Cyclocross Racing - when did you cat up?

This has been my first season in cross. Here are my most recent results 17, 13, 10,9, 5...I had 1 DNF and at USGP I was about mid pack out of 120+ both days and started about 110th both days.

I got another 5th place.

I am racing this weekend and then thinking about upgrading. I look around and some people are in the 4s like 2-3 years with the same results as me. I don't get it.

It states after 10 races you can apply for an upgrade to Cat 3, but depending on who does your upgrades for USAC in your area you might not need to wait with good results. I did stay as a 4 longer then I should have, mainly because my fitness was lacking, made the upgrade to the 3's and went from the back of the back last year, to earning a few upgrade points this year in some of the local races, and mid-pack in the larger races.

5 races, not 10 races to upgrade.

It's not about placings, it's about lap times. Upgrading to 3 and finding yourself dangling off the back is not the way to do it. So compare your lap times with the cat 3 field.

I think it also depends on the nature of your local races. In the mid Atlantic, MAC races tend to be a bit faster than MABRA races. If I was in MAC, I'd probably hold out a bit longer.

If you're in between Cats, you can always race the 3/4 race without actually becoming a 3 (assuming your area runs the 3 race as a mixed category).

Last year raced as a 4 in the Cs. Had one podium, 2nd, and a few top tens.

This year, catted up to 3, and did the 3/4 races. Pretty much on podium almost every race w/2 wins.

I'm catting up to 2 and concentrating on MAC next year for the 2/3/4 races. My goal is to get the 20 points and get to 1 by the end of next season.

I think the question was more like...when did "you" cat up. I'm not worried about competing in the 3s. I just can't believe I see someone at year three of the 4s racing a full series for 3 years. Sure, they podium the 4s now but what a waste.

I upgraded from cat5 to cat4 road before the minimum number of races.

I could have upgraded CX already but wanted to finish the series out which ends this weekend. When I see someone with good results but results that don't require an automatic upgrade, I just see sandbagging. Good results are top five and above every single race.

Had I not wrecked my last race, i would have gotten 4th. Starting about 110th both days of the USGP and getting mid pack was nice and damn was it fast. Had I started closer, who knows what I would have gotten. I mean I did pass like 50+ people. I beat a guy that finished 14th in that race in the next race of the series.

our series doesn't offer a 3/4 race. just 3s or 1-3.

We have A, B, and C's in our series. I did one season at the C's and them up'd to B's. I found I learned much more from the B's but was at the back of the pack. My skills have improved but due to family obligations, I haven't spend the time to build the fitness. I guess it depend on what you want out of racing. I want to have fun and learn.

I race cat 4 road and Cat 2 MTB. The technical skills are there. My callups are now either first or second row due to how the series calls up riders. It is points leaders first then by registration date. I was registering the week of and then the final 5 races was 4-5 weeks early. I'd get either 1st or 2nd row starts. It's much better to get out of traffic early.

I haven't been training much the last couple of weeks and I seem to be doing better. Fresher I guess. I nuked myself in road and MTB this year.



We have A, B, and C's in our series. I did one season at the C's and them up'd to B's. I found I learned much more from the B's but was at the back of the pack. My skills have improved but due to family obligations, I haven't spend the time to build the fitness. I guess it depend on what you want out of racing. I want to have fun and learn.

I'm a Cat 4 CX'er, never raced on the road. Placed 4th of 12 and 3rd of 11 in my two races... I plan on staying 4 until I've got the points. Then I'll move up since most of my team races in 3 and above.

5 races, not 10 races to upgrade.

I've seen 5 listed on a few promoter's sites - but USAC says 10.
Quoting from the rule book
"1D4. Cyclocross Upgrades
Cyclocross categories are upgraded similarly to road upgrades using the system below:
(a) Requirements for upgrading via points:
4-3: Experience in 10 qualifying races or 10 points in 12 months"

Me, I've got 6 races as a 4 and am not yet to 10 for the upgrade. I've seen it mentioned as mandatory, but that is not how it is written at USAC; unless mandatory is implied.
My next race or two aren't USAC permitted and not eligible for USAC upgrades.
I've been finishing DFL in every race but one and am actually not wanting to go to the 3's.

