Road Bike Racing - Upgrade frustrations.

My local USCF rep has set the cat5 "10 mass start" rule in stone. This is Montana! We hardly have 10 races in a whole season in the entire state! Ugh. He has also stated that cat5's will NOT be getting cash prizes for wins. It's almost like he doesn't want there to be a category 5 at all. I haven't felt this pushed around since I was a NORBA Junior racer.

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Out of curiosity, how far would you have to travel to get to other races? In cases where there arent a lot of local options, they really should reduce this.

I've never been to a race where the 5's get cash. There must be a USCF rule against it which your rep is upholding.

Make compromises regarding your upgrade. Ask your rep if he/she will give you the upgrade if you get a top 6 in a 4/5 race so you can at least apply those upgrade points toward a 3.

Mark

They did that this year as well. They don't even have a points system for 5's either. The idea was to get people in and out as fast as possible. We have so many fives here that many races end up with an A, B and C class. We at least have so many races that you could concievably cat up in about 5 weeks.

I would have to travel over 500 miles to race elsewhere.

Poppycock. Pure poppycock.

500 freakin' miles!

Maybe you should move :)

500 freakin' miles!

Maybe you should move :)


The thought crosses my mid everytime the 9 month long -45*F winter comes around.

It all depends on where my woman goes to grad school.

My local USCF rep has set the cat5 "10 mass start" rule in stone. This is Montana! We hardly have 10 races in a whole season in the entire state! Ugh. He has also stated that cat5's will NOT be getting cash prizes for wins. It's almost like he doesn't want there to be a category 5 at all. I haven't felt this pushed around since I was a NORBA Junior racer.

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Send the BF link to your USCF rep. All the time you spend on this board should count for a race or 2.:D

I'm guessing that you're not over 35. I was able to upgrade from 5 to 4 more quickly by doubling up at local crits, racing both elite 5 and 35+.

Are there any clinics in your area? We have them every couple of months around here. Some can count for as many as 5 races for a Cat 5. It might be worth it to drive 500 miles for one of these.

Good luck!

Club stuff counts too. Mass starts are mass starts.

That's a poor way to encourage grassroots cycling. I thought USCF automatically upgraded you from a 5 to a 4 after 1 year anyway? Of course, I haven't raced in 9 years so things might have changed.

You only get to be Cat 5 once. It's hard to win bike races, and it gets harder as you go up in Category. If you're strong enough that your chomping at the bit to upgrade, you should be having a decent chance to win every Cat 5 race your in. Enjoy it, learn how to win, play with tactics, see what works and hopefully win some bike races. It may be a while before your in that position again.

Hey Cypress, come on down to the Dead Dog Classic in Laramie Wyoming. We are ACA (you can get a one day license) and we don't even have Cat 5! Everyone starts as a Cat 4. And $100 cash if you get first place. It is 680 miles one way though. But first place might just pay for the gas! www.deaddogclassic.com

Why do you care? Aren't you doing the race to replace? :D

Hey Cypress, come on down to the Dead Dog Classic in Laramie Wyoming. We are ACA (you can get a one day license) and we don't even have Cat 5! Everyone starts as a Cat 4. And $100 cash if you get first place. It is 680 miles one way though. But first place might just pay for the gas! www.deaddogclassic.com


I'd love to do that race. I'll talk it over with the Bank(woman) and see if it's do-able. The big stage race I'm planning to do this year is the weekend after so DDC might fit right in.

Why do you care? Aren't you doing the race to replace? :D

Go from Cat5 to Pro in one race.... I'd be in heaven.

The thought crosses my mid everytime the 9 month long -45*F winter comes around.

It all depends on where my woman goes to grad school.

Talk her into South Carolina or Georgia

The thought crosses my mid everytime the 9 month long -45*F winter comes around.

It all depends on where my woman goes to grad school.

UT baby! You'd love Austin and the racing is off the hook. Every weekend there is a race within 100 mile radius, less if you just want to race crits. We have a kick but Tuesday nighter practice 'race' and then the Thursday night crits. We are basically racing from the last week of Jan through the end of Oct. Then of course cross season starts.

Wait I take that back Austin sucks, nobody else move here.

UT baby! You'd love Austin and the racing is off the hook. Every weekend there is a race within 100 mile radius, less if you just want to race crits. We have a kick but Tuesday nighter practice 'race' and then the Thursday night crits. We are basically racing from the last week of Jan through the end of Oct. Then of course cross season starts.

Wait I take that back Austin sucks, nobody else move here.


