USAC Application
Upgrade Procedures
Standard Athlete's Release

The easiest and most efficient method of upgrading is on line. This can be done through a rider´s account on the usacycling website www.usacycling.org 
Once an upgrade has been approved you will receive further instruction for receiving a sticker for your license. You must provide a race resume with your request. A resume form  has been provided for download.


An upgrade request consists of the following:

• A cover letter requesting an upgrade and a resume of race results over the past 12 months. The ideal resume will contain all current rider contact info (address, phone, email), date of birth, license number, expiration date, category, club and racing age, at the top of the page. This MUST be followed by race results that show date, event name, location, category, number of starters, and place.
  
  

To receive an upgrade sticker for your license send a self addressed stamped envelope and a COPY of your license to:    
Diane Fortini
91 Hillcrest Rd.
Hanson, MA 02341                                            

• You may have your license re-issued for $15 instead of having a sticker  
  
• Upgrade stickers may not be put on an International License. A re-issue of the license will be required.                                                                         
  

Please DO NOT send your license. Contact either Diane Fortini diane@ne-bra.org
781-293-2383 or Regional Coordinator Randy Inglis ringlis@usacycling.org with questions not covered in the rulebook.

• Upgrades to category 1 require license reissue ($15 fee).
• Downgrades to 5 are not allowed.

 USCF Road Upgrades
Guidelines and Notes by Category:

5-4:  Experience in 10 mass start races. Local Associations may establish policies where upgrade credit is given for taking a sanctioned rider education clinic.

4-3:  20 points in any 12-month period; or experience in 25 qualifying races with a minimum of 10 top ten finishes with fields of 30 riders or more, or 20 pack finishes with fields over 50. 30 points in 12 months is an automatic upgrade

3-2:  25 points in any 12-month period
40 points in 12 months is an automatic upgrade

2-1:  30 points in any 12-month period
50 points in 12 months is an automatic upgrade

USA Cycling may add additional requirements for upgrading at their discretion. Any such changes shall be made available on the website.

Qualifying Road Races for each category:
To qualify for upgrading points, races must meet distance standards. Races shorter than the minimum distance do not qualify for upgrading.However if a road race is less than the road race minimum but above the criterium minimum. it wil count for upgrading using the criterium points schedule.

Category	Class	RR	Crit & Circuit
5-4	men	15 mi	10 mi
4-3	men women junior	25 mi 25mi 25mi	20 mi 15 mi 15mi
3-2	men women	50 mi 40 mi	20 mi 15 mi
2-1	men women	80 mi 50 mi	30 mi 20 mi

  Points awarded for Road Races          
Points Awarded for Criteriums and Circuit Races
                                                Number of Starters   

Placing	5-10	11-20	21-50	50+
1st	3	4	5	7
2nd	2	3	4	5
3rd	1	2	3	4
4th		1	2	3
5th			1	2
6th				1

 

Points Awarded for Stage Races ( Cat 3 to 2 and Cat 2 to 1 upgrades only)*
                                          Number of Starters

Placing	10-19	20-35	36-49	50+
1st	5	7	10	20
2nd	3	5	8	18
3rd	2	3	6	16
4th	1	2	5	14
5th		1	4	12
6th			3	10
7th			2	9
8th			1	8
9th				7
10th				6
11th				5
12th				4
13th				3
14th				2
15th				1

* For points earned in stage races, GC and stage places both count for points, but only up to 20 maximum points for a cat 1 upgrade or 15 points for a cat 2 upgrade from a single stage race.

When deciding whether a rider qualifies for an upgrade, an administrator will take into account points earned in qualifying events per the table above. In the case of a rider who is marginally qualified, the quality of the events and the level of competition may be taken into account.

USCF Road Downgrades

A rider who wishes to downgrade may request a downgrade online or through their membership coordinator. Such requests will be evaluated individually. In no case will a rider be allowed to downgrade to category 5.

USCF Cyclocross Categories and Upgrades
Cyclocross Categories are initially established one of two ways:
(1) For a new rider licensing with USA Cycling for the first time, the CX category starts at 4.
(2) For a rider renewing his or her license, the CX category is initially established based on the road or MTB XC category currently held per the table below:

CX Category Based on Road or MTB XC Category

Road Category	MTB    XC        Category	CX Category
1	Pro	1
2	semi-pro	2
3	expert	3
4 or 5	beginner or sport	4

If the road and XC categories do not correspond to the same CX category , then the higher one will be used. If a rider upgrades his or her road or CX category during the season, the rider´s CX category can be uppgraded to match the road or XC category by request of the rider or by request of the administrator.

As it is quite possible for someone to be a more skilled CX racer than would be indicated by either road category or MTB XC category, a rider may also upgrade his or her CX category independently by earning upgrade points according to the table below:

Points Awarded for Cyclocross Races
                      Number of Starters

Placing	5-10	11-20	21-50	50+
1st	3	4	5	7
2nd	2	3	4	5
3rd	1	2	3	4
4th		1	2	3
5th			1	2
6th				1

Requirements for Upgrading Via Points:
4-3 : Experience in 5 races or 7 points in 12 months

3-2 : 10 points in 12 months ( 2 wins is an automatic upgrade )

2-1 : 20 points in 12 months ( 2 wins is an automatic upgrade )

USA Cycling may add additional requirements for upgrading at their discretion. Any such changes shall be made available on www.usacycling.org



TRACK UPGRADES

All track upgrades and downgrades are made through the Local Association ( LA ).

All track upgrades are processed using the following criteria:

Cat 5 to Cat 4    Complete a Velodrome class or 4 race days
Cat 4 to Cat 3    5 race days an 20 points
Cat 3 to Cat 2    5 race days and 25 points
Cat 2 to Cat 1    5 race days and 30 points

Points:
National Championships, Category A,B or C track race will be 7,5,3,2,1 for each event.

For all other events, upgrade points are 5,3,2,1 and are based on an omnium of the event´s races.

Additional Considerations:

1. Ten person field minimum for category 3-5 and 20 person field minimum for upgrade to cat 1.
2. 50% of upgrading points and number of times raced will be carried over to the next year. Points do not carry over to the next category.
3. When upgrading to cat 1, points earned need to be from more than one velodrome.
4. A race day is defines as one full day of racing. A race day can include a number of events such as a kilometer, sprints or time trial, but it only counts as one race day.
5. Women and Juniors can earn one point for every 5 race days when upgrading from cat 4 through cat 2.
   
6. Races exempt from upgrading are youth races and races for more than two categories(ie:"A" and "B" races)
7. Results from other velodromes will be considered for upgrading only if the races were run under a USA Cycling permit.

With the approval of a USA Cycling licensed track coach, riders who are Pro or cat 1 on the road may be upgraded to cat 2 on the track and riders who are cat 2 on the road may be upgraded to cat 3 on the track without first having to begin at cat 5.