acaurora

I am a bit confused as to how this works. On USAC it says 10 mass starts, but the confusing part is how clinics can count as upgrade points. I recently attended the Early Bird Crit clinics in Fremont, CA. They said 6 pts for all 4 weeks, and then there is a 5th that is an actual race with a clinic beforehand. I also did a local crit but got caught up in a crash. So would that mean I am at 8.5 pts? (6 + 1.5 for the 5th wk + 1 for the local crit) I plan on doing a road race in Snelling, CA in a few weeks, so that should make it 9.5... would I be able to upgrade to a 4 then?

kensuf

1.5 points?

You've done 2 races and a 4 week clinic?

acaurora

Correct. I am guessing 1.5 for the 5th week because it was 6 pts for the 4 week clinic+races so the 5th I assume would bring it to 7.5 total.

https://www.usacycling.org/results/?compid=334166 is my license.

wfrogge

Its starts not finishes.... Just FYI

LowCel 

Have you e-mailed your area representative to ask them? In my opinion if you only have two actual races in I don't think you should upgrade yet. Get at least five mass start races in before you go for the upgrade.

kensuf

And points? There's no points going 5->4.

Regardless it sounds like they say the 4 week clinic is the same as doing 6 mass start races. So do two more and submit your upgrade. When you do so, you'll need to provide your resume, and it can be as simple as this:

6 - four week clinic that the organizers said was equal to 6 races
1 - race 1 (date, location)
2 - race 2 (date, location)
3 - race 3 (date, location)
4 - race 4 (date, location)

acaurora

Ah okay, I'll try to find/contact the rep via USAC. Each of those clinics had an unranked crit afterwards.

save10

last year i did the whole early bird series, folsom, cantua creek, snelling then upgraded after that...just email the guy it takes a week. The only issue i had was i wanted to make sure I was upgraded before MERCO because i wanted to race 4's with my team. and it happened. and I sucked.

acaurora

Aww I am doing Snelling and Merco also, mainly because I got into road cycling while I was in school @ UC Merced, and have ridden around Snelling quite a bit.

carpediemracing 

What he said.

The clinic as a whole is worth 6 points. I don't think that implies each week is 1.5 points, just like if you take a class in college you get 3 credits for one class, not 1/3 credit for each 1/3 semester or whatever.

Also all you have to do is pick up your race number and show up at the line. As a promoter I get calls frequently asking for proof of race entry. I can only see on spreadsheets if the number was taken.

What's unbelievable is that one guy claimed to do a bunch of races at Bethel but he never picked up his numbers. He was trying to upgrade simply by pre-registering for 10 races. The district rep asked me if he raced and I saw that we deleted him each week as a no-show (for us that means we don't pay the $3 insurance fee).

I think if you do 4 more races after the clinic you'll have an idea if you're ready to upgrade. Go on your gut feel; the clinic will help a lot.

Remember, if people consistently yell at you, something is wrong. Once in a while, or if you can honestly say the yeller was at fault, fine, but typically those that get yelled at regularly get yelled at for a reason.

If you find yourself yelling at others consistently that's also a bad sign. Just like those that get yelled at consistently are doing something wrong, if you're constantly yelling at others, it may not be a problem with them.

5 > 4 is more about pack handling skills and judgment than anything else. 4 > 3 has an element of fitness in it, but it's more about skills/tactics (at least to me - I have a lot of Cat 4 teammates significantly stronger than me, like way, way stronger). 3 > 2 is the first of the fitness-dictated steps.

cdr

acaurora

Thanks for the info cdr. I don't think I have/been yelled at, at least I don't think. I am definitely looking into trying road races as I've done only crits so far. I consider myself to be good at climbing, sprints is something I have to work on

BudFox

I've done all 5 Early Bird clinics and races so I have 7.5 points. Three starts (and hopefully completes) to go.

acaurora

So I emailed the rep, he told me that as long as I feel comfortable in terms of handling/predictability I can go to a 4 after Snelling if I want. We'll see.

kensuf

there's no "half a point".

BudFox

The dead horse says:

"5 to 4 - riders receive .5 points for each clinic that they attend and safely complete and 1.0 points for each training race they start.

EB example: a rider attends all 5 weeks of mentoring and racing: 5.0 points for the training races and 2.5 points for the mentoring clinics.
Far fetched EB example: Jr or 45+ year old rider attends 5 weeks of mentoring and races TWICE a day: 10 points for training races and 2.5 points for mentoring clinics (75% of upgrade points must be earned through racing)

I hope this helps, Larry Nolan, USA Cycling upgrade coordinator and EB leader"

wfrogge

From the USACycling rulebook


5-4: Experience in 10 mass start races.
Local Associations may also establish policies where upgrade credit is given for taking a sanctioned rider education clinic.



There is no such thing as points for upgrading frmo 5 to 4. Its all about starts and clinics.

ericm979

Here in NorCal cat 5 starts are often called "points", possibly because 1.5 starts is not physically possible.
Giving the extra .5 for the EBs encourages people to attend, and I feel that they get at least 1.5 races worth of education in race ettiquite.

acaurora

The Fremont Early Birds were definitely worth going to. I learned a lot from them, and as my friend who recommended that I go to them told me, it is easy to see who has and who has not gone through the Fremont EBs when in the races.

I know now after emailing Larry that I can upgrade for sure after 2 races or 1 if I really want/need to get to 4.

save10

in case you didn't know Larry Nolan is Chuck Norris on a bicycle

mebaxter

The rainbow stripes on his sleeve give you a little hint.

obiwan kenobi

The first 4 sessions (clinic and practice race) were worth 6 points or equal to 6 mass starts. The race on the 13th was 1 point or mass start so coming away you would have equal to 7 mass start races. You would technically still need 3 more mass starts to obtain the 5 to 4 upgrade. If you have already entered an event and then change cats, you can email the promoter to change class IF there is room in the class you moved into. I lost out on Snelling due to cat change and there was no more room.

kensuf

I wish a lot of guys from S. Florida could go to NorCal to learn ettiquitte.

acaurora

Ah okay. I would figure that the categories for road races are not as critical as crits, or would it? (I've never done a road race before)

ericm979

The categories that you're eligible to race in are the same with crits and road races.

milliron

Yeah, I can't upgrade to 4 yet because I'm registered as a 5 for Snelling.