Ride with Plus Cycling Team and let us challenge you!

Calendar

Train with the Best

PLUS Cycling Team has a proven track record of producing highly successful cyclists who compete at various levels, from professional to amateur categories.

Our training approach serves as the foundation for our athletes' achievements in races, as well as individual and organized ultra endurance events, marathons, and triathlons.

We take great pride in our ability to foster the growth and development of these strong athletes each season.

[Training] Last weekend the boys went out west to sample some of the best gravel roads in IL. The annual "Ride 10,000" organized by @electricstu did not disappoint this year either. Tom, Marcin and Raf had an absolute peach of a day! Fantastic vistas, varying gravel terrain, well planned maps and cookies galore, courtesy of Stu's mom. If you are a gravel rider, you absolutely have to make it to this event!

Find Tom's video recap on our YouTube channel!

[Racing] Last weekend we had Paul S. and Damian F. representing the club at Muskego Park Criterium in cat 4 and cat 3 respectively. Paul battled to his first, massive "W" in cat 4.

Here is what Paul has to say: "This race felt redemptive. Last year, I crashed out of 2 winning breaks so to get in a winning 2 man breakaway and stay helmet side up was a win and a testament to the benefits of experience. Thankful to the teammates, training partners, and sponsors who kept supporting [me] even after breakaway disappointments last year."

Congratulations to Paul and Damian!

Massive thanks to @thebeardandbokeh for yet again, absolutely stellar photography and your hard work. All of the photos are credit to M. Reschke.

[Racing] Damian F. was representing the club at the tradition laden Monsters of Midway criterium race. It has been a staple on the early spring calendar for many years, at the scenic University of Chicago. The race is a part of Illinois Cup.

Damian kept the race animated in the break aways and was able to secure some valuable IL Cup points with a 4th place finish!

📷Thank you very much for these fantastic shots, by our friend Matt Reschke @thebeardandbokeh
Check out his stellar photos from races all over Illinois and Wisconsin!

[Racing] Battling fierce winds, PLUS Cycling Team faced a formidable challenge at the second edition of the Seeds & Stones Roubaix. The relentless conditions split the peloton early, demanding exceptional bike handling and focus on the pavé. Despite the circumstances, the team displayed resilience, supporting each other through the wind and jarring sectors. PLUS Cycling Team's determined participation underscored their grit and commitment to tackling even the toughest cycling conditions.

The team was represented by Guy, Dan, Łukasz, Slawek, Waldek, Marcin, Stasiu and Tom. Congrats to Łukasz for placing in the top 10 in the 75 mile category! 💪🏻👏🏻

25 Mile Distance:
Waldek D. Age Group: 🥇

55 Mile Distance:
Marcin C. Age Group: 🥈
Tom K. Age Group: 4th

Guy O. Age Group:🥇
Stanley T. Age Group:🥉
Dan D. Age Group: 4th

75 Mile Distance:
Łukasz S. Age Group: 🥈

Check out the highlight video on our youtube channel!!!
https://youtu.be/P6dnxiaP0z8

[Announcement] Greenville 2025

Another successful PLUS Cycling Spring camp is in the books! Perfect weather, beautiful roads, tough hills, and amazing views — PLUS Cycling Team’s Spring camp in Greenville had it all! The team worked hard all six days, building fitness, teamwork, and camaraderie. Huge thanks to Stasiu for keeping everyone fueled with incredible gourmet meals every day!

The guys had a massive week of training by riding about 400 miles and clocking in over 30k ft of elevation gain!

See you all soon - Go PLUS!!!

Check out the highlight video on our youtube channel.

https://youtu.be/ZR6moFo2CcM?si=ZzS3vPPBbGGMtI6k

[Announcement] As we wind down the 2024 season with the last couple rides and races, we are already looking ahead to the 2025 season! We held our annual club meeting last week where we celebrated the fantastic results and milestones. Tremendous thanks to all the members who pitch in, in any and all ways possible to make this club what it is today!

One of the major items on the agenda was the redesign of our kit where in addition to Eco-Board and Customized Solutions, we have Mega Auto joining us as an exclusive sponsor! Thank you all for your continued support in making the club into what it is today!

