Related to our discussion last week about gender equity in bike racing, XXX Racing-AthletiCo is hosting an open house for women this Sunday. Although the event has recruitment in mind, it’s an excellent chance for women thinking of joining any team — or of racing unattached — to meet other female cyclists and learn about their experiences. (Note that the hosts request an RSVP.)

I’ve updated the race schedule with what I know about the 2008 season. This schedule is still missing a few dozen events, including most local races and the entirety of Superweek, but I’m waiting for the Illinois and Wisconsin associations to finalize their schedules before I publish most of those races.

If you represent a mass-start race close to Chicago that’s not on this list, feel free to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) its information.

Only 63 days until the first criterium formerly known as Parkside!

• » I’m not sure if it’s the last cross race of the 2007 season or the first race of the 2008 season, but Team Mack is hosting the 20th Annual Tour de Groundhog on Feb. 17 near Springfield. In preparation, new South Side team Beverly Bike VeePak will be hosting a training cross ride on Feb. 10.
• » Riding Attempting to ride portions of the lakefront path last week was a balance drill of despair. Now there’s so much salt it’s like riding on sandpaper. Keep track of latest conditions at this handy Chicago Bike Federation page.
• » CyclingNews has a feature story on Team Type 1, a new UCI team whose development squad includes Alberto’s Robert Schrank, part of a Ride Across America team that won its division this year. UPDATE: Scott Van Maldegiam (Spin Doctor Cyclewerks) points out that ABD product Alex Bowden is also on the development squad.
• » What’s it like to be a messenger in Chicago? Dispatch 101 is here to tell us.

Go ahead and file those time-off requests at work, as International Cycling has posted dates for the 2008 Superweek: July 11-27.

The third weekend conflicts with the announced date of the inaugural Chicago Criterium. No other details are available yet, including whether the series will be returning to new hosts Blue Island and Evanston. Both were among the highlights of 2007, so here’s hoping it does.

I missed a few other strong results from local riders at this weekend’s cyclocross national championships. Debbie Pielet (Alberto’s) finished 6th in the women’s 50-54, and Wayne Simon (Verdigris) got 8th in the men’s 50-54. (Thanks, Barry!)

And if you have a strong stomach, check out this video of the head-on crash that took out defending champion Ryan Trebon (Kona).

Some more race reports are now online:

Aspen Gorry (University of Chicago): “The temperatures rose later in the day turning the course into a mix of soupy mud and grass and causing ice to rain down from the trees that it had been covering.”

Devon Haskell (Team Get a Grip Cycles): “It’s tough riding your bike when the course grabs your wheels and throws you every which way.  People went down all over the place.”

Holly Klug (Killjoy): “The woman who ended up winning our race came all the way from the left side across to the right completely out of control, taking me completely out.”

• » Big congratulations to Devon Haskell (Team Get a Grip Cycles), who was the top local finisher at this weekend’s cyclocross national championships in Kansas City. She finished 4th in the collegiate women’s race. Ben Popper (Killjoy) was among the others who braved the remarkable snowstorm:  “I fell three times in the race, twice in this lap, once on a hairpin turn where I slid out sideways pretty dramatically.”
• » Last week’s interview with Elk Grove Mayor Craig Johnson, in which we learned that there will be only one women’s race at the 2008 Tour of Elk Grove, sparked a good discussion at the St. Louis Revolution blog, online hub of the X Plane women’s team. I join them in hoping that the schedule, generous as it is for the dudes (and 32-year-old Cat 3 dudes in particular), can be tweaked to provide more opportunities for women. If it means taking races or prize money from the men, so be it.
• » Speaking of gender equity, mountain biker Georgia Gould (Luna Bar) is petitioning the International Cycling Union to require equal payouts for the top finishers in both women’s and men’s races. Deeper men’s fields would pay deeper, but Gould wants equal purses for the top five.
• » Pre-owned Discovery Channel bikes, only $10,200. Free shipping!
• » I guess this explains why some of you haven’t bought my calendar yet. (WARNING: May not be safe for workplace viewing.)

Plenty of Chicago racers had good seasons in 2007, but none dominated a field quite like Devon Haskell (Team Get a Grip Cycles). In just her second year of competition, Haskell cruised to victory in each of the six races of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup, where she raced women’s 1/2/3, including Sunday’s state championship at Montrose Harbor. She also invaded our neighboring states, winning the state championship races in Indiana and Wisconsin.

