Team H&R BLOCK is once again proud to co-host with Mighty Riders the Langley Cyclocross Classic and opening round of the BC Cross Cup at Aldor Acres farm on Sunday, September 4th, 2011. As in years past, all net race proceeds will be donated to the MS Society. Come out to test your skills and fitness on this great course with cash and merchandise prizes for all categories. Draw prizes for all racers and volunteers will be awarded following the Elite Men’s race.

I’m getting dropped. It’s a Saturday morning in the middle of August, and I’m on a training ride with my teammate Christian in Portland’s Forest Park. We are headed up a stupidly steep fire lane and all I can think is: I’m getting dropped. I should be at home sleeping in, or at least eating breakfast and reading a book. But instead I’m out here, heart rate through the roof, sweat dripping on to my Garmin so I can’t even read it, looking for an extra gear I know isn’t there. What am I doing?

Are you ready for Singlespeed Cyclocross Worlds? A year ago, San Francisco locals battled it out in Seattle for the rights to host the prestigious and raucous affair in the city by the bay. Rising victoriously amidst the barrier-hopping, costume-wearing and beer-guzzling, the date and venue has now been set for this year’s event. Needing no introduction, the famed Golden Gate Park will welcome racers as they compete for the title of Singlespeed Cyclocross World Champion (SSCXWC) during the weekend of November 18-20, 2011. With title sponsor Sheila Moon Athletic Apparel and well-known local race promoter Murphy Mack — responsible for West Coast GoldSprints and the multi-terrain SF Enduro — throwing their weight and considerable expertise into the occasion, the pair promises to make the three day event a weekend unmatched by the race’s previous host cities. Details are still being finalized.

Boston, Massachusetts – The Providence Cyclocross Festival presented by Interbike, one of the premier cyclocross events in the country, will open registration at midnight on Thursday, September 1. This year’s edition of the race, to be held on the 8th and 9th of October, will include a UCI Category 1 race on Saturday and a UCI Category 2 race on Sunday. Both days will be part of the new Shimano New England Professional Cyclocross Series presented by Verge for the elite racers and the amateur Verge New England Championship Cyclocross Series.

Earthquake?! Feh.

That was our sexy MAC cyclocrossers warming up! We’re three weeks away from ’cross season … so boys are crashing through city parks and then running from the cops seconds before they get told to leave. You can feel it now, right? What you eat matters, and now is the time to start experimenting with what goes down easy and stays down, what keeps you going and what revives you so that you can get up and do it all over again the next day. So, I’m baaaaack, because what you eat, when you eat it and how it performs occupies so much of my brain space that I thought I might as well get it out here with the only other people I know who aren’t on Weight Watchers: cyclocrossers.

I’ve been racing cyclocross for nearly ten years. You’ve never heard of me. I’ve never been on a ‘cross podium, and I probably never will. But, I love the sport, and I’m out there as often as I can grunting away in the middle of the pack., in the rain, snow, and mud. I want to represent the riders that do this for that experience, and not for glory. I’d like to ensure that while attention is appropriated focused on the national level and the elite racers, that the no-name guys at the back of the pack do not get left behind. Additionally, I’d like to see more new riders getting into the sport, whether they are from a road or MTB background, or entirely new to cycling.

Today, August 31st, is the last day to vote for USA Cycling Officials, so make sure to Get Out The Vote and voice your opinion for who you want to represent cyclocross on the committee.

We’re brought you candidate statements from two of the nominees, Brook Watts of Cross Vegas and Adam Rakunas of the Strawberry Fields Multisport Festival.

Malissa is a hard working mother of two/bike racer. Spencer is an up and coming Cyclocross racer. Both of them race and train together. When Spencer races, Malissa can be seen running along on the sidelines, cheering loudly. When it’s his Mom’s turn to race, Spencer and his brother Nick can be seen cheering loudly. They make bike racing a family event.

At just age 18, American bike racing legend Greg LeMond began his bike racing career in Palo Alto, California. He went on to become the first American to win the Tour de France in 1986, again in 1989, and 1990. Lemond is back to his roots this September 17, 2011 to ride in the Echelon Palo Alto Gran Fondo.