Watch out for us rocking this @pactimo_official @pactimo_midwest kit in the spring!!!

[Announcement] Another year another Polish Cycling Clubs Picnic!! This was our 5th annnual ride and BBQ Picnic after. Every year it attacts hundreds of cyclists from all over the Chicagoland area.

Thanks to all for attending and all the hard work to make it happen as well as special thanks to our wonderful grill masters, Stanley and Lucas. Without their effort and dedication this picnic would be much harder to pull off 👌🫶

Thanks to Tlen Cycling as well as Hardcore Cycling for co-organizing the event every year!

See you next year!

[Racing] Gravel. Marcin Cz. was our only representative:

"Big River Gravel puts out very fun gravel races locally in Northern Illinois. This was my 2nd time at the 1904 so I knew what to expect and how to pace more effectively to leave a bit of energy for the 2 brutally steep climbs in the last 20km of the course.
The race was fairly set at the first long uphill 5km from the start. The separations started and a solid front group formed. I was distanced by the front group and we formed a small group of 4 that managed to pick up another 3 people in the next fast rolling section of the course. Although we saw the group 1 in the distance for the next 30 minutes, we didn’t manage to bridge and just settled in to keep a decent pace and ride our own race. In the 2nd half of the race we picked up 2 more guys from the front group that had mechanicals along the way and we were set for the 2 big hills towards the end. The group attacked the first hill and lighter guys were able to filter to the front relatively quickly while rest grinded the 700 meters of 20% uphill in the lowest gear we had. Fortunately after the top of the hill there was a good portion of a flat section and we were all able to come back together for the next 5km to the final hill including a fast and sketchy descent twisty loose gravel road.
The last hill hit us as expected with the nasty 25% gradients. The cadence came down to below 50 relatively quickly with my wimpy 1x gearing and we caught up to the tail end of the 50km race with people walking the hill left and right. I managed to grind my way to the top without cramping which happened the previous year, but I was out of breath with screaming legs and unable to bridge back to the group that rode away into the distance. I stayed with one more left over rider from our group and we rode together for another 5km seeing our group in the distance. In the next town my partner had a mechanical and I finished the last 6km to the finish on my own."
Marcin was able to improve his time by 20min compared to the year before. The front 4 seemed to have decimated the group even further by the finish line. Marcin finished a respectable 12th.
Good job racers!

[Racing] At this year's #Hammerfest organized by @christiancyclistclub we had 12 of our guys racing in the elite wave.

CCC was quick to attack the peloton and an early break was formed. Darek put in a big effort to catch up to the break away and eventually brought them back. From that point PLUS controlled the front of the race and quickly dismissed any attacks. With about 8 miles to go Damian and Paul went into a break away with one CCC and Indigo cyclist. With a nice gap forming, other teams were forced to do some heavy lifting and eventually the break away was caught with about a mile to go. By that time Darek, Adrian and a few other PLUS cyclists were in great position to fight for the finish line. In a bunch sprint Darek finished in first place, Adrian took third, and a handful of other PLUS cyclists finished in the top ten.

Overall it was a great team effort with everyone contributing to the final result.

Go PLUS!!! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

Good job racers!!!

[Racing] The guys went up to Wisconsin to race in the New Glarus Road Race which also seeves as the WI State Championships. This hilly 30mile, 2,000ft of elevation gain course was definitely a challenge. The club was represented by: Lukasz, Slawek, Darek, Rafael, Damian, Paul, Adrian!

Fantastic 4th place for Lukasz and 11th for Slawek!

Good job racers!

[Racing] Little Apple Gravel Illinois State Championships in Manhattan, IL did not disappoint! Endless cornfields, fantastic gravel and a tremendous atmosphere! We would like to thank Rick Baisa and @regionracing racing for organizing the event and keeping it alive and well. Great turnout, raceday goodies, delicious 🍻, taco truck, race day photos and drone footage, are just some of the perks! We had 5 team members representing PL+US: Lukasz S., Marcin Cz., Dan D. Tom K. and Raf K. The hot weather and an even hotter pace made the race a battle of attrition! A great day in the saddle nonetheless. Results as follows:

USAC 1-5 (100k)
Lukasz S.-11th

Open Category (100k)
Tom K-6th
Raf K-7th
Dan D.-10th

Good job racers!

