good Double Cross. Set in a mock Old West town, the course has sand, gravel, billy goats and features a stair runup to the a hilltop Chapel that will have you praying for one less lap. We at LCE are raising the bar this year, literally! The Jack*^# Saloon will be open, air conditioned and serving (legally of course) as well as the venue for awards. If that was not enough to get your spurs shined up, we will also be trying something new this year. Each race will feature a 2nd Lap Prime. Cash or prizes to be determined. Donations accepted. To see the town go to www.kettlemoraineranch.com”

– And finally… apparently we were wrong and no one is getting ready for CX season… which is a crying shame because we were really looking forward to another great season. Lucky for us, rumor has it Andrew Zens (of CBR fame) will be racing for bacon in the 4B’s. However, if you’ve ever seen Andrew near Pratt and Ridge after the Wednesday night MidWeekeGem then you know Andrew might be looking for something besides bacon during the carnival. Will this be your first season racing CX? We’d love to hear from you and what you’re doing to get ready. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Now that its nearly August… and that little race in France is done… we’re full on CX… so lots of CCC news coming at you in the next few weeks. You can expect regular Tuesday CCC website updates at least every other week, and perhaps even weekly from now until September.

– We’ve already had a great outpouring of series sponsor support for the 2010 CCC but we’d love to have other sponsors join our little family. So have a look at our proposal and let us know. However we need to start finalizing plans and writing checks, so if you plan to be involved please let us know by August 15th.

– Katie Compton has to go all the way to Alaska, but IIT only has to bring JPow down from Glencoe for the their CX Clinic with Jeremy Powers and Randy Warren hosted by IIT. We expect this clinic to fill up, so register early!

– Juniors will again race for free in 2010 thanks to the continued gihugimous support from EJ’s Place in Skokie.

– Yes, its only July 27th, and we’ve been spending a fair amount of time with Mr. Bigglesworth… but we’ve heard about and seen quite a few of you already prep’ing for September. We’d love to see and hear more though. Feels free to post links in the comments below about what you’re doing to get ready for “the” season.

– CX Magazine reports the New Jersey SpectaCross has been canceled. We hate to see any race canceled, much less a spectator friendly CX event. Once the CCC gets going, lets make sure we all show our local promoters some love.

– The 2010 CCC now has an official Series Sponsorship Proposal. Please take a look and if you’d like to see your name in bright neon lights and be a series sponsor (or even just know someone who might) please contact us at [email protected].

– If you haven’t heard by now you must be living under a rock, but long time CCC promoter xXx Racing-AthletiCo will be hosting the inaugural Tag Team Cyclocross Race on Sunday, August 29 at 10:00am in Jackson Park. You and a buddy trading off laps for 45 to 90 minutes. Categories are still being finalized but apparently there will be a coed option. Look for pre-reg to open later in the summer but find a partner now. Forthcoming details will be found here.

– Hey Ladies! Half Acre raises the bar (again) for bringing new riders into the mix with their Women’s Cyclocross Clinic on Saturday, September 11th at Rainbow Beach and Park (not far from the Gaper’s Block Crits location). The clinic will be led by WI Pro Kristin Wentworth. Find details here and here. Pre-reg opens July 1st.

– Not to steal Half Acre’s thunder, but we’ve heard rumors that another non-gender-specific CX clinic is in the works for mid August when a bunch of pro’s will be in town, to hopefully be led by a powerful East Coast CX’er. Details are still being finalized, and we’ll post details as soon as they are confirmed.

– Speaking of the pro’s… the UCI has made a few changes to international CX rules. None of them really apply to us racing the CCC, but  if you plan on racing the Madison USGP on the CCC’s first free weekend, or plan on heading to Nationals, these new rules may apply to you.

– Juniors update. A bunch of you have asked to separate out the 10-14 Junior and 15-18 Junior age groups similar to how the ICA scores the IL Cup. We are happy to announce that starting this year the CCC will score the two age groups separately. However, since we don’t have time to start each age group separately we’ll do call-ups for the top 5 Juniors in each of the two age groups alternating between the 15-18’s and 10-14’s. The Pony Shop has also signed on to sponsor the Juniors races. If you’re under 19 years old and can catch him… say thanks to the Sheriff next time you see him!

