USA Cycling recently announced that all NORBA and USCF category racers will now see a cyclo-cross category designation on their licenses.
Beginning with the 2006 season, all USA Cycling licensees now have a cyclo-cross category on their license. The additional designation is the first phase of a new system where cyclo-cross is counted as a separate racing category and upgrade points are awarded in cyclo-cross events for that category.
If you are a new racer, then your cyclo-cross category will start as a 4. Just as in road and track events, you can upgrade to a 3 by earning points in cyclo-cross races. If you had a 2005 USCF or NORBA license, then you were issued a 2006 cyclo-cross category when you renewed.
If you had both a USCF license and a NORBA license in 2005, and your USCF road and NORBA cross-country categories would lead to two different cyclo-cross categories, the higher of those two was used for your 2006 cyclo-cross 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 cyclo-cross ability.
For more information about the new cyclo-cross licensing designation and upgrading through the next cyclo-cross categories, visit USA Cycling's Web site - www.usacycling.org.