[Racing] This year, the prestigious Intelligentsia Cup has become Chicago Grit, with new sponsors, same exciting atmosphere, and some upgraded courses such as the series closing Fulton Market course which takes the racers under the "L" and next to some iconic Chicago murals. Last year, 47 states and 17 different countries were represented in the 10 race series around Chicagoland. This year these statistics were most likely broken. With about 33% racers being from Illinois, we are proud to contribute to that statistic as we had 4 racers participate in men's cat 4: Adrian, Paul, Grzegorz and Damian. Adrian raced in 3 races but his series was cut short in Lombard due to a crash caused by a rider in front. Paul raced in 4 races and Grzegorz raced in 1. Just pinning a race number to see how you stack up against the best racers in your category in the domestic scene is worthy of admirations, that is why we are extremely proud of Damian who raced in all 10 races, took 5 podiums and a 1st place in the omnium classification. Damian continues a long tradition of being the 4th PL+US rider to win a podium in the omnium. Here are Damian's results:

🥈 - Lake Ellyn
🥈 - Brookfield
🥉 - Northbrook
🥉 - Lake Bluff
🥈- Fulton Market

🥇- Omnium Overall Classification

Here is what Damian had go say: "Big thanks to my teammates Paul and Adrian for helping me out. Andrzej, for coaching advice and for preparations to Grit as my main event. I appreciate the support from all the team members and everyone who had a chance to come out and watch us racing. Let's GO PLUS!"

Check out Tom's video from Burnin Quad race. @bigrivergravel

[Racing] Gravel. Big River Gravel @bigrivergravel organized yet another fantastic gravel race in Erie, IL. Łukasz, Tom, Marcin, Stanley, Dan and Sławek made the trek to Western Illinois to brave the sweltering heat and the challenging course. The course featured some fun motocross sections that everyone loved and some gnarly, varied gravel sections. Cold beer and water, along with pizza and ❄️ towels were waiting at the finish line for the spent racers. Congratulations guys on a fantastic effort. Let's make this a regular feature on our racing calendar.

#burningquad #burningquad2024 #bigrivergravel #illinoisgravel

[Racing] Triathlon. On Saturday, Zygmunt K. raced at the Olympic Triathlon Wisconsin Triterium in Verona. It was a very difficult race, compounded by the weather conditions and a very hilly course! The bike portion had nearly 2,000ft of elevation gain! Zygmunt braved the rain on both bike and run portions and finished a superb 11th of 182 overall! 9th bike time! Congratulations Zygmunt!

[Racing] Over the weekend we had 5 of our teammates compete in 3 races at the @elmhurstcyclingclassic which also doubled up as the Illinois Criterium State Championship! The guys lucked out with the weather because the latter races were wet and slippery, especially into that famous left, right chicane. We are extremely happy that Elmhurst is yet again a venue for criterium racing after it has been such a staple on the Intelligentsia circuit. The club was represented by: Paul S., Damian F., and Adrian P. who rode in the Category 4/5 race which also doubles as the 35+ Masters race. Paul and Damian were attacking and being active, which made the race fast and ended up with a sprint. Adrian took 5th in the race but was classified as the new IL 35+ Masters Champion! Adrian wanted to thank gus teammates for their efforts and for making the race fast!

All 3 also raced in the 3/4 race right after!!! What legends!!!

The club was also represented by Marcin Cz. and Guy. O who raced in the Masters 1/2/3/4 race against some very heavy hitters and former National Champions!!!

Fantastic effort guys! Thanks to everyone setting up the tent, the flags and supporting our racing crew!!!

[Training] Over the weekend we organized a coffee ride to Lake Geneva. We organize it about once a month, leaving from Darek's house, heading north to Lake Geneva, WI. The ride endes up being a bit over a 100 miles at around 20mph pace. A fantastic opportunity to build up endurance, practice riding a tight paceline, enjoy the views, the hills, coffe and most importantly the camaraderie after the ride. Join us next time!!!

[Racing] We are extremely happy to see the return of the Lincoln Park Criterium on the calendar. That race has always been an integral part of the Chicagoland spring criteriums circuit. The beatiful weather has attracted the heaviest of hitters and 3 of our very own PL+US Teammates: Damian F., Paul S., and Adrian P. The boys have been very active marking and initiating breakaways but the race eventually ended with a sprint where Adrian P. took 4th, just outside the podium.