The 26-year-old had a memorable road season as well. Racing for the University of Chicago, where she is pursuing a PhD in economics, she finished 3rd in the Division II women’s road race national championship and 6th in the criterium. That earned her a spot on the Ryan Collegiate All-Stars, a women’s squad that competed against the nation’s best professional women at June’s Nature Valley Grand Prix.

This weekend Haskell tackles the next level with the national cyclocross championships in Kansas City, where she’ll slog through the cold and mud not just once but twice. Even though she was busy getting ready for that and writing a big paper for school, she spared a few minutes this week to talk about her season and cycling’s many dividends.

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• » Minneapolis blogger Smithers has a fun and insightful interview with the new Minnesota Cycling Federation president. Read parts one, two and three. Coming on the heels of last week’s ICA discussion, it’s interesting to see the issues facing another state association. Money quote: “It’s easy to sit behind the keyboard and pound out on the message board what should be done, but it’s a lot harder to endure a brutal meeting or spend eight hours in the middle of nowhere watching a corner so 35-year-old men can pretend they are Lance Armstrong.” (WARNING: Interview is accompanied by photo that may not be safe for workplace viewing.)
• » Ed White (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) is the lastest Chicago racer to win the VeloNews photo contest, with a little help from Adam Clark (XXX Racing-AthletiCo).
• » How awesome is it that thousands of Chicago drivers will be paying $75 to slap a picture of a bicycle on their windshields?
• » Turin in Evanston is offering two weekly indoor training sessions: Monday sessions meet at the shop for free, and Thursday sessions at the McGaw YMCA are $17.
• » If 2008 comes and you can’t keep track of what day it is, it won’t be my fault. Order your Chicago Bike Racing calendar today!

Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson has made no small plans in his attempt to put his home on the map via the sport of cycling. Plans for his Tour of Elk Grove get even bigger in August 2008, its third year: A professional road race will make its debut, a JumboTron will help fans track the action, and the weekend’s $225,000 payout will be theworld’s largest for a three-day cycling event.

Part of what has made the Tour of Elk Grove extraordinary is that is has always included a full slate of amateur racing. What’s more, its amateur purses have been the most generous in the Midwest, making it one of the few weekends where even a Cat 4 racer stands a good chance of a decent payday.

Since August, however, we amateurs have been wondering how the 2008 changes will affect us. To find out I went straight to the top and asked Mayor Johnson about what to expect. Some details remain to be finalized, but as things stand now:

• » Saturday’s road race will start in Schaumburg and end with circuits of the 4.5-mile time trial course, a portion of which makes up that day’s amateur criterium course, meaning racing will either be put on hold for or will be scheduled around the pros’ arrival.
• » A two-criterium series for Cat 1/2 men will feature a $35,000 purse. (That’s almost as much money as is on the line for P/1/2’s over the entire 17 races of Superweek.) The overall will be decided by time, with time bonuses available at both stages.
• » Masters racing will expand. Cat 1/2 masters get a 50-minute race with a $6,000 purse, 3/4 masters get 40 minutes and $3,000, and Cat 5 masters get 20 minutes and awards.
• » Men’s 3’s score big: They’ll get their own 60-minute race, after sharing a 20-minute race with the 4’s in 2007. Cat 4’s will get their own 25-minute race, and 5’s will get a third field to accommodate demand — this in addition to the Cat 5 masters race.
• » The good race director giveth, and he taketh away. To make room for added men’s races, there will be no juniors races, and the lone women’s race will have an open field. The women’s purse will be $4,000, down from a combined $18,000 in 2007.
• » Portions of each entry fee will benefit the Heart of the Marines Foundation and the Elk Grove Village Fallen Soldiers Memorial Fund, which provides scholarships in the name of Elk Grove residents killed in the line of duty.

This next year brings many exciting changes but also some challenges.

• » Will the country’s best teams return even though the race isn’t on the National Racing Calendar?
• » Can the race shrug off any embarrassment from its 2007 winner, Nathan O’Neill, having tested positive for a banned diet drug?
• » Will spectators finally show up in numbers that do justice to the caliber of the riders?
• » Will Elk Grove and Schaumburg have the logistical wherewithal to pull off a successful road race? (Chicago cycling historians, help me out here: When was the last time there was a road race this close to the city?)

