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Minneapolis, MN-

The new USA Cycling rulebook has been released. The biggest change has to do with the distribution of upgrade points, and new upgrade procedures for cyclocross. These changes will have an immediate impact on the Minnesota Cycling scene and abroad. Bikethrow investigates the changes and tells you all you need to know.

The following table is from ChicagoBikeRacing:

New USA Cycling upgrade guidelines

As you can see the most obvious change is the way in which the points are distributed for top finishers. Unlike past years where points were awarded systematically across the board for qualifying races, the new changes utilize field sizes in determining the weight of upgrade points. This means that traditionally small fields, such as, intermediate women, will now be able to award upgrade points despite only having 5-10 participants. It is also important to note that the overall point total needed for upgrades remains the same, with 20 points needed to Cat3 and 25 points for Cat2.

While the new point weights will have an impact this coming season, it is the new automatic upgrade point totals that will have the biggest impact on the local scene. No longer will cat3 riders be able to score 60 points before being forced up to the cat2s, they will now only have a 40 point limit. This means that there will be more fluidity in the local racing and help facilitate more growth across the board.

The other major change for the 2008 season are the new guidelines for cyclocross racers. These changes are radically different from the past season. The biggest change is that category 4 riders will only need to compete in 5 races before being upgraded to the category 3 ranks. This means that the category 3 field will soon become the largest field in the state and the category 4 race will become the beginner field.

Another interesting point to note is that USA Cycling has instituted a new rule in the Cyclocross upgrades that will allow for riders to instantly upgrade to a cyclocross category that matches their road license without having to work their way up through the ranks. An example of this would be a category 2 road rider instantly becoming a category 2 cyclocross rider without having to meet the minimum requirements. Unlike the road, cyclocross will force riders to upgrade to the higher levels (category 2 and category 1) after winning two races.

Thanks to Luke at ChicagoBikeRacing for informing us of the changes.