We would like to thank all the volunteers and organizers for bringing back this iconic race and we hope that it only gets better when it comes to attendance, safety and clout!

Special thanks for @mreschkephotos and @awarren_photo for the fabulous 📷 shots!

[Announcement] Last weekend we held our annual season opener picnic. One of the tenants of PL+US Cycling Team are frequent get togethers where we appreciate each other's company and the food/drinks. Thank you very much Darek for being able to host us! Stay tuned for our next get together!!!

[Training] Now that the weather has chosen to finally cooperate, it's official time to kick of the season with regular training group rides, ☕ rides, intervals and of course some BBQ and 🍻!!! Join us!!

[Racing] First race of the season and we got a podium! Courtesy of Super Mario Z.! On Easter Sunday, Mario took 🥈in the 40+ Masters category, at the Autobahn Raceway Criterium in Joliet, IL, organized by South Chicago Wheelmen!

Congratulations Mario! Racing season is officially on!

[Training]Plus Cycling Team's Annual Spring Training Camp!!! This year in Greenville, SC!! Watch video here: https://youtu.be/nsd0QR-nfvQ

The Plus Cycling Team recently concluded its highly anticipated annual spring training camp in Greenville, South Carolina, where cyclists experienced a challenging yet exhilarating journey through the diverse terrain of the region. With a record-breaking attendance of eleven dedicated cyclists, the camp proved to be an exceptional opportunity for team bonding, skill enhancement, and physical endurance.

Set against the picturesque backdrop of Greenville's natural beauty, the training camp presented cyclists with a myriad of terrain options, ranging from rolling hills to steep inclines, providing the perfect environment for honing their cycling abilities. The challenging topography of the area offered a rigorous test of endurance and strength, pushing each cyclist to their limits while simultaneously fostering a sense of camaraderie among the team members.

Throughout the camp, cyclists tackled grueling climbs, swift descents, and winding roads, all while soaking in the stunning vistas that Greenville had to offer. The diverse terrain not only challenged the cyclists physically but also encouraged them to refine their cycling techniques and strategize their approach to each route.

Despite the demanding nature of the terrain, the spring training camp was filled with moments of joy, laughter, and triumph as cyclists pushed themselves to new heights and celebrated each milestone together. Whether conquering a daunting climb or sharing stories over post-ride meals, the team's spirit remained unwavering, fostering a strong sense of community and teamwork.

As the camp came to a close, cyclists departed Greenville with a renewed sense of purpose and determination, armed with newfound skills and cherished memories that would undoubtedly propel them forward in their cycling endeavors. The annual spring training camp in Greenville, SC, had not only been a test of physical endurance but also a testament to the unwavering dedication and passion of the Plus Cycling Team.

[Announcement] We are extremely excited to announce our ongoing partnership with our sponsor: MEGA Auto Collision and Care in Lake in the Hills, IL who graciously agreed to sponsor our helmets this year! Please support the guys with all of your automotive repairs and improvements! You will not be disappointed with highest quality workmanship and superb, 5 star customer care!

We are also excited to have @birdworxinc in charge of customizing our helmet skins on the Specialized Evade 3 and Specialized Prevail 3. We are eagerly anticipating the rollout of our new helmets during our annual spring camp, this year in Greenville, South Carolina! Stay tunned for updates and photos from the camp in all dripped out helmets, kits and socks!!!

#birdworxinc #specializedhelmet #specializedhelmets #evade3 #prevail3 #specializedevade3 #specializedprevail3

[Announcement] We started preparing for the new cycling season with our annual meeting this past Friday. We celebrated the successes of 2023, of which there were many, but we also identified room for improvement and new goals for 2024. We raced at the world championship level in England and France and at the national championship level. We traveled all over the country, from California to Massachusetts!!! We were also present at many of the local races in the Midwest as well!

Our elected 2024 board:

President-Marcin C.
Secretary-Tom K.
Social Media Director-Raf K.
Treasurer-Paul S.
Ride Coordinators-Dariusz S and Lukasz S.
Race Division Director-vacant.

