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USAC

124 comments · 1111 views
eloy
Sep 06, 2018 at 05:40 PM
I am not sure if this applies to anyone in Kissena (as you probably already have a 2018 license) but USAC is offering $30 savings if you now buy a 2018 AND 2019 license together:

https://www.usacycling.org/memberships/2018-19-2xcx

the idea is that there might be some riders that need a license for cyclocross.
eloy
Oct 17, 2018 at 09:56 AM
This Myerson Twitter thread is a good summary on the state of USAC -- from yesterday's sport committee meetings


eloy
Jan 07, 2019 at 07:33 PM

Rob DeMartini Addresses USA Cycling Core Membership

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJUl2T2FXWQ
mugwump
Feb 15, 2019 at 09:09 PM
Anyone notice the media grant in the waiver we're supposed to sign to get our USAC license?

I hate it.  

here it is in full:

"In consideration of and as a condition of USA Cycling Inc.'s (USAC) issuance of a license to me or acceptance of my applications for entry in events that it or Union Cycliste Internationale permits or sanctions, I grant to USAC, USA Cycling Development Foundation, and United States Olympic Committee (USOC), and their assigns, the right and a royalty-free license to film, video, photograph, reproduce, publish, distribute and otherwise use, in any medium and worldwide, my name and voice, pictures and likenesses of me, and biographical material on me. This Grant shall be binding upon me and my heirs and legal representatives. I am 18 years of age or older [19 in Alabama]."

As Captain Jack Sparrow said, 'there are only two things that matter in life, what a man can do and what a man can't do.'  I have found this to be true in the realm of contracts.  And this media grant is ridiculously broad.  
Bruce van-Schalkwyk
Feb 15, 2019 at 09:34 PM
I find it ridiculous you have to be 19 in Alabama.  Alabama!

The USAC wouldn't know what to do with a great image of me getting dropped.
Jules
Feb 15, 2019 at 11:30 PM
I agree JP it's outrageous. Much like everything they do. Then again, look who they learn from (cough UCI, cough ASO)...
eloy
Feb 20, 2019 at 06:29 PM
crazy long overdue

Jules
Feb 21, 2019 at 02:57 AM
Indeed
jim_nelson
Feb 21, 2019 at 11:45 AM
Sounds like the days of yelling into the dark "Have your license out!" are gone.
eloy
Sep 03, 2019 at 08:16 PM
Voting for the 2020 USAC Sports Committee at large positions closes this week...

These are essentially the people that represent you to USAC.

For what is worth, I voted for Joan Hascom for road, Bob Francis for Track, and Adam Myerson for cyclocross. Please vote for whoever you think works best, former Kissena and forever brooklynite Dave Sommerville is running for road..., for example.

cheers!

Kevin Man
Jan 29, 2020 at 01:57 PM
New upgrade points system!!!

So cat 4 is the new cat 5! Not literally...
Now you can upgrade to cat 3 with 20 pack finish within 3 years, which can include up to 3 grand fondos lol 

And in field of 70+ (Prospect park races) points up to 11th places!

https://forum.trainerroad.com/t/usac-changing-upgrade-policy/28874

https://www.usacycling.org/about-us/governance/policy-viii

So yeah!
I'm not sure if I totally agree with the whole thing but whatever.... 🤷‍♂️
Phil Maronilla
Jan 29, 2020 at 03:09 PM
Seems like a logical move to me to move more people up, or maybe what's the point since NYC races these days combine cat 3/4 anyway?
RobertPeras
Jan 29, 2020 at 03:28 PM
No more sandbagging! Right on!
Thierry Bonnaire
Jan 29, 2020 at 03:38 PM
Expect many crash fests when strong riders with horrendous bike handling skills sprint for 11th place.
AndrewJohnson
Jan 29, 2020 at 04:52 PM
Yeah the category changes and such has been discussed in NYSBRA for several months now... It's going to be.... Interesting to say the least.
Kevin Man
Jan 29, 2020 at 05:07 PM
Either way its not gonna stop me from trying to win my cat 4 races this year. 
Then I guess Ill be cat 3 by next year whatever that means. 

I wish the cat 4 to cat 3 was 20 pack finishes with 5 top 10 finishes would be better IMO. It'll better filtered racer thats not strong enough or have the skills to be a Cat 3.

All I know is cat3memes will have his hand full with upgrade memes this year!
DiegoSanchez
Jan 29, 2020 at 05:46 PM
Looks like I'm not going to be a Cat5 for long then. Still rather stay here for a while to gain experience.
Jules
Jan 29, 2020 at 11:37 PM
A symptom of plummeting membership.

I think the British system makes the most sense. Points expire and you slide down the scale if you don't earn more. 

Jules
Jan 30, 2020 at 12:17 AM
USAC Membership peaked around 70k (I believe) which is 70% higher than 2002. If you think 2002 is a floor then they could very possibly be down around 40k again.

