2008-09 Riders Guide

PART 1: Rules and Regulations

Regulations:

All SoCalCross Prestige Series events shall be held under the 2008 UCI regulations: notably, safety, starting order, course guidelines, and duration of events.

Participation: The Series will offer the following categories:

1. Elite Men CX Cat 1/2/3

2. Elite Women CX Cat 1/2/3

3. CX Cat 3/4 Men

4. CX Cat 3/4 Women

5. CX Cat 4 Men ** NOW overall series category. Mandatory upgrade to 3 enforced.

6. Masters Women 35+

7. Masters Men 35+ CX Cat 1/2/3

8. Masters Men 35+ CX Cat 3/4

9. Masters Men 45+

10. Masters Men 55+

11. Junior Boys 10-14

12. Junior Boys 15-18

13. Junior Girls 10-14

14. Junior Girls 15-18

15. Singlespeed 1/2/3 * race together, scored separately.

16. Singlespeed 4 * race together, scored separately.

17. First timer/Beginners * not eligible for overall series awards

18. Open Category or themed race * not eligible for over all series awards

Upgrade points will be calclulated each week: Cat 4 to Cat 3 is mandatory. 3 to 2 is suggested.

Racing Age: A rider's 2008-09 racing age, according to UCI

5.1.001 The category to which the license-holder belongs on 1 January of the civil year following will be used for his participation in events for the whole season. or in other words, A rider's racing age for all categories is determined by his/her age on December 31, 2009.

PART 1: Rules and Regulations (Cont’d)

Classification:

· Points shall be awarded according to the Series Points Schedule (see below).

· A rider's best 7 results shall be counted towards the final classification.

· In the event of a tie on individual classification, the best placing in the most recent event shall be decisive.

Start Order:

· Riders may be called up in the order of current series standings (if time allows); otherwise, start line is first-come, first-serve.

Registration:

Pre-registration will be through SportsbaseOnline.com. Special discounted season passes are available. Registration for all events will also be each individual event. Click on the individual events to access the website links for their event information.

PART 2: Series Points Ranking Schedule

Placing	Points
1	20
2	17
3	15
4	13
5	11
6	10
7	9
8	8
9	7
10	6
11	5
12	4
13	3
14	2
15	1

Points will be awarded to the top 15 finishers at each of the Prestige Series races for all categories except First Timer and Fun race. In determining the overall series winners in each category, each rider’s final points tally will be based on the best 7 events.

PART 3: 2008-09 USA Cycling’s cyclocross categories

Your 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:

USCF Road Category

NORBA XC Category

2006 CX category

Beginner

Sport

Expert

Semi-Pro

Pro

If you had both a USCF license and a NORBA license in 2005, and your USCF road and NORBA XC categories would lead to two different CX categories, the higher of those two was used for your 2006 CX category. This change was made to acknowledge the tremendous growth and specialization in cyclo-cross, and the fact that road categories are often not indicative of CX ability. Given this possible discrepancy, 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.

PART 4: USCF Cyclocross Upgrades Explained…

1. USA Cycling Cyclocross Categories and Upgrades:

Cyclocross categories are initially established one of two ways:

1. For a rider licensing with USA Cycling for the first time, their 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:

If the rider has a USCF license, the algorithm is:

Road Cat 1 or Pro = CX cat 1 (formerly Elite A)
Road cat 2 = CX cat 2 (formerly Elite A)
Road cat 3 = CX cat 3 (formerly Intermediate B)
Road cat 4 or 5 = CX cat 4 (formerly Beginner C)

If the rider has a NORBA license, the algorithm is:
Pro = CX cat 1
Semi-pro = CX cat 2
Expert = CX cat 3
Beginner or sport = CX cat 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 XC category during the season, the rider’s CX category can be upgraded 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 upgrading points according to the table below:

UPGRADE POINTS AWARDED FOR CYCLOCROSS

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 (two wins is an automatic upgrade)

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

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