Got a question about USCF categories and what is a qualified race...
 

I was checking out the USACycling webpage, trying to make sense of their website. I am considering buying a Cat5 license, but without many races in my immediate (+3 hours) area, I don't know if I should.

My question is this...to move from Cat5 to Cat4, do all 10 of the races HAVE to be USCF certified?

Cuz if they do, then I'll never make it past Cat5. We have a few local races put on, but few (maybe 2?) that are USCF certified.

Also...can anyone make sense of this (taken directly from the USACycling website) for me???

Qualifying Road Races for each category

Category Class RR Crit Field Experience
5 – 4 Men 15 mi 10 mi 10 10 races
4 – 3 Men 25 mi 20 mi 30 25 races
Women 25 mi 15 mi 10 25 races
Junior 25 mi 15 mi 10 25 races
3 – 2 Men 50 mi 20 mi 50
Women 40 mi 15 mi 20
2 – 1 Men 80 mi 35 mi 60
Women 50 mi 20 mi 30


Points awarded for road placings

Cat. Race Type Points Places
4 – 3 RR or Crit 7-5-4-3-2-1 1st-6th
3 – 2 SR*/GC 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 1st-15th
RR 10-7-5-3-2-1 1st-6th
Crit 7-5-4-3-2-1 1st-6th
2 – 1 SR*/GC 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 1st-15th
RR 10-7-5-3-2-1 1st-6th
Crit 7-5-4-3-2-1 1st-6th
* For points earned in stage races, GC and stage places both count for points, but only up to the maximum of 20 points from a single stage race.

USCF honors results from some other racing organizations. For example, in CA we have CBR (California Bicylce Racing), that puts on lots of local races and a Tuesday evening crit series. USCF will honor points and starts from CBR races and vice versa. Having a weekly crit series like that, makes it easy to get in your 10 mass starts. I would see if you have a local or semi-local racing organization that sanctions bike races, and see if they count towards USCF points.

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately, I know that we don't have a local or semi-local racing organization around here. :(

Your local official has some discretion. If you show them that you've done races with a decent sized and competitive field they may credit it.

This means that in order to upgrade from 5->4, a qualifying road-race has to be at least 15-miles long, a crit has to be 10-miles long and with a starting-field of at least 10-riders. With 10 of these races under your belt, you can upgrade to a cat-4. Personally, I think this is the only upgrade that should be allowed with experience. From 4->3 and 3->2, you should have to earn points by placing in the top-10 or so. There's way too many riders in the 1/2/Pro races as it is already.

I wouldn't worry about whether the race had the minimum distances or fields. As a cat5, the only thing the reps will care about is whether you have done 10 races or not. Just find every USCF sanctioned race you can and count it as a qualifier.

If you are good and easily getting top 6's each race, you'll be able to move up even quicker based on points.

If there are fewer races, the official does have discretion. A quick glance at the club listing on the USA cycling website http://usacycling.org/clubs/index.php?state=MI shows that there are quite a few clubs in that state. My guess is that several of these are dedicated "racing" clubs and can help to point you to the necessary races.