February 2, 2010

I hope you are getting ready for this 2010 racing season.  We have a full calendar with some of the best racing in the country. Many of you will be looking forward to a Category upgrade, which I enthusiastically support.  It is the goal of the UCA Board to see anybody who wants to progress in cycling also progress in Categories as well.  Here are a couple of updates and reminders.

Updates

1.  Masters B category now only includes Cat 4 & 5 riders respectively.  It is designed to give Masters age (35+) riders a group that is competitive, however does not include regional and national class competition.  I will count Masters B races for up to Cat 3 upgrading.  

2.  For those Masters riders who wish to become a Cat 2, regardless of your Masters results you need to earn upgrade points in the Cat 3's.  For some of you, this should not take very long.

Reminders

Road Upgrades
Guidelines and Notes by Category:
5-4: Experience in 10 mass start races that meet the criteria in the table below (qualifying races).
Local Associations may also establish policies where upgrade credit is given for taking a sanctioned rider education clinic.
4-3: 20 points in any 12-month period; or experience in 25 qualifying races with a minimum of 10 top ten finishes, or 20 pack finishes with fields over 50. 30 points in 12 months is an automatic upgrade
3-2: 25 points in any 12-month period
60 points in 12 months is an automatic upgrade
2-1: 30 points in any 12-month period
60 points in 12 months is an automatic upgrade
USA Cycling may add additional requirements for upgrading at their discretion. Any such changes shall be made available on the website.

The most common upgrade is Cat 5 to 4.  As a reminder TT's, Hill Climbs, Fun Rides, Group Rides, Centuries & Triathlons DO NOT COUNT TOWARDS ANY UPGRADE.  They will not be considered in your upgrade request.  Some hill climbs start off as mass start races, however hill climbs do not offer any group racing experience, therefore don't count towards upgrading.

We are fortunate to have the Crit Series and other weekday races (RMR, DMV's, Ogden Crit) for weekday racing.  These are fun and sometimes very competitive races.  For riders upgrading from 5 to 4, I am able to accept up to 8 weekday series races.  I do not accept any weekday series races beyond Cat 4.

In 2008 USA Cycling outlined a new upgrade Points Table.  This table weighs the amount of participants with your placing.  The higher amount of participants the more points earned for the top finishers.  In contrast, the smaller the field size the fewer points earned for the top finishers.

Cyclocross Upgrades

USAC requires that cyclocross races be sanctioned to qualify for upgrade points.  The Utah CX Series is NOT currently a sanctioned USAC event.  No upgrade points will be awarded for Utah CX Series races. 

Contact Info

To request your upgrade please go into your USA Cycling account scroll down to ROAD upgrades (not track, we don't have a velodrome...yet).  Please provide a list of the races you have competed in and your placing.  For those who are curious of your Points and the break down please see attached spreadsheet.

To contact me regarding category upgrades please e-mail me at camzilla@gmail.com.  No phone calls please.

Cameron Hoffman