I'm very curious to see a demographic and category based membership breakdown for USAC but unsurprisingly they don't release that.
RichFreeman
Jan 30, 2020 at 12:46 AM
Wonder if the move to include fondos (and then gravel) is to try to reverse that?
Jules
Jan 30, 2020 at 01:43 PM
The idea that you can use fondos to upgrade is fucking hilarious, by the way.
ian ellis
Jan 30, 2020 at 03:06 PM
@Jules In my day it took 20 points in a season to get from cat 3 to cat 2, and subsequently every season 10 points in cat 2 or cat 1/2 races to stay a 2, else you dropped back down to 3.
That should be the system here (or something similar)
JohnOlsson
Jan 30, 2020 at 03:13 PM
Sounds like they are shifting their priorities away from being an elitist org to a more inclusive one that supports multidisciplinary rider types
Jules
Jan 30, 2020 at 08:48 PM
It's not about elitism it's about selling tickets to races. Cat 4/5 field sizes used to be smaller so race organizers couldn't sell as many entries in the same amount of time.

The old system prioritized skills and safety relative (because there are plenty of other dumb unsafe things) to ticket sales.

Go ahead and hop into a Pro123 criterium and then tell me how useful Fondo riding is in preparing someone to do that safely.

As the average age of racers continues to rise (along with the average age of beginners) and the barriers to entry get removed I predict we'll see a significant rise in injuries per racer, and their severity.

Again, USAC doesn't collect or share that info.
eloy
Jan 30, 2020 at 09:47 PM
A few quick random thoughts around this.

I actually think the new system appears to be better.
  • The new upgrade is simpler, therefore easier to understand. 
  • The old skool system up to 2019, was that categorization followed talent growth, i.e: Junior < Cat 5 < Cat 4 < Cat 3 < Cat 2 < Pro < World Class < Olympics < GOLD! This is sweet, but in no way whatsoever matches the current demographic at all.
  • The new system better matches the current mostly masters demo
    • For example: mentioned on last weekend ride, turns out that for 2019 Patrick was the #1 ranked, 50-54 Cat 4 road cyclist in the US. The old system had no path for which he could upgrade. New system does -- doesn't that make sense?

re: Fondos/Gravel:

Sure, they are not necessarily competitive. And I have been a naysayer for years, but again, the landscape has changed so much from even a decade ago. They aren't that many amateur hard true road races anymore (Bear Mountain, GMSR remain, but Union Vale, Housatonic, etc, etc, all gone)

After 2018's Neversink, I was left hungry for awesome rides/races. Other than planning my own rides, the only organized events that could match that level of hardcore hard fun were Fondos or Gravel (ie there are no hard long fun epic races) So I did many more of them gravel events in 2019, will probably do the same 2020. It makes sense that some of that experience counts towards something. This also incentivizes these events to be under USAC.

And yes, that leaves out a ton of details and concerns, but USAC has to prioritize something. We can speculate about injuries, but in reality, we have a bigger problem/priority that up to 2019 we had a categorization system that did not represent the riders at all -- with most people reaching cat 4 forever. 

Promoters did get creative around this, by creating master fields that usually include the cat 4 field (i.e. Masters 1/2/3/4 is very usual) -- I expect that we'll see promoters gravitate towards a Pro/1/2; Cat 3/4 Fields, that essentially address Jules crashing concerns but give more room for promoters to decide who to cater to.

Ok so that was super long, sorry don't have lots of time ;)

Jules
Jan 31, 2020 at 12:08 AM
I'm a huge fan of categories for gravel races but the problem USAC needs to solve is relevance/value add for race promoters and TBH I'm still not seeing or hearing about that.

Having an over-large Cat 4 demographic is a real problem, but opening the top of the gate just changes the label on the riders, it doesn't solve the issue of skill development, or the underlying demographic lumpiness.

End of the day it sounds an awful lot like clothing manufacturers calling an old size 4 a new size 1...
eloy
Jan 31, 2020 at 01:24 AM
it is changing the label, but the pre 2020 labels where already arbitrary, perhaps relevant in 2003, but not anymore. This is recognizing that the old pre 2020 cat 4 vs. cat 3 did not have enough resolution for the actual demographic.

Yes, we could label them something else (cat 4a+ cat 4a cat 4a- or whatever) but they are also trying to simplify, it is an attempt to solve this, and better match what the actual USAC membership looks like.

The question of value is harder to answer, but this weekend, when we watch cx worlds, and Lizzie Gunsalus or Becca Fahringer finish in the top ten or omg better, please know that your money helped get them there. 
DiegoSanchez
Jan 31, 2020 at 04:13 PM

Jules
Jan 31, 2020 at 08:12 PM
The inferno at the end is perfect! @David Yang perhaps a Kraken would be even better ;)


David Yang
Jan 31, 2020 at 08:19 PM
My very poor Photoshop days are over!