I've talked it over with her in the past. She grew up in Montana so she is allergic to heat:mad: .

I love Austin. If I wasn't "pinned down*" I'd move in a heartbeat.


*Not a bad thing.

I've never been to a race where the 5's get cash. There must be a USCF rule against it which your rep is upholding.

I was at one last weekend. And a week before that. I was the cat 5 winning the cash in question.

I've talked it over with her in the past. She grew up in Montana so she is allergic to heat:mad: .


Pfffbt - heat is an acquired taste, soon she'll grow to love it :)

104* on Bragg today :eek:

My local USCF rep has set the cat5 "10 mass start" rule in stone. This is Montana! We hardly have 10 races in a whole season in the entire state! Ugh. He has also stated that cat5's will NOT be getting cash prizes for wins. It's almost like he doesn't want there to be a category 5 at all. I haven't felt this pushed around since I was a NORBA Junior racer.

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So, like, how many Cat. 5 races have you done? And what have your results been? I'm not dissing you. I just think that unless you're just so strong that there is no longer any competition out there at the Cat 5 level I'd say just enjoy the experience and earn your upgrade like the rest of us.

For most people I've dealt with who have "upgraditis" it's really a kind of ego thing. But let's face it, upgrading to Cat. 4 is something anyone who has done 10 mass starts is eligible to do, so it's not really "resume" material. Even upgrading to Cat. 3 only requires 20 "pack finishes" as a Cat. 4.

IMO bragging rights should be reserved for the Pro 1/2 racers. That's an accomplishment.

Bob

IMO bragging rights should be reserved for the Pro 1/2 racers. That's an accomplishment.

Bob

Ya know I've never really understood this attitude. Weather you are C5 or P1/2 racing is hard and the competition is pretty relative. A cat five racer is working hard to improve and goes out and races his butt off, how does that make what he does any less of an achievement than a P1/2?

These days C5's and C4's are getting to be much older. When I first started racing in 1990 (there was no C5) most of the guys were young. Now you look at a C5 field and there are ton of mid-30's or older guys. Most C4/5 guys have full time jobs and families, the few who are going on to the 3's or higher are young and without those responsibilities.

There is a lot that separates a 4 from a 1 and one of the big things is time to train. A guy who can juggle is personal responsibilities and still get in 10-12 hours a week training in is most likely going to top out as a 4 or a mid pack 3, this guy is working as hard as he can to be the best racer that his life allows.

I feel your pain man. There was no way for me to get around the 10 race cat 5 upgrade...even with two wins in 4/5 crits and only podiums in collegiate Bs. I had enough 4/5 race points to upgrade to a 3 when I got 10 mass starts. Those points are gone now, of course. (But I've gotten halfway to the upgrade since).

Luckily for me, there's all kinds of races in the area, so it's not bad. Simplest solution? Move to California. As others have said, there's gotta be some clinic deal where you can get credit for 5 races or so. Inquire about it.

Anyways, sounds like you're a strong rider. You should be destroying a 5 field. Have fun with it. Try to find 4/5 races, which do pay out. And savor the wins! I know it'll be a totally different story for me once I get up to 3s and beyond... So in that sense, I'm not that eager to upgrade (prizes and money won't ever be a given again either). But then again, riding in the better cats just feels more legit.

I was at one last weekend. And a week before that. I was the cat 5 winning the cash in question.

USCF Rule 1F5(a)
In youth races and races exclusively for category 5 men,
no prizes (including primes) of commercial value may be
awarded -- only such things as trophies, medals, ribbons and
certificates of participation.

Cat 5's can get money if they're in a mixed 4/5 field or racing masters.

As far as Cypress's problem:
The district associations have the option of giving you credit for races if you attend a clinic that they approve of. Even if you can't find one, you could work with your club or a coach (and your district rep) to put one together and get some upgrade credit that way. It's a lot of work to do well, but you probably learn more than just by racing without a clinic.

Another option is to organize some races yourself. If you already have a club, the permit fee for a series of races is only $50 (for the whole series) as long as the max prize list in any category is less than $500.
If you can find an industrial park that will let you close the road for a couple hours in the evening or on a weekend one day a week you could put together a series that would get you the experience.

If it's any comfort, I know guys who are Cat 1 on the road (in SoCal) who had to do 10 races as a 5 on the track to upgrade. Kind of silly, because it looked like it made the racing less fun for the real 5s. This year district reps can upgrade Road 1's to Track 3 at their discretion.