2013-14 socalcross prestige series riders guide

8/13/2019 2013-14 SoCalCross PRESTIGE SERIES Riders Guide

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SoCalCross Prestige Series 20132014 Riders Guide

PART 1: Rules and Regulations

A. Regulations

The SoCalCross Prestige Series shall follow only the highest standards in regards to course safety,standard series points start order and grid, maintain the highest standard in course design guidelines,and a consistent duration of events. Races may be permitted under USA Cycling, UCI, North AmericanBicycle Racing Association or American Bicycle Racing rules, and shall follow any sanctioning bodyspecific rules as is required.

B. Participation

1. Categories

The Series will offer the following categories:

Elite Men A CX 14

U23 Men

Men B CX 3-5

Men C CX 4/5 Elite Women A CX 14 U23 Women (series scoring only, race day prize list combined with Elite Women A)

Women B CX 3/4

Women C CX 4 Masters Women 35+ CX14

Masters Men 35+ A CX14

Masters Men 35+ B CX3-5

Masters Men 45+ A CX 14

Masters Men 45+ B CX14

Masters Men 55+ CX15 Junior Boys 1014 CX1-5

Junior Boys 1518 CX1-5 Junior Girls 1014 CX1-4

Junior Girls 1518 CX1-4

Youth 69 Single Speed A CX14

Single Speed B CX 3/4

Single Speed Women CX1-4

2. Category Change and Points

In the case of a rider changing categories during the season, series championship points

earned will remain in the category they were earned in.

3. Mandatory Category Changes

Riders racing Men C or Women C are no longer eligible to earn series championship points in the

Men/Women C category after reaching 10 points according to the following chart. Series

championship points for Men/Women C will skip any riders who have reached their mandatory

upgrade and choose to continue racing C. Upgrade points are tabulated each Week and are

effective for the following race date.


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C->B Upgrade table

Number of Starters

Placing 5-15 16-30 31+

1 3 4 5

2 2 3 4

3 1 2 3

C. Cyclocross Racing Age

1. Explained

From the 2013 USA Cycling Rulebook:

1A30. A rider!s racing age shall be his or her age on December 31 of the current year

except in cyclocross. A rider!s racing age in cyclocross is his age on December 31st of

the year that the cyclocross season ends. All references to age of riders, race age groups, or

age class shall be interpreted as referring to racing age. The following terms refer to specificage groups.

*The only exception is that for the minimum age for a licensee of 6 years old, this refers to

chronological age, not racing age.

Racing Age Age Group

6 - 9 Youth

10-18 Junior

19-22 Under 23

23-29 Elite (i.e. senior)30+ Master

1A33. The cyclocross season begins September 1st of one year and ends on the last day of

February of the following year. Your CX racing age for the 2013 season is your age on

December 31, 2014. CX racing age is generally one year greater than road, track or MTB

racing age. An easy way to calculate your CX racing age is 2014 - year of birth. For

example, a rider born on March 2, 1978 would have a racing age of (2014 - 1978 =) 36.

2. Prestige Series categories with age restrictions

Category Racing Age Year of Birth

Youth 6 9* 2003 2006

Junior 10 14 10 14 2000 2004

Junior 15 18 15 18 1996 1999

Master 35+ 35 or over 1979 or earlier



*Must be at least six years old chronologically.


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PART 2: USA Cycling Cyclocross categories

A. GeneralYour license shows a cyclo-cross (CX) category. If you look in your membership account, you might

think you have purchased an extra license. Don!t worry: You have not.

CX is a separate category and upgrade points are awarded in CX events for that category.

If you are a new racer, then your CX category will start as a 4. Just as in road and track events, you

can upgrade to a 3 by earning points in CX races.

If you had a USCF or NORBA license, then you were issued a CX category when you renewed.

Here!s how the categories initially translated (USAC rule 1D5):

Cyclocross Category based on road or XC category

Road Category MTB XC Category Cyclocross Category

Pro or 1 Pro 12 1 3

3 2 4

4 or 5 3 4

If you feel that your USCF road or NORBA XC category did not translate correctly to your best CX

category, you may request a category change online or directly through your upgrade administrator.