I'm a Cat 4 CX'er, never raced on the road. Placed 4th of 12 and 3rd of 11 in my two races... I plan on staying 4 until I've got the points. Then I'll move up since most of my team races in 3 and above.

just upgrade asap. When I went from 4-5 road, I didn't even have the minimum races. I just listed what I had and sent it to the USA Cycling for consideration. I got bumped up in 2 hours.

I've decided I'm going Cat 3 after this weekend for X.

For cat 4 to Cat 3, you can list non USAC cross races as part of your resume for consideration for an upgrade. I listed a ABD Crit race in my USAC request to upgrade road and it wasn't even a USAC sanctioned race.



I've seen 5 listed on a few promoter's sites - but USAC says 10.
Quoting from the rule book
"1D4. Cyclocross Upgrades
Cyclocross categories are upgraded similarly to road upgrades using the system below:
(a) Requirements for upgrading via points:
4-3: Experience in 10 qualifying races or 10 points in 12 months"

Me, I've got 6 races as a 4 and am not yet to 10 for the upgrade. I've seen it mentioned as mandatory, but that is not how it is written at USAC; unless mandatory is implied.
My next race or two aren't USAC permitted and not eligible for USAC upgrades.
I've been finishing DFL in every race but one and am actually not wanting to go to the 3's.

For cat 4 to Cat 3, you can list non USAC cross races as part of your resume for consideration for an upgrade. I listed a ABD Crit race in my USAC request to upgrade road and it wasn't even a USAC sanctioned race.

If 10 is mandatory, then it not being USAC lets me be a 4 for a bit longer.

I'll never understand the reasoning behind some categories in cross, particularly the splitting up of threes into two plus races.

Flargle's right though. Compare lap times, also keeping in mind you'll probably have to do 1-3 more of them. Around here it's usually 4s in a big B category of their own and then 1-3s, except the bigger races which are more traditionally split up. My goal is cat 3 by the end of next season but it has nothing to do with how I place (for me).

I just went ahead and upgraded. Nobody seemed to understand the question. They question was...WHEN DID YOU UPGRADE? MEANING...HOW MANY RACES FOR YOU?

I did 12 Cat4 races. My final 4 races were in the top 8 in big fields.





I'll never understand the reasoning behind some categories in cross, particularly the splitting up of threes into two plus races.

Flargle's right though. Compare lap times, also keeping in mind you'll probably have to do 1-3 more of them. Around here it's usually 4s in a big B category of their own and then 1-3s, except the bigger races which are more traditionally split up. My goal is cat 3 by the end of next season but it has nothing to do with how I place (for me).

if that level of off topic bugs you, you might as well give up on the internet now :)

UPGRADE (http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7833599/)




from chasing120.com (http://www.chasing120.com/2010/11/its-almost-december.html)

^^ "But cat3 guys have lots of tattoos." There's something about a little cartoon bear thing telling me to HTFU and upgrade.. That's it, I'm catting up.

Do it!


The following request to change your USAC category has been approved and processed by USA Cycling:
License: Cyclo-cross Racer
Request to change category from Cat 4 to Cat 3

See. That was easy.

DFL is DFL. At least I'll get to sleep in.

As a first season Cat 4, I can see both sides of this. As a beginner I don't feel Category 4 is a true beginner's field. Lots of guys "sand bagging" it as you often see talented road racers in CAT 4. I'm not even sure why you'd stick around in Cat 4, there's hardly ever any prizes and the race times are awful.

