USAC Explains UCI Licensing Policies for Cyclocross
Friday, October 17, 2003

Greetings from Colorado Springs-

I wanted to clear up a miscommunication that exists in the UCI Cross scene
related to which categories require UCI licenses. Licensing policies differ
greatly from race to race, and in the interest of consistency and fairness for
both the riders and promoters nationwide, we’ve chosen to distribute this e-mail
requesting your assistance in this matter.

WHERE WE’RE GOING
Starting with races on Saturday, November 1, riders entering the following three
UCI categories MUST HOLD A VALID UCI INTERNATIONAL LICENSE: 1) Elite Men, 2)
Elite Women, and 3) U23 Men. This means Junior Men 17-18 and any other
categories offered are not required to hold an international license. However,
Junior Men who qualify and attend Cyclo-cross World Championships will still be
required to possess an International License.

WHY
1) Starting November 1, all riders who purchase a UCI International license on
or after this date, will have their license valid for the remainder of 2003 and
the entire calendar year 2004, expiring December 31, 2004. The perceived
hardship of spending $125 on an international license that is only valid for a
few months has been removed, and riders will see the no-cost benefit of their
license being valid for 1.5 cross seasons, as well as the 2004 international
road, track and mountain bike seasons in their entirety.

2) Each UCI promoter who submitted an inscription form to USAC and the UCI
agreed to run their race under UCI rules. Riders holding UCI licenses is one of
those rules. USAC has offered junior riders an exception to this rule for the
past two years and will continue to do so.

3) This licensing policy will be enforced the same way at the Cyclo-cross
Nationals in Portland. Better to be consistent and prepared ahead of time.

4) Riders in these three categories earn UCI points, and their UCI codes must be
submitted to the UCI on the results.

NEXT STEPS
1) Please modify any race fliers, websites, or newsgroup communications at your
earliest convenience. This e-mail will be distributed to each of the UCI CX
Promoters, the UCI Commissaires assigned to oversee their races, as well as USAC
Regional Reps, Local Associations. Please feel free to distribute this notice
to anyone you feel may be affected.

2) Please continue to submit your race results to our office in Colorado Springs
as soon as they become final. These results should include UCI codes for each
of the UCI categories. Please send them to both [email protected] and
[email protected]

On behalf of USA Cycling, please accept our apologies for our part in the
miscommunication. I think we can all agree that consistency is the most
important factor in this equation and I thank you ahead of time for your
adherence to this policy.

All the best –

Matt Murphy
National Events Manager
USA Cycling
719-866-3376 phone
719-866-4628 fax
[email protected]
www.usacycling.org

photos by Jonathan McElvery, Jack Milton, and BikeReg.com