– Speaking of separate scoring… a few of you have also inquired about adding a single-speed category. We’d love to do it, but we’re running out of time… literally. There’s just not enough daylight in November and December to add another 30-45 minute race at each venue. We’re trying to think of a way to let SS’ers race in the categories we already have, and then score them separately, but it would be tricky. If you have ideas on how to make this work we’d like to hear from you… and better yet if you’d like to help us score such a series we’d love to hear from you.

– And finally… yes, we know there are few sprint finishes in CX races… but here’s an example why you should always, always, always, always wear your helmet when riding and racing your bike. We’ll be watching this year and rule 1N1 in the USAC Rulebook reserves the right for officials to give the kind of hand ups you DON’T want to receive in the form of DQ’s and/or $20 fines for people not wearing their helmets while riding their bikes at any CCC race. Our fantastic officials really don’t want to deal with the paperwork or have to make 911 calls, so don’t be stupid… there’s absolutely no downside at all to wearing your helmet… and every reason in the world to wear it.

Now that’s its after Memorial Day and we can all safely wear white, the CCC thought we’d bring everyone up to speed on what we’ve been toiling away on since December in our evil CX lair (and if you need to ask… yes, we do have sharks with lasers on their heads).

– Our tentative 2010 schedule is up and ready for your viewing pleasure. We’ll have 12 races this year with all 10 of your favorites from 2009 returning for 2010. The 11th race will be hosted by 2008’s Hawthorne Woods promoter Ted Schweitzer at a new venue in Wauconda the Saturday before Carpentersville. The 12th race will be a 2nd day hosted by the South Chicago Wheelmen at the Hilton Indian Lakes golf resort.

– The 2010 race day schedule will be changing slightly too. We’re keeping all races in the same basic order as last year (the 4B carnival still gets the spotlight as the last race of the day), but in order to make room for even more riders on course at the same time (we’ve grown 30% each of the last 2 years) we’ll be adding an additional time slot earlier in the morning… so the 40+ Masters will start a bit earlier in the morning. We’re still working out exactly what time that will be, so stay tuned for details. Online PreReg will again be on BikeReg.com for all races, so bookmark the site and please make sure your rider profiles are up-to-date before September.

– Starting earlier in the morning means promoters will be working extra hard and will still need help to get courses set-up and ready for the old guys to rip each others legs off. In order to make sure all races start on time and run smoothly the CCC is asking for a little help. There are a few teams out there that participate in the CCC every weekend yet do not host their own races, so we are calling on you to help out. Any individuals willing to show up early and help set up the courses that need the most help will not only earn our deepest gratitude, but also get to race all day for only $5. That’s a pretty sweet deal for only 1-2 hours of work each weekend. Please contact us at [email protected] if you are interested.

– Payouts are changing for 2010 as well. All fields will be paid out in ca$h except for the 4B’s, which won’t receive any weekly payout at all. We’ll still score the 4B’s for an overall title, but there will be no weekly prizes… beyond the usual handups. We’ll also be watching closely and asking egregious sandbaggers to race in the 4A’s so as to give everyone else a chance to have some fun in the 4B’s. Fields already receiving cash payouts in 2009 will get a bump up in total dollar amount for 2010 and… wait for it… the Women 1/2/3 will receive equal payouts as the Men 1/2/3.

– The CCC will NOT be sending out a newsletter in 2010. All communications will be disseminated through the site here or on our brandspankyingnew Twitter account (@ChiCrossCup). So add us into your favorite RSS reader or follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with everything CCC. Facebook you ask??? We can only update so many social networking sites at once (plus our work offices block FB during the day), but we highly recommend friending The Pony Shop, Iron Cycles, Tati Cycles, Half Acre, and others around that time of the year. Still need more suggestions… you’re on your own… that why its called social networking!

– In this tough economic climate we at the CCC feel very, very, very fortunate and lucky to have so many gracious series sponsors who donate their time, money, merchandise, and good will that allows us to put on such a great series of CX races for all of you. Several 2009 sponsors including Mad Alchemy, The Pony Shop, Sheila Moon, and Main Street Cycles, as well as new sponsor The Bone Bell, have already stepped up for 2010, but we’re always looking for others. If you would like to be a 2010 CCC series sponsor, please contact us at [email protected] for details.

