A couple of Questions:
Is it possible to upgrade from Category 5 to 4 without doing 10 Mass start races?
If both a Category 4/5 and Category 5 race are available at the same race will this count as two mass starts?
A couple of Questions:
Is it possible to upgrade from Category 5 to 4 without doing 10 Mass start races?
Not normally but your state’s USAC people might make exceptions if you were like, Mexican national road race champ or something. They will not likely care how fast you are.
If both a Category 4/5 and Category 5 race are available at the same race will this count as two mass starts?
If you do two races at one event, yes that counts as two races.
"Not normally but your state’s USAC people might make exceptions if you were like, Mexican national road race champ or something. They will not likely care how fast you are. "
Its not about being fast, more about the fact that once you are a Cat 4+ there are more races within the race available to you as just going to an event and only being able to participate for one 30 minute race is just not enough, I would like to do multiple, To young for masters, to old for juniors, stuck in the middle
I hear ya, and I want a pony but I don’t get one =)
Surely there are some road races you can do as well? Those are typically 2+ hours.
At our local crit right now I’m ‘lucky’. I can do the 3/4 race, the 1/2/3 race, and the 35+ race!
I got like a thousand tss
"Not normally but your state’s USAC people might make exceptions if you were like, Mexican national road race champ or something. They will not likely care how fast you are. "
Its not about being fast, more about the fact that once you are a Cat 4+ there are more races within the race available to you as just going to an event and only being able to participate for one 30 minute race is just not enough, I would like to do multiple, To young for masters, to old for juniors, stuck in the middle
"Not normally but your state’s USAC people might make exceptions if you were like, Mexican national road race champ or something. They will not likely care how fast you are. "
Its not about being fast, more about the fact that once you are a Cat 4+ there are more races within the race available to you as just going to an event and only being able to participate for one 30 minute race is just not enough, I would like to do multiple, To young for masters, to old for juniors, stuck in the middle
Some locations have race clinic events that typically give credit for multiple starts just for taking the course. Probably not a bad idea anyway 
A couple of Questions:
Is it possible to upgrade from Category 5 to 4 without doing 10 Mass start races?
If both a Category 4/5 and Category 5 race are available at the same race will this count as two mass starts?
Have you checked on the USA cycling website?
If you go through the process of renewing or buying a license, I think it may allow you to upgrade to a 4 without submitting anything.
I just bought a license and upgraded myself to a Cat 2 on the mtn bike and it said something about allowing automatic upgrades, even though I’ve never done an official USA cycling mtn bike race as a licensed rider.
For whatever it’s worth, I was never a Cat 5. I did two junior road races and then jumped into a Cat 4 seniors race. So if the USA cycling site doesn’t work out, just send an email to one of your state’s official.
I’d go through the process and check it out.
In some parts of California, a cat 5 race can count as two races if there’s a mentor in your group. He rides with the pack, corrects bad behavior, and then has a follow-up meeting to discuss the race.
That works for cross and mtb but not road. Those events are much more favorable to being competitive with a big engine where in road races, it just delays getting dropped by a few more miles.
Yeah, I though you could automatically upgrade to your road equivalent in cx and mtb, so that if you’re a cat 3 road, you can race cat 3 cx, even though you may have never raced cx before in your life… But it doesn’t work the other way.
(A caveat may be scnca, where the upgrade nazi seems to take great pleasure in denying upgrades to people even though they’re otherwise eligible.)
That works for cross and mtb but not road. Those events are much more favorable to being competitive with a big engine where in road races, it just delays getting dropped by a few more miles.
Bummer.
Sorry OP, I’d just shoot your local official an email then. Or just go win a Cat 5 race and do it after that. But the email will be easier.
Yeah, I though you could automatically upgrade to your road equivalent in cx and mtb, so that if you’re a cat 3 road, you can race cat 3 cx, even though you may have never raced cx before in your life… But it doesn’t work the other way.
