Hammonjj

I'm not totally understanding everything when it comes to racing licenses. Allow me to elaborate a bit:

I currently race in Colorado, which is governed by ACA (https://www.americancycling.org/). Due to certain season goals, I want to be a Cat 3 by the time the Tour of Gila roles around, so my coach has asked me to travel south for a few races. Here's the dilemma, the race that I was looking at doing was the Valley of the Sun stage race (https://www.wmrc.org/vos2010), which explicitly states that they do not accept ACA licenses.

How does this all work? Would I need to buy a USA Cycling license and start over as a Cat IV? Do the points I accrue under the USA Cycling License apply to the ACA License and vice versa?

Thanks in advance!
James

Hammonjj

I found a link to an agreement with USA Cycling for 2009, but I don't see anything for 2010. Anyone have some insider info?

https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=4219

pjcampbell

Are most races in Colorado ACA races? I have never heard of ACA.... sounds like you need a USAC license.

Racer Ex 

You need to apply for a USAC license. You can get it online; then put in for an online upgrade with your details.

Psimet2001 

+1 - only one way to race with a USAC license....that's to get one. Only 1 way to get to a 3 on a USAC license....that's to ask for an upgrade. Period.

Hammonjj

This may sound like a silly question, but can I skip Cat IV?

Thanks

Racer Ex 

Up to the rep that looks at your upgrade request.

Psimet2001 

Is the man sitting next to me Polish?

....the answer is - I don't know....you have to ask.

FWIW - we race in 2 organizations up here - ABR and USAC. USAC specifically stated it would no longer count ANY ABR races for upgrades. Meaning that if you were here and trying to do the same but were coming from ABR then no....you couldn't "skip" the 4's they'd make you race the 4's. As a matter of fact I ride every Tuesday night with a guy who is in that exact same boat. Our upgrade official says, "tough. Doesn't count. You want to upgrade? Race USAC." It's totally up to the rep - with obvious guidelines set out in the rule book.

carpediemracing 

For upgrade requests, your area rep has a lot of leeway.

One conversation I had a couple years ago.

"Hi, could you tell if you allow all categories in the Masters race?"
"We only allow Cat 1-4."
"Oh. Is there a way I can race the Masters on a new license? I raced a long time ago but haven't raced in a while. I don't want to make trouble for anyone, so if it's difficult, I'll just race up through the categories."
"Could you tell me at what level you raced?"
"Well, I was on the Canadian National Team for a while."
"..."
"If it helps, Steve Bauer was one of my teammates on the team."
"You can contact our Local Association's rep and request an upgrade based on your past experience, as long as you're fit."

I gave him the rep's info. He showed up as a Cat 3, attacked the heck out of the race, and sat up when he blew, maybe halfway into the race. He had a blast, and, just as importantly, he was a safe, competent racer.

For those basing their upgrade requests on experience and such, a letter of recommendation from a higher-than-requested category rider would be good. For example, if you want to be a 3, get a letter from a 2. The letter should emphasize that not only are you strong enough, you also exhibit good group riding skills and etiquette.

If you feel like that you cannot honestly say you have good group riding skills nor etiquette, wait till next year to do your target race as a 3.

There's always next year for everyone except the super-riders, and those guys will become pros or 1s in spite of what they do.

cdr

brianappleby

You want to be a 3 before you get to the Gila, so you are going to race USCF races, but want to skip 4 and go straight to 3 with the USCF license?

Gila is a USCF race, not an ACA one.

Buy both licenses. Reciprocity between the 2 associations means that placings in USCF races count toward your ACA upgrade. Once you have the points, request your ACA upgrade. Once the ACA upgrade goes through, tell USCF, and they'll upgrade you too.