Hmm I only have 8 races on my belt and I've had a lot of mediocre finishes. Maybe I'll come into next season strong and Cat up. My friends done 21 races as a Cat 4 and says he doesn't want to cat up till he's on the podium. Perhaps, I'll convince him to cat up with me next season.

I already requested my upgrade and got it. 21 freaking races as a 4? How are his results? I did 11 with my last 6 in the top 10 and 3 of those top 5-6 and finished 9th in my series. The guys in front of me were cat 2-4 roadies and several are already racing in the 3s in X.

I'm racing elite 1-3 this weekend. Racing another 10-15 races as a 4 to get a podium is wack.






As a first season Cat 4, I can see both sides of this. As a beginner I don't feel Category 4 is a true beginner's field. Lots of guys "sand bagging" it as you often see talented road racers in CAT 4. I'm not even sure why you'd stick around in Cat 4, there's hardly ever any prizes and the race times are awful.

Hmm I only have 8 races on my belt and I've had a lot of mediocre finishes. Maybe I'll come into next season strong and Cat up. My friends done 21 races as a Cat 4 and says he doesn't want to cat up till he's on the podium. Perhaps, I'll convince him to cat up with me next season.

DECEMBER IS CYCLOCROSS CATEGORY UPGRADE AWARENESS MONTH!
http://www.chasing120.com/2010/11/its-almost-december.html

I was embarrassed for the guy who won the cat 4 nbx race last Saturday. Awards or not, no business in cat 4. Grow up.

I've only done 5 races (2 C's and 3 B's) and just got my upgrade to Cat 3. We have some USAC events coming up and I wanted to stay with the "B" crowd.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?698768-USAC-license-for-2011

(my original inquiry...)

i did 3 races last year....8 so far this year (and more to come, official or not)....at age 47, starting to make some progress among the crowded fields of cat 4 sandbaggers and folks who fall constantly in the technical....i am usually the oldest but at least starting to beat and pass a few guys since really dialing in the training, diet, etc.

my concern is should i cat (not UP but) OVER to my age group? i noticed i actually had better times than most if not all at the PACX championships...i was in the cat 4 race, but maybe should've raced with my age group. i still 'suck' but not so much as before, ha! maybe i'm getting my numbers wrong, but i think good ole masters 45+ is my 2011 niche. and i get to sleep in a few more minutes. i think

I've only done 5 races (2 C's and 3 B's) and just got my upgrade to Cat 3. We have some USAC events coming up and I wanted to stay with the "B" crowd.

I just cat'd up to 3 for the Lange Twins race on the 18th. Kind of annoying to jump through hoops for one race but whatever.

Are you fours racing in 3/4 races or just 4s? And are your As 1/2/3 or 1/2?

Here it's often As = 1/2/3 and Bs = 4, with no C. At some of the bigger races it's A = 1/2/3 or 1/2, Bs = 3/4, C = 4. Unfortunately this means there is a pretty big split in the Bs between the real beginners and those going for placings or whatever. Though some people near the front of fours are true beginners in cross but aree very fast in other disciplines.

I'll almost certainly be racing 3s next season, probably early or before the beginning depending on my summer, but if i still live where I am now there's a solid chance I'll be DFL for every local series race. I do wish they would change Bs to 3/4. it would have been nice to win a cross race once in my life. Oh well.

We have a A's,B's and C's. I did one season in C's and up'd to B's. I've never cared about what cat I am because it never applied to me. Also I went to B's because the riders have more skills. Our C races are filled with road racers with few dirt skills and there are always clusterf@#ks on the first technical turn(granted this was 3 years ago when I raced C's).

Yeah, I jumped straight to Bs, but as I said only maybe a third of the races I do in a season even have a C race. I guess my whole point was that categories, whether A/B/C or numbered cat may vary depending on where you are. Some of the digs at the 4s in this thread don't really apply to some areas. Now if you're ina n area where 4s = C, period, and thus the beginner cat then yeah it's just like folks who hang out in beginner class MTB all season and keep podiuming.

