USA Cycling made some major changes to its regulations for 2017, and as the season gets underway, racers will find some new opportunities in the red ink. Most notably, there will now be a women's beginner category 5, and race radios will be allowed in category 2 events and above (with the exception of UCI 1.2 and 2.2 races, where the rules preclude them).
USA Cycling's technical director Chuck Hodge explained that the rules (highlighted changes available here) were decided upon after extensive discussions with stakeholders, and were approved by the board in December.
The addition of a women's category 5 is a major step for the development of the sport where previously, women had just one beginner category 4, and once they graduated were most often thrust into a combined Pro-1,2,3 category event.
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"I can't imagine going from category 4 to racing against someone who can win WorldTour races, but that is exactly what we've been subjecting women to," Hodge told Cyclingnews. "It's that drastic. This is one solution, giving women a benchmark. They can get a sense of accomplishment upgrading from 5 to 4, and hopefully become better prepared for the jump to category 3."
Because the rules were approved after many races had made their plans for 2017, Hodge thinks most events will simply combine category 4 and 5 women, but he sees the rules as giving more options for combined fields such as separating Pro 1,2 and women 3,4 and 5.
"It will take time for [local associations] to implement this and figure out what is best for their region, but we needed to be proactive and strengthen women's racing."
- The UCI overhauled rules for track racing, and USA Cycling's revisions reflect those changes, but mainly for the elite levels and national championships. "Where it makes sense, we use UCI rules - in particular for events that may select riders for international competition, for example, the national championships for juniors. Most grassroots racing will be unaffected," Hodge said.
- The 9-10 age group for national championships has been eliminated, but there will still be non-championship youth races.
- The 18 master's tandem road national championships events have been eliminated. USA Cycling will still run the Para tandem categories for sight-impaired athletes.
- USA Cycling eliminated the restriction on one-day licences for 'experienced' (riders previously licenced above cat 5), which was previously one per year. Racers can now choose to buy an annual licence or pay per race.
- Allows feeding in cyclo-cross races outside the pit area.
- Removes set call-up/qualifying rules for Cyclo-cross nationals, and specifies they will be published six months prior to the race.
- iPod/audio devices (separate from two-way race radio) are now explicitly prohibited in all races.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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