Stay tuned for updates on our redesigned website, information about our spring training camp and racing plans for the new season!

Come ride with us!!!

-PL+US Cycling Team

[Racing] Over the weekend, Raffaele Berardi raced at the Iron Bull Gravel Grinder in Wausau, Wisconsin. This 85mile option featured over 5k feet of elevation gain, fantastic Wisconsin vistas, forests, farms, gravel uphills and descents.

Raffaele won his age group!!!

#ironbullgravel
#wausauwisconsin

[Racing] Track. For a second year in a row, we had Marcin R. representing us and the United States at the Masters World Championships in Track Cycling, in Manchester, England. Marcin traveled to the UK in order to race in Scratch as well as Point Race. Marcin did especially well in the points race where he was poised throughout all of the 20k race, collecting points and went vabanque on the last sprint. Even though he won the last sprint, gaining 10 points, it was not enough to jump on the podium, which he missed by 2 points, to a racer from Poland.

Marcin does well on long distance races, so the Scratch race, which ended up being 7.5km, did not go as well as he hoped.

We are proud of Marcin and his efforts that keep on placing him at the top of the sport in the entire world, at the 40-44 group age.

Congratulations!

You can watch the races on youtube under Day 8 Masters 2023.
https://www.youtube.com/live/g1bQnQrDpY0?si=HcFZKAczNfmWNbX2

#trackworldchampionships #manchester #manchestervelodrome #masterstrackcyclingworldchampionship #masterstrackcyclingworldchampionship2023

[Announcement] This past weekend we participated at the 4th annual Polish Cycling Clubs Picnic! This ride and picnic attracts hundreds of local riders, eager to hang out but also show our strength in numbers as the cycling community in the Chicagoland area keeps on growing! Ride on!

#polishcyclingclubusa #illinoiscycling #illinoiscyclingclub #illinoiscyclingpicnic

[Racing] MTB. Toan represented us at the Lifetime Fitness Chequamegon 40 MTB race in Wisconsin. The Chequamegon 40 travels from downtown Hayward, WI over the famed American Birkebeiner Ski Trail and along picturesque trails of varying terrain finishing at the Great Hall in Cable, WI. This area is heritage to the American skiiing scene, starting with the American Birkebeiner ski race, continuously running since 1973! It is North America’s largest cross-country ski marathon. Skiers from 49 States, the District of Columbia, and 20 countries participated in 2023! The CheqMTB race garners similar prestige and acclaim, with over 2000 racers descending on the town to celebrate the 40th reiteration of the Cheq40! This brutal, hilly, and mostly wide, filled with grassy trails route was to be reconed with! Also, combined with the length of 40 miles it tested the most dogged of MTB racers. According to Toan it was was "a pure test of your fitness due to rolling, punchy, grassy hills." Toan has been prepering his endurance by riding Paul Dougles 5 loops for a total of 100 miles, spending long hours at Kickapoo and treating anyone insane to go along to ride with him, by preparing his famous smoked pork shoulders!

Toan finished the race in 3:40 to cover the brutal 40 miles! Good job Toan!!! You can finish his NSFW GoPro videos of him suffering up the brutal climbs on youtube! Congratulations buddy!

#chequamegon #cheq40 #haywardwi #chequamegon40 #wimtb

[Racing] Ironman Triathlon. We are excited to bring you yet another story of resilience and perseverance from our very own Rafael A. at the Ironman World Championships that took place in Nice, France on September 10th.

"Rafael Araujo: There was only 1% chance that the race would be non wetsuit legal but the day got extremely hot and we just got the msg in the morning saying it wasn’t allowed. Then during the 1st transition I lost my socks as they fell from the cycling shoes when I was running out of the transition. I had to bike the whole 112 miles/180km barefoot. After finishing the 1st tough climb (Col-de-lEcre) I started feeling the blisters underneath my feet. During the 2nd one (Cote-de-Coursegoules) just got worse with my aero helmet feeling like an oven over my head. After the bike leg, I dismounted my bike, put my feet on the ground and realized the real damage on my feet as I head to run barefoot till T2 to get my running shoes. Glad that I packed an extra pair of socks for the running leg. After I put them on, the cushion of the shoes helped to offset the pain a bit and I managed to start at an ok pace for the initial miles, however after sometime the fight against the heat began. I used all the ice and water showers available on the course. Along the 4x 10km laps course, I lost count of how many athletes I saw throwing up or passing out (just found out that some pros didn’t even started the run leg) just prayed that if was to happen to me that it could be after crossing the finishing line. I was glad that my wife and daughter were on the course cheering me up and giving me extra motivation. I was also glad that I have all the virtual support from all of you my friends and clubmates!! The race was tough and not pretty but it’s DONE!!"

