if you notice under stewartp's name he says he's from England, so telling him to read the american rule book on cycling might not be much help. it no doubt works differently here than it does in the u.s. it's all based on points gained from races, the more points you accumulate, the higher up the categories you go, starting off from 4th cat going upto elite cat. for more info stewartp, get hold of a copy of the British Cycling Federation hand book (i think the rule book might actually be a seperate book now, it used to be one book - race info + rules). anyway if you know someone with the handbook have a look, failing that go to
www.bcf.uk.com. if there's no info there email them or ring them and they will send you a handbook/rulebook.
laters,
cabledonut.