Matt Samples has proven that he can race without crashing by taking 1st place in the combined Cat 4/5 Masters race at this past weekend's crit at Wonder Lake. He also finished second in the Cat 4 only heat. Congratulations Matt!

Cat 3 rider Ed Hernandez recovering from a lingering knee energy also raced. It looks like he may soon be getting support as soon as Matt upgrades.

Full results here- Wonder Lake Crit

I wouldn't go planning the Chicago Crit (Sun, 7/25) as your "A" race for this upcoming season. The Mayor's Office released an announcement on the city's 2010 event schedule earlier this week. Way towards the bottom (after endless banter on the binge eating fest that is the Taste of Chicago) is the following note regarding the Chicago Crit:

"Due to the challenging economy this year, the City was forced to cancel Venetian Night, the Chicago Criterium, the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival and Great Chicago Places and Spaces."

I suspect that promoters will try to locate a sponsor to cover the incredible cost of this great race, but right now the event must be on life support. I'd recommend focusing on Super Week (which concludes on that Sun, 7/25) or Glencoe (which takes place on Sat, 7/24).

474 Racers showed up for the final Cross race of the 2009 Chicago Cross Cup Series. This final race is also the IL State Championship race for 2009. The snow held off but the temps were cool in the 30's with a steady brisk breeze for the last shot. Montrose Harbor offers lots!! of sandy terrain, some elevation, and great views of the city and the lake. In order of appearance: Jeff Provisor in the Masters 40+ scores some points for the team and himself with a 29th place finish at the IL State Championship. Mark McNeill in the masters 50+ has a strong race defending his top 20 series standing but suffers a mechanical forcing a DNF. Mark finishes 18th in his class for the series, nice job Mark. In the Mens 4a Cameron Pease and John Hoffman line up to attack the deeply rutted sand with John finishing 13th in the race and 15th for the series, Cameron puts down a solid 40th in a State Championship race of 73 starters. Mark Moller did not race but placed 19th for the series in the Masters 30+. Ten races in 12 weeks couldn't be more fun. Team NBC finished 34th of 89 teams. Hope to better that next year by adding some more NBCs to the roster. Special Thanks to Ted from Blue Competition Cycles for his support and especially our sponsor Jeff Provisor of Mainstreet Bikes for tons of hours dedicated to the Cross Cup Series. 280 days til we to "Do it in the Dirt"! (again)2009 Cross Detail Stats Google Docs

While we're all logging miles on the trainer, Steve was out kick @$$ on the skate skis at the Birke held Feb 24. His time of 2:58:34 placed him 579th out of 3,328 total racers and 53rd in his Masters 30-34 field of 194 racers. His 2009 time cut a full 8 minutes off his 2008 time. Congrats, Stainless Steve!!!! If only cyclists had access to race results like this...