– For 2010 the CCC will once again be accepting donations through BikeReg for World Bicycle Relief (WBR) as our main charity. For those of you not around in 2009 the CCCCommunity donated $3,400 to WBR… but we think we can do even better this year! In 2009 we had an average of 400 racers at each event. If everyone donates $1 at each of the 12 races in 2010 we can easily raise $4,800… so we’re setting a GOAL OF  $5,000. If some of us can spend that much on a single bike, collectively we can surely help out those around the world without a bike at all. Let’s see what we all can do together this year!

– The ChiCross Photo Collective still needs to sell some 2009 CCC coffee table books. These books are well worth much more than the price tag would indicate and will bring you many years of fond memories. Plus, all of the profits go to World Bicycle Relief, so its a win-win for everyone.

– Our equally CX crazy friends up North in Wisconsin have released some details for their 2010 season. The WI Cycling Association website is still not updated, but CX Magazine provides details here. We’re glad to see WI races will be doing call-ups and promoting more consistency across their entire series. Starting after Jackson Park and ending before Montrose, with 4 double race weekends, there are a lot of overlapping weekends with the CCC, but that just means we all have plenty of options and chances to race all Autumn long. We highly encourage everyone to check out the UCI level USGP races in Sun Prairie the weekend after the CCC begins (Sept 26-27).

That should do it for now. We’ll have more news (there’s still more?) as we get closer to CX the race season. But as always if you have questions, comments, ideas, want to help out, etc… give us a shout at [email protected].

Dekalb promoters North Central Cyclery and Half Acre Cycling cordially invite you to a metric century on some of the finest “roads” the Dekalb area has to offer. It might not be dirt or mud, but gravel is the next best thing this time of year… and Cervantes would be so proud.

As if you couldn’t get enough CCC through the site proper, the CCC has joined Twitter. We’ll still have regular updates during the season on the main site but on race day and special occasions we’ll be tweeting anything we deem microbloginguptotheminutegottahaveitrightnownewsworthy.

Follow us at http://twitter.com/chicrosscup.

Our good friends over at The Bonebell have some snazzy new kits for sale for a limited time. If you haven’t already spent your lunch money on a shiny Stybar WC edtion Ridley or a set of  Dugast Diavolos then surf on over to the Bonebell’s online store and show your Chicagoland dirtbag love. The Bonebell is also the 2010 CCC’s first official sponsor as they are throwing into the pot a brand spanking new CX20 Alpha Q full carbon fork.

Are you interested in being a sponsor for the 2010 CCC? Contact us at [email protected] to find out more.

The Pony Shop is hosting a book release party for the ChiCrossPhotoCollective‘s 2009 CCC Photo Book this Saturday, March 20th from 2-4pm.  In addition to handing out books to those who pre-ordered and having a couple of copies on hand for people to see in person (if for some crazy reason they are still undecided about purchasing one) our local Ridley rep will be showcasing the 2011 line of gear that day at the shop.  Please call The Pony Shop if you need more details about the Ridley promotion…  otherwise it should be a fun celebration of cyclocross this Saturday and we hope everyone can make it up (or down) to Evanston.

The 2009 CCC coffee table books are now available for order on blurb.
Find more info at the ChiCrossPhoto.com or just go ahead and order your book at http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1216318.

Heather Jurewicz of Johnny Sprockets has posted a fantastic video chronicling the 2009 CCC. Theres amazing camera work, thoughtful interviews, sweeping panoramas, a fitting soundtrack, and the entire video from start to finish really gives you a great idea of what the CCC is all about. Yeah, its long but there’s a big story to tell. Fair warning, this video is slightly NSFW (language), and the number and types of hand ups may be alarming to some but hey… this is the CCC!

Mr. Cyclocross himself (Newt Cole) makes more than a few cameos but everyone and everything from SuperGirl, to Flannel Mike, to the BoneBell, to the Cuttin’ Crew’s bull horn can be seen. Heck, even Robert Sliwinski and Jason Knauff made it in!

Big thanks to Heather and the entire Johnny Sprockets CX team for making this video possible!
Note: Heather teaches video production at a youth center and does freelance work on the side. If you need some video work done please email us at [email protected] and we’ll put you in contact with Heather.