And also the points are different now too, i.e. use points table instead of 10 mass starts = 10 points.
As far as I know, thereās never been a place that keeps your upgrade points listed, the USAC site just has your race resume listed under your profile (My Account > Racer Links). Iāve always just gone to the results, then calculated my points via my own spreadsheet. You can try road-results, but it may not be 100% accurate based on starters/mixed cat/etc
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Hmmmm. So this would essentially make it harder to graduate from Novice to Cat 4 as itās about finishing high not just finishing in general. That actually kinda sucks because a lot of my local races have multiple opportunities for Cat 4 racing in one day, but only one opportunity for Novice/Cat 5 in a day. Guess Iāll be Novice forever. 
You can self select upgrade from 5->4. Doesnāt get any easier than that 
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I wonder what the voluntary upgrade from Novice to 4 will do for points giving clinics.
This upcoming season will be my first road season and I am making an effort to go to races that have a clinic beforehand because I think I need the instruction, but also it wouldāve given me more upgrade points. 1 point for the clinic, 1 point for the race.
I wonder how many people will skip clinics that they would have done without this change. Maybe the clinics arenāt very popular, so this doesnāt change anything, but I would think they would want to encourage new riders to go to the clinics and this might demotivate some.
It says that 10 points in 12 months are mandatory for the upgrade in the PDF from OP.
EDIT: Oh wait, unless that means that if you accumulate that many points you MUST upgrade. Not that you must meet that point total to upgrade. They should really clarify their language.
I went to clinics last year (my first year racing) and I would have done them regardless of if I earned an extra point or not. I thought they were very valuable and would encourage any new racer to attend them. (obvious caveat of n=1)
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I havenāt been to any but I totally agree. Iām worried this change might demotivate people that are on the fence about going to a clinic.
Do you feel most people feel the same way you do? And people will do them even if they donāt need the points cause they can voluntarily upgrade?
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āA rider may be downgraded by USA Cycling for the following reasons: unsafe ridingā
Maybe we will see forced downgrades? Which Iāve never heard of before.
Not my experience at all. I asked for an early upgrade in 2018 after 6 races (5 podiums including 2 wins), 1 beginner rider clinic as well as an international drafting triathlon career (world series and world cup level) and I was denied. I was driving all over Southern California to get my 10 starts. It then took me just 3 races to reach the 3ās.
Since I literally just earned my last points for a cat 1 upgrade under the old system, I am a little bitter that itās become so much easier to move up through the categories (so it appears anyway). With that said, I think it is a good move and wonāt turn off more experienced and talented riders that are both strong and have plenty of āraceā experience from hard group rides from doing a race here and there. Now with just a few races, they can be out of the 4ās if theyāre strong enough.
So if someone is riding āunsafeā, USAC is going to move them into a lower category to race with less experienced riders who donāt have as much skill to avoid dangerous riders? Thatās just dumb. If someone is riding so dangerously to warrant a downgrade, they should be suspended.
Before people say that these unsafe riders just need more experience in the lower ranks to hone their āskillsā, Iāll call BS on that 95+% of the time. Most of the really dangerous riders (particularly Cat3 and up) are dangerous because they use questionable race tactics or they are too aggressive. Those issues are better addressed by more experienced riders correcting their behavior. If they donāt straighten out, they should e suspended. Using a lower category as the penalty box for these kind of people isnāt fair to the racers in the lower categories.
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I agree. As I said, I think the answer would be ānoā, but I might ask anyway.
āVoluntary Upgrade at willā
The language under that makes it sound like you still need 10 points to upgrade. Meaning you could voluntarily remain Novice even if you had the 10 points. Thatās how I understood that table. I understand that is wrong now but the editor in me feels if one person misunderstood that, then others likely will too.
I donāt see a restriction on acquiring points from junior races. Iām currently a cat 4 (on road), so Iām curious what results I can use towards my next upgrade?? [This will be my second season of racing and my goal is to be a cat 3 by the end of this road season.]
I certainly hope so! Iām going to some practice races this spring (Iām in MI, so race season is still a ways off 
), so itāll be interesting to see the turnout for the clinics that are held on the same morning.
The Voluntary and Mandatory upgrade requirements are separate and donāt rely on each other. So for Road, going Novice to cat 4, itās and either/or situation. You can upgrade at will OR you get a mandatory upgrade (theoretically this should be automatic) if you reach 10 points in a year. Theyāre mutually exclusive. The USAC chart on the website maybe makes it clearer because theyāre side by side, but the two ārequirementsā are not together. Meaning you can stay Novice forever if you never reach 10 points in a 12-month span. USAC upgrades were like this in the past, with a Voluntary or Mandatory requirement, this isnāt new.
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Also, thereās a stipulation that you can use clinic points towards a 4>3 upgrade, and theyāre not erased. So even though going Novice>4 you reset your points to 0, clinic points carry over. So hopefully, that incentivizes going to the clinic regardless of whether you take the immediate upgrade or not. So for somebody that would take the at will upgrade to 4, thinking theyāll do the clinics as a 4 to get upgrade points, they can do the clinics as a Novice and those points will carry over and still count towards a 3 upgrade later. Maybe get some people to do the clinics as a Novice before upgrading.
" Riders who have upgraded will start with a zero race points balance in their new category. Where indicated in the policies, clinic points may be carried over (road and track 4>3)."
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It used to be on there then it got removed a few years ago.
My understanding is that now, there is no distinction for mixed categories and DNFs. You just count everybody for field size. Any race starter, regardless of category and finish, is counted towards field size for points. Which makes it a lot easier to calculate.
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