Rafael also narrowly avoided a bike crash on one of the descents as a fellow competitor crashed just in front of him. Combined with the fact that the airlines lost his bike for a couple days on his trip back home... this was one epic adventure and another story about the importance of never giving up to chase your dreams!!! We are extremely proud of you Rafael! Congratulations!!!

#ironmanworldchampionship #ironman

Highlight reel from 1904 Big River Gravel race!

[Racing] Gravel. We had 3 of our clubmates represent us at the 1904 Big River Gravel race on the Iowa border. This grueling yet superbly scenic race featured two distances: 50km and 100km. Both distances had to tackle extreme climbs. To put it in perspective, the steepest climb was a half a mile long avg 9% and peaking at close to 27% gradient. The gravel was plentiful and of varying grade, ranging from sand gravel to river rock. Fantastic vistas, farms, woods and your standard corn!

We are impressed with Gaby's performance who took 🥈 in overal women's and 🥈in her age group in the 50km distance. It is all the more impressive that she was able to bounce back after giving birth to her first child in January and this was Gaby's first ever cycling race! Hopefully, Gaby's performance will inspire other women in our club to also race!

Raf and Marcin had to fight on to catch up to the leading group. Unfortunately due to wrong garmin directions, their chase was unsuccessful.

Congratulations racers!!!

#bigrivergravel #gravelracing #gravelillinois #gravel

[Training] Toan and Raf went to the annual "Dust at Dusk" gravel event in Oregon, IL. We lucked out with perfect weather and a cloudless sky, resulting in a stunning sunset and a beautiful starry night. Sample some fantastic gravel in the middle of nowhere before all the gravel roads get paved over! This event featured a huge crowd of gravel enthusiasts, an after party, feed station and a superb adventure! Organized by @whitepelicaninc and @freeportbicycleco come out to support initiatives like this one!

#dustatdusk #dustatdusk2023

[Racing] Triathlon. Monika was our only representative at the annual Chicago Triathlon, racing in the sprint distance! Despite the cancelled swim, which seems to be a common occurrence for Chicago tri, Monika was able to secure a 7th place finish in her age group!

Congratulations Monika!!!

[Racing] Track. Recently Marcin took a step on the podium of the Illinois State Championships in Track Cycling in the 4k Individual Pursuit event. Marcing brushed against the IL State Champion's jersey by 3.3 seconds.

Congratulations Marcin!

Along the podium picture, you will find some pictures from recent Northbrook Velodrome Thursday racing!!!
📸 Greg Metzler.

[Racing] 3rd annual Hammerfest organized by Christian Cycling Club! @christiancyclistclub We showed up in force to have fun and practice riding as a team. Was fun as always. Great to see this group ride/race grow from its humble beginnings. The route was fantastically marked and the volunteers were absolutely stellar in their ability to block off intersections and keeping us safe. See you next year!

#hammerfest #hammerfest2023

[Racing] This past weekend, the Cambr Chicago land MTB series concluded with the Paul Douglas Pursuit in Hoffman Estates. We had 3 clubmates represent PL+US: Toan T. and Raf K. in the Sport Category as well as Marcin C. in the Comp. Category. We are extremely proud of this race taking place as well as Toan in particular. Couple years ago, we wrote about our club volunteering a little bit of our time to help build the Paul Douglas trail. It is with great pride that we watched all the community members coming together to volunteer as race marshals, table workers, organizers and more! It was great to see so many local shops and clubs present and excited to put on such a fantastic event! Despite the scorching heat and at times dangerous humidity, this was a memorable event!