I just cat'd up to 3 for the Lange Twins race on the 18th. Kind of annoying to jump through hoops for one race but whatever.

That's why I upgraded. There's also Folsom (http://bicycleplanet.net/merchant/461/files/FolsomCXFlyer2010BicyclePlanet.pdf) this weekend. Though, I bet a lot of people are up in Bend...

Yeah, I'll be missing that race but we'll get to do it again in Jan. Have fun out there, it's a fun course.

OP, If you were a 2 in mountain bike and upgraded on the road you should have never been a 4 in CX. It's not apples to apples, but...

I upgraded after a couple podiums and winning a huge field in my second year of racing. About 14 total races, total. I've done one road and one mtb race in my life. In hindsight I should of upgraded after my win, but at the time it seemed like a fluke. Now i'm mid pack 3 and mid-back pack of 35+. You can see from Natz that Colorado masters are ridiculous and I probably won't see the front for years if ever. Doesn't matter though, I really enjoy racing as a 3 as it has made me really think about focused training and increasing power and handling. I'm skipping beginner mtb and doing 2s this year.

I raced 2 cat 4 races in '08, raced the '09 season in the Bs and this year I did every 1-2-3 race locally and was only forced to do the Bs at Cincinnati UCI3 and raced SS open at USGP.

IMHO, there's no gain sitting in lower races. If you don't have the power for As, at least do the B race. Save the C(cat 4) race for beginners. Second, third r fourth year C racers bug me. And if you win you're first Cat 4 race, UPGRADE.

One of the problems with sand baggers in cat 3 or 4 is that a lot of cross races are a part of a series and typically they have overall series prizes so if you cat up in the middle of a series then you are out of the overall. So people stay in cat 4 for the whole series. I know a few guys that stay in the cat 4's simply because they like cyclocross but never really train and end up towards the back every race. I don't really see anything wrong with that. I started doing cross over ten years ago and all they had was A, B and C categories. Because I won a few A races years ago they gave me a cat 2 once they changed the system over a few years back. I mostly race Masters now competitively and do the 1/2 races for training. Cool thing about Masters is that there is no such thing as sand bagging :D

I disagree. Cat4 road has nothing to do with cat3 or Cat4 cross. Neither does cat2 MTB. there were Cat1-cat3 roadies at times in my cross races. They never podiumed that I know. The winner of our Cat4 series was a Cat4 roadie. he won the series by like 15 points. My best finish as a Cat 4 Cross racer was 5th.

I've already upgraded to Cat3 Cross and already raced as a Cat3. I got my ass handed to me but those guys had been racing Cat3 in another series all freaking year. It was close to their season finale. Brutally cold, winds of 17mph and mud and snow.

It was awesome. had one good battle with another guy. He would gain on me in the flats and I would gap him in the technical stuff. He and I did that for 45 straight minutes.



OP, If you were a 2 in mountain bike and upgraded on the road you should have never been a 4 in CX. It's not apples to apples, but...

I upgraded after a couple podiums and winning a huge field in my second year of racing. About 14 total races, total. I've done one road and one mtb race in my life. In hindsight I should of upgraded after my win, but at the time it seemed like a fluke. Now i'm mid pack 3 and mid-back pack of 35+. You can see from Natz that Colorado masters are ridiculous and I probably won't see the front for years if ever. Doesn't matter though, I really enjoy racing as a 3 as it has made me really think about focused training and increasing power and handling. I'm skipping beginner mtb and doing 2s this year.

I just upgraded the day before yesterday to a 3. My cat4 results (http://www.crossresults.com/?n=racers&sn=r&rID=49331) were so-so, but I think I have more to learn as a 3 then if I were to stay a 4.

Two races to go this year. The only downside is that the Cat3's go off with the open guys, and it's a 50 minute race versus a 30 minute race. I hope my 'ol back can hold up. ;-)