I am trying to submit my upgrade application to USAC and their website just has me in a loop trying to get to the upgrade screen. When I try and renew my Domestic License it just loops back and says my license (the new Member/racer) is current which it is. I emailed USAC and they just told me to do what I was already trying to do.
ETA: I ended up going to the main USAC page, reupdating my license even though it still has months left on it and now it says my domestic license is active.
Their website is hellish and seems worse than ever this year. Doing the email was the right option, they can help. I had to renew with a paper copy this year, and after promoting a race had to mail a paper check for insurance because the website was so broken. It has gotten very terrible this year.
Website is a mess and leadership doesn’t know the first thing about racing. They laid off anyone who knew what hey were doing.
They unilaterally took away upgrading responsibility from the local associations - who could make decisions based on tracking results and personal experiences. I’ve seen LAs refuse upgrades for safety reasons and also pressure sandbaggers to upgrade.
So now USAC have taken over the job with no plan to even track upgrade points. They now rely on an honors system - complete joke. In my state 90% of people upgrade kicking and screaming and always come up with an excuse that they’ve worked so hard and deserve to win all their races and the next grade up is ridiculously hard. I’ve experienced racing life before and after compulsory upgrades. Before, it was the same 6 riders at the front of a race driving the pace at 5 w/kg. 6 weeks later they all got upgraded and it was possible to actually see the head of a race and play a part. Made racing much more fun for everyone and we got the opportunity to learn racecraft rather than hanging on for dear life. Took me a couple of years, but I finally got the skills and results to upgrade - would have had zero points and left the sport if those riders hadn’t been forced to race at their proper ability level. Unsurprisingly, the field sizes at lower grades expanded remarkably after upgrades were monitored and enforced.
Add: The decision to automatically renew and charge everyone for their new and more expensive license also generated a lot of ill will. I can’t see USAC doing a single thing to further the sport apart from getting more rich kids into the Olympics.
I agree with you totally. I’ve been involved with racing for a long time on both the competitive and developmental side and from my experience the thing that adds danger is the presence of much stronger riders who are driving the pace and causing a large portion of the field to be sitting on the rivet turning themselves inside out just trying to stay in the group. That is the point where mistakes start to happen.
The thing I don’t agree with is higher category Masters riders like myself who probably belong in the cat four race moaning that it is too dangerous for us to be riding with these lowly sketchy riders. If we are such experienced bike racers we should be able to handle ourselves just fine. As much as I enjoy the Masters racing I’m not sure it’s the best thing for the sport but I guess that’s a whole other topic.
I did get really good help from USA cycling this year with my problems. I have been a continuous license holder since 1983 and have held official, coach and race director licenses as well as managed sanctioned clubs. Nevertheless when I tried to renew along with my daughter somehow my record in the database was all messed up and corrupted. I finally gave up and just sent a paper form in with a check just like we did during the Reagan years. I’m involved with our local association and agree with what you say about the upgrades we have observed the same thing especially in track.
USAC website…whoo… a place you never want to have to go.
Agreed. Back when I started the stronger masters riders just worked together and pushed the pace hard at the start, specifically to get rid of sketchy riders. After 20-30 mins they decided that anyone who was still in the group deserved to be there and the real tactical racing started.
In CO, they also created a masters 3 category because the open masters was just ridiculously strong and to encourage cat 4s to upgrade. All the age-based cat 4 and 3 cats have been very successful and brought in the numbers.
btw, Demographics are really pushing a bulge though the masters here. I have a bunch of friends in the 60+ and the races are starting to get ridiculously fast. The 70+ is starting to get the same way and is set to become uber-competitive in 2 to 3 years when several 60+ age up. 50+ has numerous former pros and national champions - they aren’t even always winning, except for Norm Alvis.
It’s sort of the same here in western NY, but road numbers are pretty down. As a promoter I don’t like jerking around with all the different age and ability based categories and the associated prize lists, but the riders like it including myself
I hit my upgrade points for cross from Cat 4 to 3. This is my first year racing cross and snagged a few podiums in the 4/novice fields and an SS class 3rd place. Time to get my butt whipped in the cat 3 state championship race.
The 4/novice field is crazy quick for the first 4 places, then pretty shallow behind that. There are a few other guys in the top 5 in any race that according to CrossResults.com have upwards of 63 voluntary points or 22 mandatory points. Said rider was relentlessly heckled at the start, including by the official.
That kind of crap is what really stagnates the racing, who wants to show up to a “novice” race and get lapped damn near immediately by a guy that is also on the podium in a cat 3/4 race?
Hopefully I can get in enough crits to get my upgrade on the road too. With two real road races a year you gotta risk it for the biscuit in the crits.
Hopefully I can get in enough crits to get my upgrade on the road too. With two real road races a year you gotta risk it for the biscuit in the crits.
Don’t know if you meant 4->3, or 3->2, but for 3->2, if you want to upgrade to 2 and you’re a slowtwitch fiber type, a stage race is a great alternative to crit-banging and hoping to get points here and there. I upgraded from 3 to 2 almost all in the space of one weekend just by winning the Valley of the Sun TT as a Cat 3. (Then chilling in the field the next two days for the RR and crit). No actual points for winning a TT, but winning 1st GC is 20 points.
I am working on my 4>3 for the road. I had a decent start to the season this year then, mountain bike racing got in the way, and I didn’t want to get hurt before my 100 mile mtb race.
And for anyone that stumbles on this thread, for the love of god, go do some cross racing on whatever the heck you have that can be ridden in a cross race.