We are also extremely proud of our very own Toan T. who volunteered the most time to help with the trail building but also helped as the trail marshal. Good karma and a fantastic disposition on the day resulted in 🥇in his age group as well as 6th overall and 4th place in the Cambr MTB series!

PS. Toan organizes our offroad rides, volunteers wherever he can, make a mean smoked pork shoulder and is an overall good guy! We are so happy for him!

Raf K. should stop being delusional and stick to his gravel triathlons! 6th place age group and 13th overall.

Marcin C. deserves a mention as well by showing some tough mettle by racing hard on 2 loops (20miles) at the height of the heatwave, at 3pm!!! Marcin took top 20 in a stacked field!

Congratulations racers! Not you Raf! 😜

#pauldouglaspursuit #ilmtb

[Racing] Road. PL+US Cycling Team has defended its "Best Team"🥇 qualification at the annual Race the Lake for second year in a row! This 87 mile course around Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin was defeated in 3 hours and 22 minutes, over 5 minutes quicker than last year. We also took a couple age group podiums:

Damian F. 🥈
Rafael A. 🥈
Grzegorz D. 🥈
Andrzej K. 🥈
Adrian P. 🥉

The club was represented by:

Damian F., William L., Andrzej K., Slawek S., Stanley T., Rafael A., Grzegorz D., Adrian P., Guy O., Lukasz S., Stefano.

Good job PL+US racers!!!

[Racing] MTB. Over the weekend, IL State Championships were held in offroad cycling dyscyplines: gravel in Manhattan, IL and MTB XC in Washington, IL. On the line? The much coveted IL State Champion's jersey manufactured by #pactimo the very same sponsor of our PL+US kit.

The club was represented by Grzegorz D. in the XC MTB race: Farmdale Frenzy Illinois State Championship MTB XC Race who despite starting in the middle of the field in sports category, was able to tear through the field on the 2 laps of the 8mile track and become your IL State Champion in Cross County MTB, in the 40-49 age group.

Congratulations Grzesiek!!!

#farmdalefrenzy #pamba #ilchampionshipsmtbxc #mtbxcil #iloffroadcycling #ilcycling #ilcyclingclub

[Racing] Gravel. Over the weekend, Jack P. @jacksbikerides raced at the Burning Quad gravel series. Here is what he had to say:

"Burning Quad is the second race of four in the new grass roots gravel series in western Illinois/Eastern Iowa. The route was great with a mix of B-level roads, chip seal, tarmac, gravel, and a touch of single track for good measure. The field was small but mighty with an early break of three holding for the whole race and a big chase group of 15 trying to claw back. I was in the chase the first half of the race before GI issues and a hard bonk blew that to bits. Still had fun regardless of the outcome and looking forward to the next Big River Gravel event. With it being a short 2-3 hour drive from Chicagoland I’d recommend more folks to register and see the good work Big River Gravel is doing for Midwest grassroots gravel racing."

📸@bigrivergravel

#illinoisgravel #bigrivergravel #portbyrongravel

[Racing] Offroad triathlon. How do you alienate flannel wearing gravel riders, tall sock wearing cyclists and no sock triathletes who only recognize TT bikes as the only mode of cycling befitting their skill set? You do what Raf K.did last weekend, an offroad triathlon in Lemont, IL. The Forge Triathlon is organized by USAT and is part of their Gravel triathlon series.

"The USA Triathlon Gravel Triathlon Series spans the multisport season from May through October and features events across the U.S., with races in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey and Texas."

The former quarry in humble Lemont was a stage for the prestigious series. The race featured a quarry lake swim, a gravel bike ranging from crushed limestone to gravel roads and the run was mostly flat gravel with a section of fairly technical MTB single track.

The distance was a smidge shorter than the traditional sprint triathlon in that this race was a 540yd swim as opposed to the traditional 750. The bike was a 10.7 mile as opposed to the 12.4 mile and the run was a bit shorter than the traditional 3.1 mile run.

Raf took 12th place among the males and 🥈 in his age group.

If you are looking to get into triathlons this might be an event for you!

#theforge #theforgelemont #lemontquarry #usatgravelseries #usat #illinoistriathlon #chicagolandtriathlon #graveltriathlon

[Racing] Track. On July 20th the International Omnium State Championships were held at the Northbrook Velodrome. Marcin R. Raced in the tempo race and was extremely close to the podium, taking 4th place!!!
Which is all the more impressive as he is nursing an injury.

