USA Cycling sanctioning– what does it mean?
As most know by now the MASS will be a USA Cycling (USAC) sanctioned series for our XC races for 2012. So what does this mean for MASS XC racers? It depends on what category you race. Let’s cover the categories first. MASS Beginner classes will now be known as Category 3 (Cat 3), Sport will be known at Category 2 (Cat 2) and Expert will be known as Category 1 (Cat 1).
All Category 1 classes will require a USAC annual Cat 1 mountain license. This includes our Elite Mens and Elite Womens classes. Our elite classes will be designated as Pro/Cat 1 Men and Pro/Cat 1 Women. Any racer holding a Pro USAC mountain license must race these categories.
Cat 2 and Cat 3 classes do not require an annual license. However, part of the reason for the move to USAC sanctioning was so our racers could earn qualifying points for the USA Cycling National Championships when they come to Bear Creek in 2013 and 2014. These qualifying points can only be earned with an annual license.
Licensing Specifics.
You will likely fall into one of these scenarios. If you have an annual USAC mountain license for the category you intend to race this year you are all set. Just make sure you renew your license for 2012. If you do not have a license and want to get an annual USAC mountain license you need to go to www.usacycling.org and apply for the annual mountain license. You will have to start with a Cat 3 license. If you are going to race Cat 2 or Cat 1 you must request an upgrade to your license. Once you have created your profile on the USAC website and purchased your license there is a place to request an upgrade. From your ‘My USAC page’, you will see on the right side, mid-page a link to the request an upgrade. Click on the ‘upgrade/downgrade’ line. This will connect you to the proper page. Note: only request an upgrade for the discipline you race. Example: most MASS series racers will only request a XC upgrade. The
request will go directly to Randy Inglis, North East Regional Coordinator for USA Cycling. Per an arrangement with the MASS series, 2011 MASS results will qualify towards an upgrade. If you want to race Cat 2 you will receive the Cat
2 upgrade just by requesting it. If you want to race Cat 1 you must meet certain criteria which will be taken into
consideration when your upgrade request is reviewed. In most cases USAC will grant a Cat 1 license to any MASS racer that raced as an Expert in 2011 or raced as a Sport in 2011, did well and would be moving up to expert in 2012. In these cases when you apply for your upgrade in the comments section put “Per John Miller” and you will be granted
the Cat 1 upgrade. If you are holding an annual USAC road/cross license you need to add the mountain license when you renew your annual license. The same upgrade policy applies. Annual licenses will be available for purchase at race
registration but due to logistics upgrade requests will not be processed at the races.
Race Registration – what you need to know. First and most important is that you will need to present your annual license at each XC race registration (if you have one). This applies whether you pre-registered or are registering on-site. Again, Cat 1 and Pro racers must have a license. If you forget your license you may pull up your ‘My USAC’ account to show your current license to the registration personnel via a Smart-Phone. If you have lost your license, there is an area on your ‘My USAC’ page where you can download and print off an ‘"Athorization to ride” form to bring to registration. Finally, if you prefer, you may replace he physical license, by making that request through your ‘My USAC’ account, lthough it will cost $15.00. As we have done in the past, if you are a MASS series racer you must have a profile setup on BikeReg. You MUST have this profile setup BEFORE you register for the MASS on BikeReg. You need this profile because BikeReg assigns a racer ID number and we use that ID number for scoring purposes. In your profile you can enter your annual license number and this will make things easier for race-day check in and will
ensure your results include your license number when they are sent to USAC. You should also enter your team in your BikeReg profile because that is the only way your team name will appear on the results posted on-line.
How USAC National Championship qualification works – To be eligible for the USA Cycling National Mountain Bike Championships you must:
Be a US citizen to race the 17 – 18, U23 or Elite category races
Be a US citizen or hold a Green Card to race the 16 or under, Senior or Master category races.
- Hold a current USAC Annual Mountain bike license.
To qualify for the National Championships within your specific category, you must race in and place in a USA Cycling State or Regional Championship event (1 day) or State or Regional Championship series (2 or more events), or at an AMBC event.
The top 15 riders, per category,qualify at the state and regional championships. The top 10 riders, per category, qualify at an AMBC race.
2012 Updates
Team CF Update
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/team-cf-returns-for-its-third-season
Preliminary 2012 Schedule - still working on it but here is whe