Winston-Salem, NC – The team managers of Smartstop/Mock Orange Bikes presented by Ridley Professional Cyclocross Team, have forged a partnership with the owners of the highly successful Team Mountain Khakis presented by SmartStop Road Team to create this truly unique year round program.

Baltimore, Maryland — Hooglede-Gits. Wachtebeke. Baltimore? September 17-18, Belgian-style cyclocross racing arrives in Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park for the seventh annual Charm City Cross. Record numbers of participants already pre-registered for Charm City Cross, a UCI 2 race and part of the Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross (MAC) series, which promises to be the most well-attended series yet and welcomes several international competitors. So warm up the waffles, fry some frites, chill the Chimay, and ring the cowbells — Hampden’s Twenty 20 Cycling Company is bringing cyclocross to Baltimore.

Today, we caught up with Simon Burney, the author of the seminal how to book on cyclocross, Cyclocross Training and Technique, now in its 3rd edition. He is a former professional cyclocross racer and has spent more than twenty years managing professional cyclocross and mountain bike teams, working with some of the top cyclocross racers in the world. Simon served as the Performance Manager for mountain bike at British Cycling and has raced, wrenched, or managed the national team at the Cyclocross World Championships for 28 years. He’s spoken with us before, but since the season is about to stat, we wanted to pick his brain for some tips for our new-to-cyclocross readers and get an idea of what he’s been up to lately.

Longmont, Colorado — Luck really is a lady this year at CrossVegas. Crankbrothers has stepped up to support women’s cyclocross racing at Clif Bar CrossVegas by sponsoring the crankbrothers ladylucx elite women’s race. The ladylucx race will offer prize money to the top 5 women finishers that’s equal to the men.

Here at Cyclocross Magazine, we’re excited to launch our first of many how-to videos. In this series, we’ll be asking elite riders to show us how they perfected skills like remounts, dismounts, cornering, barriers, sand and quite a few other tricks.

This week, we look at Travis McMaster of the AZCROSS.COM Presented by Artisan Prosthetics Powered by Raleigh Bicycles Series. This non-UCI series runs October through December 2011 in the Greater Phoenix area of Arizona.

“We are extremely excited about this race,” said Race Director Chris Huebner. “Manitoba has never seen anything like this.” He added: “Racing under the lights has really grown in popularity over the past number of years. Races like Starcrossed in Seattle and CrossVegas during the Interbike industry trade show in Las Vegas are among the biggest and most well-known cyclocross events in North America, attracting quality fields of racers and huge crowds.”

The bikes; different than our ’cross bikes; have weird frames; fat, overstuffed tires and flat bars (where do my hands go?) but in reality, I’ve learned a ton from riding and racing my mountain bike this summer. Lessons that, I’m certain, will come in handy as I make the transition from rock gardens and stream crossings to 40 cm. barriers.

When it comes to Northeast cyclocross racing and specifically Northeast-based cyclocross professionals, most think of the usual suspects: Adam Myerson of Cycle-Smart, Jeremy Powers of Rapha-Focus, Tim Johnson of Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale, the retired Dan Timmerman (formerly of Richard Sachs), Jamey Driscoll of Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale and the list goes on. However, if you attend almost any Northeast UCI level cyclocross race, you will find perennial strong man Justin Lindine mixing it up at the front of the race with the big names in the sport and often finishing on the top of the podium. Recently, Justin took the time to sit down and answer some of my questions regarding his recent move from full time road racer to full-time elite Mountain XC racer, his racing plans for the future and of course, cyclocross.

Longmont, Colorado — The nation’s biggest cyclocross race, CrossVegas, has taken CLIF® BAR as its first title sponsor. The original energy bar made with organic ingredients, CLIF BAR is increasing its annual participation from supporting to title sponsor in a multi-year deal concluded recently.

The past four days have been all about cyclocross for me. And I have to tell you, it has been amazing. Between seeing how “real cyclists” exist in their normal world to being at the Cycle-Smart Cyclocross Clinic, I have learned so much and met some really incredible people, again reaffirming why I love this sport so darn much. Now that I’m finally at the beach on my family vacation, I get to sit and reflect on the past few days and decide where I go from here. Cyclocross season is only a couple of weekends away, and I’m feeling pretty ready for it.