Couple weeks back on June 8th Marcin took 🥈in the Pro 1/2 category points race!!!

Congratulations Marcin! We hope you will be able to finish the season strong!!!

[Racing] Our cat 4 quartet of William L., Paul S., Damian F. and Adrian P. raced at the Winfield Criterium and Summerfest. This venue does not seem technical on paper but the long drag up hill after the 2nd turn and the wide corners which allow for no breaks ripping proved enough for one break away rider to create enough separation. Our guys stayed in the pack and out of trouble biding their time. Again the cat 4 field proved gigantic with 70 riders on the startline which make is difficult to move through the field if you are not near the front. William got super close to a podium finish by riding a smart race tactically!

Check out a video made by Tom K., highlighting how the guys did! (Full video available on our YouTube channel).

William L.-4th
Damian F.-9th
Paul S.-14th
Adrian P.-26th

#intelligentsiacup #intelligentsiacup2023 #bikeracing #bikerscingillinois #winfieldcriteriumandsummerfest #winfield

[Racing] On Saturday, 4 of our guys raced at the prestigious criterium racing series: the coveted Intelligentsia Cup stage 2 in Glen Ellyn. The technical course always lends itself to breakaways and this year was no different. A rider from EMC2 went up from the gun and the group unfortunately lacked cohesion in order to chase it down.

The guys did well to stay out of trouble and finished strong in the front of the chasing peleton.

The club was represented by:

Paul S. -14th
William L.-16th
Adrian P.-17th
Damian F. 24th

Out of a full field of 75 riders!

Good job guys!

PS. Paul S. also raced at the stage 1 race in West Dundee and consistently places in the points for the omnium!!! 🤞

[Racing] Over the weekend Marcin C. and Toan T. raced at the Raceway Rally MTB race organized by the @cambrmtb group. For those of you who do not know, Cambr is responsible for building the MTB trails at Raceway and Paul Dauglas among others in Illinois. They are an instrumental part in growing MTB in IL. This is evidenced by the fact thay Raceway Woods went from wild, illegal trails to a nicely developed system thay has everything: elevation, technical sections, flowy sections and creek crossings with a bridge and without. Punchy steep climbs definitely give one a solid workout especially if the laps are repeated.

Marcin entered the single track section in a really good 7th spot and eventually finished the race in 25th.

Toan T. took 🥈in his age group!

Here is what the organizers said about the race: "CAMBr’s 1st annual mountain bike race at Raceway Woods takes place on July 16th. Ten years in the making, the Raceway Rally is finally here! Part of a (3) race series including the Palos Meltdown and the Paul Douglas Pursuit, the Raceway Rally will test your riding skills over some of the best single track trails in the Midwest. This is a spectator friendly venue so bring the whole family along to cheer you on! Raceway Woods is conveniently located in Carpentersville, IL just 2 miles north of I-90 on Rt. 31 and only 40 miles from downtown Chicago."

[Training] Over the weekend we organized a grand fondo century to Lake Geneva. We usually do this ride 2-3 times in a year to build up endurance for long road races like Race the Lake around Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin. This training ride is a nice relatively easy tempo culminating with a coffe in Lake Geneva and a grill after. Great times!!!

[Racing] At the annual Illinois Criterium State Championships in Cobb Park, we had a bunch of our clubmates competing for the coveted navy blue, Illinois State Champion's jersey. This annual race attracts the best competitors from all over the state but also from all of Midwest. This fast and relatively not technical course lends itself for fast racing that usually ends with a sprint.

In cat 4/5 we had Adrian P. and Damian F.
In cat 3 Mario Z.
In Masters 35+ we had Mario Z. and William L.

PS. Speedy recovery to Adrian who suffered a crach, yet was able to jump back on his bike and finish the race.

[Training] On July 4th we traditionally rode our bikes to celebrate Independence Day! Some of us went down south to Plainfield, to race at the Metzric ride organized by Wolfpack Racing Team and some of us went north for a nice mellow club ride in Long Grove. No matter what your ability, there is a ride for you at PL+US!

@oxboxindustries #metzric

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