2006 New Cyclocross Categories
Update
Lots of rumors have been
circulating about the new categories for cyclocross. MadCross.org has been
monitoring all the talk and this is what is known at this time. Nothing here
has been verified with anyone at USA Cycling so don’t take it as the gospel
truth. You also should not FREAK OUT. All of this will still need to be
tweaked and some things will be up to local official’s discretion. However,
there seems to be a lot of interest in what is happening and in the interest of
ensuring that those of us in the Midwest are as in the know as the “coasties”
here is what has been speculated, discussed, argued about and considered around
the country as it relates to this topic.
Race Category Designations
It is likely that at local races the Men’s A race would become the Pro/1/2/3,
the B race would be 3/4 and the C race would be 4s. For a UCI race the Men’s
Elite race would be Pro/1, the B race would be 2/3 and the C race would be 4.
For Women the same basic principle would apply except that at the UCI races it
would likely be 1/2 for the women in the Elite race.
Upgrades
People are reporting receiving a wide range of different categories on their
racing licenses when they renew. However, your cyclocross category is not
supposed to have any relationship to your road or your mountain bike
designation. It is completely possible to be a Cat 4 on the road and a Cat 1
for cross.
Officials in some parts of the
country are saying that upgrades will be more self-determined up to the Cat 1.
There would be certain standards a person would need to meet to upgrade to Cat
1. It has also been reported than anyone who has done a UCI race this year
would be able to automatically get a Cat 1 designation.
It has also been reported that
to go from a Cat 4 to 3 you would need 20 points in any 12-month period or
experience in 25 qualifying races with a minimum of 10 top-ten finishes. Thirty
points in twelve months would give you an automatic upgrade. To go from a Cat 3
to a 2 would require 25 points in any 12-month period. Sixty points would be an
automatic upgrade. To go from a Cat 2 to a 1 would require 30 points in any
12-month period and 60 points in 12 months would be an automatic upgrade.
Now the way points would be
given out has also been rumored to be the following:
Category Class
Duration
Field Size Points Awarded
4-3 Men Women Junior
30 min 30 min 30 min 20 10 10
10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 7-5-4-3-2-1
7-5-4-3-2-1
3-2 Men Women
40 min 30 min 30 20
10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 7-5-4-3-2-1
2-1
Men Women 60 min 40 min 30
20 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1
Elite Nationals
Qualification
It is also rumored that there could possibly be a qualification process for
Elite Nationals for 2006. Criteria for men might be that a rider be at least a
Cat 1 with at least 1 UCI point in the season and be ranked on the NRC and UCI
rankings. Criteria for women might possibly only be that they are a Cat 1.
This is a highly unsubstantiated rumor as it was only reported as a very likely
scenario that was included in the original proposal that USA Cycling
considered. It is unclear whether you would need to do anything to qualify for
the Master’s categories.
More information on what
will be on your license when you renew found on a message board and claiming to
be information received from Shawn Farrell at USA Cycling:
The plan for cyclocross is as
follows. For a rider getting his first license, he starts at cat 4 and then
upgrades by earning points just like on the road.
For returning riders, their CX category is determined by using the algorithm
below:
Road Cat 1 or Pro = CX cat 1
Road cat 2 = CX cat 2
Road cat 3 = CX cat 3
Road cat 4 or 5 = CX cat 4
If the rider has a Norba license, then the algorithm is:
Pro = CX cat 1
Semi-pro = CX cat 2
Expert = CX cat 3
Beginner or sport = CX cat 4
If the rider is both, then they get the higher of the categories if they are
different.
Now, that being said, clearly this algorithm is just a starting point. In this
first year, the local associations and regional coordinators will be in a
position to modify a rider’s CX category if their knowledge of the rider and his
results would show this doesn’t work. i.e. it is very possible to be a cat 3
road rider but be an exceptional CX rider who usually wins the A races.
In addition, this system is based on the premise that the organizers will now
start offering CX races using numbered categories instead of A,B, C. The
organizers still have the choice of how to lump them together, so you could run
a cat 1-2, race, then a 3 race, then a 4 race, etc.
I hope that answers your questions. I have copied the RC’s and LA’s and hope
that we can all work together to make this transition smooth. I think it will be
very helpful in the long run and acknowledges the tremendous growth in the CX
discipline.
Obviously this information
conflicts with other information that is circulating that your cross category
has no relationship to your mountain bike or road category. However, it is
somewhat consistent with what people are seeing when they renew their licenses.
MadCross.org will
continue to monitor this issue and provide updates as possible.
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