For answers to all this and more, here’s the Chicago Bike Racing interview with Mayor Johnson.

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Turin’s Chris Dimmick is in need of help to dig out the course before Sunday’s state championships cyclocross race. He and others will be out there Saturday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Bring a shovel or broom and treat yourself to a unique off-the-bike workout.

Chicago Cyclocross Cup standings have been updated ahead of Sunday’s finale at Montrose Harbor.

Barring catastrophe, overalls are pretty much locked up, with Luca Lenzi (Vision Quest) and Devon Haskell (Get a Grip Cycles) sitting pretty atop their respective fields. One remaining showdown is in the 4’s, where professional triathlete Brad Zoller (Unattached) and Aspen Gorry (UCVC) are separated by a mere 15 points. (Gorry no doubt pines for the 10 points he lost at Lansing when officials relegated him for riding off-course in the final sprint.)

Even if the series are settled, state championship jerseys are on the line, so expect fierce competition all day. Make sure your cowbell ringing and heckling are just as merciless.

Dan Daly of the Indiana Race Series has posted a preliminary schedule for 2008. Although the series is much smaller than previous incarnations, it still includes two stage races: the Tour of Indiana on April 19-20 and the Indiana Stage Race on Aug. 23-24.

Missing from the slate is The Great Race, a criterium and road race that are low-key, semi-local alternatives to Memorial Day weekend’s big races in Iowa, Minnesota and Tennessee. Daly tells me The Great Race is still on, but he does not yet know whether he’ll be helping run them.

• » As you may have read in The New York Times, cyclocross “has recently caught fire” in the United States. Get it while it’s hot by coming out to Sunday’s state championships at Montrose Harbor. A “light wintry mix” is forecast, which should make the racing extra sloppy and spectator-friendly, but it should be warm enough that you don’t freeze your butt off. Bring $20 and you can go home with this amazing poster from legendary poster artist and bike enthusiast Jay Ryan.
• » Dan Castallaneta of “The Simpsons” joins “Le Comedie du Bicyclette” when it returns to the Lakeshore Theater for a short run Dec. 12-16. I have no information on whether drugs will enhance the performance.
• » Just because it’s snowing doesn’t mean you and can’t have fun with your bike, thanks to our friends at Bike Winter.
• » Your mechanic called. He said he and the other wrenches would like a calendar for Christmas.

The promoter for Hillsboro-Roubaix, perhaps the Midwest’s most eagerly anticipated amateur road race, has confirmed that the 2008 edition will be Saturday, March 29.

This is an exciting, grueling course, famous for a long stretch of uneven brick

that will reduce the hardest cyclists to Jell-O, assuming the crosswinds and climbs don’t claim them first. Finishing this race is a victory in itself, and winning it bestows bragging rights for life. Indeed, it is the thought of Hillsboro in March that motivates many of us to mount our trainers in December.

In his CBR interview last month, Mike Ebert (ABD) alluded to some big changes for Athletes by Design. Today he delivered, and the changes are a much bigger deal than just a few new sponsors.

ABD is joining forces with Gear Grinder Cycling (formerly known as PCW) to form a combined pro development team, known as ABD-Gear Grinder, to race regionally and at select National Race Calendar events.

The arrangement is for 2008 only, but Ebert tells me “everyone at ABD and Gear Grinder has been looking much further down the road since we first started talking.” This includes potential partnerships on junior, off-road and multisport programs.

The teams will continue to operate separate teams

for riders Category 1 through 5.

Gear Grinder is a Wisconsin-based company that will be selling “cycling-inspired” casual clothing. (Its Web site is under construction.)

Ebert’s post also unveils the 2008 ABD-Gear Grinder roster, which retains ABD heavyweights Josh Carter and Jeff Schroetlin and adds from PCW the dynamic duo of Rob and Ryan White. You may know Rob best from an impressive win over Jonathan Clarke (Colavita) at Glencoe or from this famous shot from Downers Grove.

In other ABD news, the flier for its annual indoor time trial series is now available. 2008’s first race is only a month away.

(Full disclosure: ABD is a sponsor of Chicago Bike Racing.)