We’ve heard a lot about the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference in the past few weeks from coordinators Joe Kopena, Tim Manzella and Steven Hopengarten, but what about the other conferences out there? We’ve been reaching out all around the country to find out how collegiate teams are making cyclocross season count. Wilson Hale, cyclocross coordinator for the Atlantic Collegiate Cycling Conference, was kind enough to give us a sneak peek into the makings of a stellar season when schools are situated south of the ECCC. Unlike the ECCC, the ACCC has a shorter season and chooses to host their own races, rather than racing collegiate within standard cyclocross races.

OK people, it’s August, races are coming up quick, and ’cross prep is happening around the country. Now that you’ve dialed in the bike parts, shaved some weight off of your frame (bike or otherwise), gotten the tubies set to roll, what’s left? Well, its time to work on the shoes, two of the key contact points with your bike, and remove the opportunity for dirt, sticks, mud, rocks or other debris to get caught up between the shoe sole and your cleat. Face it, you just can’t go as fast or crush your competitors without being clipped in fully.

My pitch to Cyclocross Magazine’s Online Editor Molly for this column went something like this: “Cyclocross racer from New Hampshire moves to Texas. Wacky hijinks ensue.”

Hi, I’m Mark. I just moved from New Jersey to Texas one month ago. I race cyclocross.

It’s summer in Wisconsin, and that means a lot of criterium racing. We’re fortunate to have two race series here, and as a teacher I have a bit of time in the summer to race.

The result of all the racing is that I’m definitely making progress in my recovery. I’ve felt progressively stronger as the summer has gone on. I don’t think I’ll ever be the rider I was before the crash, but I have become a different rider.

The course is a 150ish-mile loop around Lincoln that includes “maybe four miles of pavement,” according to Pirate Cycling League member and participant Malcolm Tassi. Everything else is either groomed gravel roads or Minimum Maintenance Roads – forgotten double-track wagon trails that turn into nearly-impassable mud bogs if it rains.

Almost as much as beer, coffee is a part of cyclocross, and cycling in general. Coffee snobbery is fairly common at races, though the Dunkin’ Donuts run remains a time-honored tradition for some teams. This week on the Cowbell Forum, we had a member ask for coffee suggestions, and the forum went crazy. The great coffee debate, labeled “Coffee Anyone” had answers ranging from tiny fair trade roasters to more traditional blends.

Portland, OR — Even though it seems like summer only started a few weeks ago, the cyclo cross season is now rapidly approaching. The Knights of the Crusade have been feverishly working to line up race locations and dates that we think will make for the most kick butt season ever. Our website, www.crosscrusade.com is finally updated and the 2011 race schedule is posted. We will be visiting many of our long standing venues this year and at the same time have made some cool changes. The biggest of these changes is that we will be going to Bend for the Halloween Crusade weekend on Oct. 29/30. The City of Bend is throwing out a huge fuzzy welcome mat for us and is allowing us to race on the same course that was used for the 2009/2010 U.S. National Cyclocross Championships. Cross Crusade presenting sponsor, Deschutes Brewing Co. is throwing a huge party on Saturday the 29th in their warehouse. Which happens to sit just next to the race venue.

Seattle, WA — Low Pressure Promotions, LLC announced the details of the 2011 MFG Cyclocross schedule at its world headquarters in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, WA today. MFG Cyclocross is presented by Raleigh Bicycles for 2011 and will consist of six races beginning in September and will conclude on November 13th at the 3rd Annual Woodland Park Gran Prix.

Not only does the USGP come to Sun Prairie in September and nationals to Madison in January, but with 15 events on the schedule, the Wisconsin Cycling Association will be one of the largest series’ in the US.

We’ve heard, in past Women’s Wednesday interviews, from women who’ve said that finding sponsor money is harder, the payouts aren’t nearly as lucrative and being taken seriously in the sport is more of a challenge. Today, we asked all types of women cyclists the questions, “what is the hardest part of being a woman cyclist? And what’s the best part?” Answered ranged from serious to humorous, and I was amazed at how many women had a lot to say about the cycling scene.