News

What a difference seven days makes! Last week at Caldwell woods it was 80 degrees and sunny, this Sunday at Hopkins park in Dekalb temps were in the 40s! Not only was it chilly, but rain Friday and Saturday left the course tacky throughout and muddy in a few low-lying spots. The course featured wide fast turns, no real difficult technical sections, and, of course, a flyover. The lung busting course was fast and left little room for recovery.

You will note in the results below that we had a number of our first-timers back for more. Little do they know that cyclocross is habit forming.

Speaking of addictive, the baked goods brought by Sue Witt were amazing. Really. Amazing. Sue and Scott were out in force with the Crosspitality tent, stocked with brats, beverages, Gu, and did I mention Sue’s baked goods? A huge thanks to Sue and Scott for their support!

Before I get to the results, a quick word on Dan Ryan Woods next week. As Jim Nowak mentioned in his email yesterday, a good thing to practice this week is bunny hops. DRW has featured small barriers (~4”) that are hopable by most riders. However, this takes practice. In fact, I hear that nasty crashes have ended seasons. If you can’t jump the height of a 2x4 ten out of ten times, you might think about running these. As with anything in ‘cross everything is more difficult in the race - other riders, screaming “fans,” fatigue, etc. You will be booed for running, but at least you’re still in the fight. Try them during preride and make a decision before your race starts.

Another call for course marshalls for the ABD cross race, check out Jim Nowak’s previous emails. Pretty please, come on out - we can’t do this without you.

Again, some great results from ABD riders (in the order reported by USAC):
In the Men’s Cat 1/2/3 race, Brad Dash finished 31st.

Five ABDers were in the Cat 3 race, with Ben Demong winning a three way sprint for 10th, Tony Pacini finished (his second race of the day) 21st, I got caught up in a crash at the start but clawed back to 52nd, Bryan McVey was 61st, and Jim Cannella was 65th.

In the Cat 4 race, Shane McQuillan bested last week’s results and finished 17th, Jerry Meister was 59th, Brian Urban Was 64th, Gary Kula was 71st

In the Cat 4 / 5 race, Jerry Meister finished 53rd.

Brianna Urban finished 16th in the Junior 9-14 race.

In the 35+ race, Brian Urban finished 51st.

Jim Nowak was 23rd in the 45+ race and Steve Prinner was 60th

In the 55+ race, Tony Pacini took 3rd, Ludwig Monfort was 14th, Walter Stoops was 16th, Craig McKenzie was 18th, Daniel Madsen was 19th, and Ross Browne finished 26th.

And finally, in the Women’s Cat 4 race, Agnieszka Motyka finished 21 and Catlin Urban was 42nd

If I left anyone out, sorry! Let me know.

Andy Walker

We’re back! If you haven’t noticed the increase in cyclocross-related emails, it’s officially the beginning of cyclocross season in Chicago. The first stop of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup Series was held on Sunday at Caldwell Woods on the corner if Devon and Milwaukee on Chicago’s north side. Caldwell replaces Jackson Park this year after we were squeezed onto a smaller portion of the park a few years ago. This new venue is much larger and better supports the 100 rider fields of than Jackson Park.

Caldwell Woods certainly did not disappoint. The folks at XXX Racing did a great job constructing a well-balanced course with plenty of straightaways, flowy twists, and short steep hills. Hopefully everyone behaved themselves and the Forest Preserve District will welcome us back again next year.

Speaking of new, Shane McQuillan, Catlin Urban, Natalie Mouw, and Steve Prinner (I’m not counting relay cross, Steve) all took on cyclocross for the first time (based on crossresults.com)! Thanks for coming out, I trust you have all been properly bitten by the 'cross bug and will be out again next week!

And finally, the results from Sunday - ABD had a great turnout. According to my count, we had 18 racers out there on Sunday. (This is probably a good time to say, sorry if I missed anyone in this write-up. Please let me know and I’ll give you the proper “shout-out.”) We had some great results and lots of riders improving on last year:
Tony Pacini brought home 2nd in the 55+ race, followed by a team time trial of Walter Stoops, Ludwig Monfort, and Daniel Madsen in 17th, 18th, and 19th, respectively. Ross Browne came in 24th.

In the Men’s 1/2/3 race Brad Dash finished 32nd.

In the Cat 3 race, Ben Demong finished 9th, Bryan McVey came back from his last-place staging position to finish 38th, I was 45th, and Jim Canella finished 74th.

In the 45+ race, Jim Nowak came in 27th and Steve Prinner was 54th.

Always looking to suffer some more, Jim Nowak tried out the Single Speed category and finished 28th.

In the 35+ race, Brian Urban finished 70th.

Brianna Urban, our sole Junior racer on Sunday, finished the 9-14 race in 24th place.

In the Women’s Cat 4 race Catlin Urban came in 43rd, followed by Natalie Mouw at 44th.

Shane McQuillan finished 30th in the cat 4 race, followed by Jerry Meister in 70th.

Jerry immediately followed the cat 4 race by racing in the cat 4/5 race, finishing 40th.

I think that’s everyone, if not let me know. I hope to see you all out in DeKalb to enjoy the fun course and the wonderful hospitality of the Witt’s.

Andy Walker

We are a month away from the Winfield Criterium and it is already looking to be an exciting event. We have shortened this year from a 2-day event to a single, twilight event through the popular Winfield subdivision. The course is exactly the same as years past, with the addition of the extended course to make your legs work even harder as you grind up the hill, in between the neighborhood parties.

More information about this race can be located on the Winfield Criterium website. While there, look at the schedule and make sure you pre-register to save yourself some time and a few bucks.

Could you ask for more perfect weather? Every single day was absolutely gorgeous, and with the exception for what seems to be 2 minor crashes a very safe weekend. Thank you everyone who came out and participated, whether you were a volunteer, a spectator, or a racer, your appearance was highly appreciated.

RESULTS

Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you for providing some safe and amazing excitement over the holiday weekend. There are still a few of you out there that have yet to collect your winnings, so please get in touch with us if you think you are owed some money. In the mean time we will try to locate you and get you your earnings.

Once again, thank you to everyone who made the weekend exciting and fun. Next up for Athletes By Design is the 2014 Winfield Criterium. Hopefully we will see you all out there.

WE’RE BACK!

The Wednesday Night Criterium Series is in full effect for the 2014 season. This is a training series that targets racers of all ages and ability level and allows them to learn pack riding and racing strategies in a safe, closed-course, environment. The following is the schedule for each and every Wednesday Night event that we host:

• Registration: 5:30PM
• Race #1: 6:15PM
• Race #2: 6:45PM
• Race #3: 7:20PM

For more information about each race during the night as well as the course and more, head on over to the Wednesday Night web page.