Yeah, I just got my license today and I’m a 1 on the road and a 1 in cross even though I’ve only done one race (which I requested a down grade to 3 for). I could “upgrade” to a 2 in XC mtn biking, but I’m still just a 5 on the track.
There’s a whole smorgasbord of numbers. Not sure how they all go together.
I believe they changed it to 10 finishes of a mass start event. Not starts.
I believe they changed it to 10 finishes of a mass start event. Not starts.
Yeah, you’re right. Time for me to stop commenting on things I’m not up to date with. 
Category 5 to 4: Finish 10 mass start races. Category 4 to 3: 20 points; or experience in 25 races with a minimum of 10 top-10 finishes with fields of 30 riders or more; or 20 pack finishes with fields over 50. 30 Points in 12 months is a mandatory upgrade.
USA Cycling-sanctioned rider camps and clinics that are approved by the Local Associations for upgrading will count as a maximum of three upgrade points when upgrading from category 4 to 3. Category 3 to 2: 30 points; 40 points in 12 months is a mandatory* upgrade Category 2 to 1: 35 points**; 50 points in 12 months is a mandatory* upgrade
Yeah, I though you could automatically upgrade to your road equivalent in cx and mtb, so that if you’re a cat 3 road, you can race cat 3 cx, even though you may have never raced cx before in your life… But it doesn’t work the other way.
(A caveat may be scnca, where the upgrade nazi seems to take great pleasure in denying upgrades to people even though they’re otherwise eligible.)
Road cat 3 is an automatic CX cat 4. MTB you can self-upgrade to cat 2.
To the OP - you can try to upgrade sooner if you like, the worst that will happen is you will get denied. Some associations will allow large organized timed events (such as Tour de Tucson and Tour de Scottsdale) as a mass start also. I heard AZ is allowing that now but haven’t verified.
You’re right. I just looked at it, and it seems to have been changed.
To the OP, it depends on who’s in charge. In some regions, upgrades might be awarded before actually earned. But that’s hit and miss. Most likely, you’ll have to get in your 10 races before an upgrade.
We have the equivalent in NorCal. I was 1 point short of 4 > 3 upgrade (after winning Valley of the Sun stage race) and my coach put in a good word for me with official. He denied it, citing that didn’t mean I had the pack riding skills necessary. Ironically, the following weekend I won a crit on an improbable long solo break that he happened to be offiating. After the race he smirked and said “I’ll process your upgrade Monday.”
Well see, he was right. You were so afraid of the pack riding you just left!
Ironically, the following weekend I won a crit on an improbable long solo break that he happened to be offiating. After the race he smirked and said “I’ll process your upgrade Monday.”
Weren’t you just posting the other day asking if you should do the Not-So-Underground crit on Sunday as your first crit?
I truly don’t mean any disrespect, but take your time in Cat 5 and learn the flow of a bike race. It’s much different than a group ride and you will be doing yourself (and anyone you’re racing with) a favor by truly learning the in’s and out’s of racing before you move on to Cat 4. I think you’ll find that typical Cat 5 races in AZ are pretty fast, and that you have a lot that you know you don’t know, and even more you don’t know you don’t know yet (if that makes sense).
Also, we had a teammate who is a very fast triathlete blow apart a Cat 5 field at a road race this year, and ABRA would not let him upgrade early. So it’s not likely that you’ll be able to upgrade early anyway.
I will hopefully be out there on Sunday. Come say hi. I’ll be with the Tribe crew.
-Todd
I truly don’t mean any disrespect, but take your time in Cat 5 and learn the flow of a bike race.
This. You have no business in a 3/4 race with less than a handful of starts under your belt.
True dat. Safe to say my pack riding skills did not improve in that 5-day period.
There’s a lot of validity to the upgrade process. Not only do the upper categories get faster but the fields are bigger and riding is more aggressive. Without being able to position well, even a huge motor is not usually enough