If the road and XC categories do not correspond to the same CX category, then the higher one will

be used.

B. Eligibility for UCI races run under USA Cycling Permits

USA Cycling licensees entering UCI races held under a USA Cycling permit are subject to category

restrictions. Restrictions may be stated in the race announcement or technical guide. The default

USAC category requirements for entering the following UCI classes are:

Elite Men: CX 1/2

Elite Women: CX 1/2/3

Juniors: CX 1/2/3

(USA Cycling rule 1J16)


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C. A/B/C group selection

A (CX Cat 1-4) is the fastest group out there also might be called expert, elite. Highly

competitive if you aren!t an experienced racer (in cyclocross or another discipline) this is

likely not the group for you. Open to all USAC CX Categories including one day licenses. USAC CX

Category 1-2 for sure, Category 3s with aspirations of upgrades or speed, Cat 4s with significantexperience in other disciplines, Category 5 is for newly licensed riders also new to racing.

B (CX Cat 3-5) is the intermediate group faster and more experienced than C riders but not at

A pace yet. Open to USAC CX Category 3 and 4 riders, including one day licenses.

C (CX Cat 4-5) is the beginner group new racers or first time cyclocrossers should usually start

here and move to B when comfortable. Open to USAC CX Category 4 and one day licenses only.

Masters is for riders with a racing age (on Dec 31, 2014) equal to or greater than the

indicated age.

Masters A (CX-1-4) is often the second fastest group on the course, just behind the A race. Basically A

racers that are older and have family/career commitments.

Masters B (CX3-5) is generally a bit slower than B, as the average age is higher in the Masters group

For new racers eligible to race masters, you might want to try both C and Masters B to see which you

prefer.

PART 3: USA Cycling Cyclocross Upgrades Explained

A. Upgrade points

USA Cycling does not recognize North American Bicycle Racing (NABRA) or American Bicycle

Racing (ABR) sanctioned events for USAC cyclocross category upgrades or national ranking points.

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 upgrading points according to the table below:

UPGRADE POINTS AWARDED FOR CYCLOCROSS (USAC Rule 1D4)

Number of Starters

Placing 5-10 11-20 21-50 50+

1 3 4 5 7

2 2 3 4 5

3 1 2 3 4

4 - 1 2 3

5 - - 1 2

6 - - - 1


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A. Requirements for upgrading via points:

o 5-4-3: Experience in 10 qualifying races or 10 points in 12 months

o 3-2: 10 points in 12 months (two wins is an automatic upgrade with 11 racer minimum fields)

o 2-1: 20 points in 12 months (two wins is an automatic upgrade with 40 racer minimum fields)

USA Cycling may add additional requirements for upgrading at their discretion. Any such

changes shall be made available on their website. Requests for upgrades should be made

directly to USA Cycling.

B. Cyclocross Conversion

(USAC Rule 1D5) Cyclocross categories may also be upgraded by conversion from a rider !s

earned road or cross country category. If during the season, a rider upgrades his or her road

category or XC category, the cyclocross category can be upgraded to match.

PART 4: Prestige Series Rankings

A. Overall Series Points Classification

1. Individual Ranking

All categories will rank riders in the series according to points based on finish order. For

the series final on January 6, 2013, points will be awarded at 1.5 times the applicable points

schedule. Riders must be present at the series final to be eligible for the ovearall series prize list.

The best 10 results for each rider will be counted to calculate their series standing. In the case of a

tie in series points, the finish order from the most recent race will be used to rank the tied riders.

Points are non-transferable between categories in case of upgrades. Standings will be calculated

weekly on Mondays.

For Series Elite Men A and Elite Women A categories, no points will be awarded on UCI race

dates (October 26-27, 2013 and November 30, December 1, 2013) to comply with UCI

regulations (UCI 1.2.026) and allow riders to race in the UCI fields without risking Prestige Series

standings. All other categories will receive Prestige Series points on those dates.

2. Team

All riders from each team will have their individual points combined to give the team points total.

In the case of a tie in series points, teams will be ranked based on number of riders from fewestto most. Only riders sharing the same team name on race results will be combined for team

scores.

