• » Sunday, Sept. 11, is Patriot Cross, another pre-season tuneup for the cyclocross season.
• » Excellent work from Pony Shop and Get a Grip Cycles to nab a bike thief who struck at the Glencoe Grand Prix.
• » ABR’s four-person time trial has moved from Sept. 11 to Sept. 10.
• » Enzo’s catches up with Mike Sherer (Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth) as he winds down his first season as a pro.
• » Cycling-minded designers may enjoy using Velo Ipsum, a filler copy generator for bike dorks.

• » Randy Gillespie (Team Mack), the rider seriously injured in a race near St. Louis in June, was taken off life support and died Thursday morning.
• » North Branch will be hosting our state time trial championships Saturday, Sept. 3.
• » The Chicago Velo Campus’ interim velodrome is operational. Sunday there will be racing and a BBQ from 4-8 p.m. Racers must have attended a certification class at the track. Classes run daily from 4-6 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. E-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to reserve a spot. For more updates, follow the CVC Facebook page.
• » Registration closes tonight for Saturday’s Morton Classic, the final race of the 2011 Illinois Cup.
• » The art of local rider and painter Steve Dennis will be featured at next week’s USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
• » If I ever revise this list, Winfield will surely advance in the rankings. After missing it last year, I’d forgotten what a great weekend of racing this is. ABD and Winfield deliver the best that amateur racing has to offer — even in the midst of an epic hailstorm. And congratulations to Bryan McVey (ABD), who picked up his first elite win in grand style, soloing out of a break to win Sunday’s ABR national championship.

• » Registration is open for Jackson Park Cyclocross, and registration opens tomorrow for Half Acre Cycling’s women’s clinic. Meanwhile, Chicago Cyclocross Cup is soliciting T-shirt and sock designs, and Cyclocross Sitters will watch your children at races this season.
• » Chicago designer Jerome Daksiewicz did another of his Tour de France infographics.
• » The Second Annual Wrigley Field Road Tour, a benefit for World Bicycle Relief, is seeking volunteers for Saturday, Aug. 27.

• » Nico Deportago-Cabrera (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew) finished 7th at this week’s Cycle Messenger World Championships in Warsaw, Poland. He recorded a video blog along the way for Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The championships come here in 2012.
• » Registration opened today for Relay Cross on Sunday, Aug. 28. (Both teammates register at once.)
• » Online registration closes Sunday for the Palos Meltdown.

American Bike Racing has come up with a state road race championship this Sunday near Kankakee.

Elite fields will race together but be scored separately for the 18-mile rolling course of the Two Rivers Road Race. Cat 1-4 men will race together

and go for 72 miles. The $25 registration fee will be day-of only.

Meanwhile, this weekend’s big money Tour of Elk Grove has confirmed some big teams for both the men’s and women’s fields. Among the record 125 professional men will be national criterium champion Daniel Holloway (Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth), former champion Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) and international stars like Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthcare), Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia) and Alejandro Borrajo (Jamis Sutter Home).

For the first time in several years, Chris Horner (RadioShack) will not be in attendance. (He’s working on some post-tour issues.