3. Points Schedule

Prestige Series Points will be awarded based on the schedule in part 7 of this document.


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Part 7: Points Schedule

Placing Points

1 21

2 19

3 18

4 17

5 16

6 15

7 14

8 13

9 12

10 11

11 10

12 9

13 8

14 7

15 6

16 5

17 4

18 3

19 2

20 1

A. Start OrderRiders may be called up in the order of current series ranking. Generally, the top 8 riders in a categorywill be called up. In races with combined categories, the number of riders called up may be adjusted tofit with staging requirements.

B. Pre-Registration

All riders are encouraged to pre-register to save time and race day registration fees. Discounted multirace season passes are available online at www.BikeReg.com.

C. Race Day RegistrationRegistration for all events will also be available on race day. An additional fee may apply to race day

registration. Click on the individual events to access the website links for their event information. RaceDay Registration, except for UCI fields closes 20 minutes before published start times for each race.

UCI fields close 1 hour before published start time.


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PART 5: UCI Masters World Championships Eligibility

A. Informational purposesUCI Masters Worlds regulations are not controlled by the Prestige Series, and are provided solely as

an advisory for possibly affected riders. Please see the USAC website (usacycling.org) or MastersWorld Championships website (www.louisville2013.com) for complete and updated regulations.

B. Racing Age

Must be CX Racing Age 30 or over

C. No UCI Points

Riders who appear in the UCI Cyclo-cross rankings or have earned UCI Points in the 2012 2013

season are ineligible for the Masters World Championships.

D. Other restrictions

1. Riders who participated in the UCI Elite Cyclo-cross World Championships, Continental Cyclo- cross

Championships or any UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup during the 2012 2013 season are ineligible to

compete at Masters Worlds.

2. Any rider who has been a member, during the 2012 2013 season, of a team registered with the

UCI in any discipline is ineligible for the Masters World Championships

3. There will be no ability category restrictions in order for riders to compete.

E. Licensing

1. Requirement

All racers will be required to hold a 2013 International Racing license. For U.S.-based Masters age

racers unaccustomed to this requirement, USA Cycling recommends beginning the application

process as soon as the 2014 licenses will be available for purchase December 1, 2013. The

international license allows riders to compete in domestic road, mountain bike, cyclo-cross and track

events; therefore riders will not need to purchase a separate domestic license for the 2013 season.

2. Process

The application process requires several steps including a signature on the international license

athlete release form and proof of nationality. Riders will need to make sure the signed waivers and

proof of citizenship are submitted to and processed by USA Cycling well in advance of the event. If

these are not received and processed, the rider will be "pended!in the system and will not be

allowed to compete.

What are the additional steps?

1. Once the international license has been purchased online at www.usacycling.org, riders will be

prompted to download, sign and submit the athlete signature page. This may be submitted to

USA Cycling via fax, email (scan) or postal mail.

2. Provide a copy of your birth certificate or valid passport for proof of citizenship. If a rider is just

renewing their international license, they do not need to provide a proof of citizenship if it !s already


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Part 6: Other information from USAC

A. Feeding

Feeding is not permitted unless specifically authorized by the Chief Referee [relegation or

disqualification for unauthorized feeding]. If authorized, there is normally no feeding in the first two and

final two laps of the race. Temperature of at least 68 degrees is recommended. Feeding only takes

place in the pit lane, unless the Chief Referee specifies otherwise.

(USA Cycling rule 5A16)

B. USAC Rankings system

A rider!s rankings are determined by averaging their 3 best rankings in a USAC race within the last 12

months. Points are based on race quality, determined by the 5 best ranked riders in the race rather

than the race category. Ranking points are used to determine start order at National Championships

for non-UCI ranked categories.

Please see the USAC Rankings FAQ at http://usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=6998 for fulldetails as the USAC rankings system is operated by USA Cycling.

D. Single Speeds

As per USA Cycling rule 1M1i A Single Speed is any type of bicycle possessing only one rear cog and

only one front chain ring and with no means of altering the gear ratio in any way for the duration of the

race.


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2013-14 socalcross prestige series riders guide

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