Upgrading Racing Categories

As the end of the road racing draws near, hopefully you look back and feel like it’s been a good season. You may even be thinking that next season you’re ready to move up from a category 5 to a category 4, from a 4 to a 3, etc. But how?

Each USA Cycling licensed racer has a separate category for road, track, and cyclocross. Upgrades for each discipline follow a separate set of guidelines based upon experience and results. As a new racer, upgrades are based mainly on experience, with the goal that cyclists advancing to the next category have the skills and fitness to be safe in the higher category. At higher categories, riders move up based upon results in their races.

Details on each upgrade process
While the official guidelines are a good measure of a rider’s potential for an upgrade, you may find some riders upgrade even if they don’t meet the official criteria. These exceptions can happen for many reasons—good and bad. If you have questions about your particular situation—or are eligible and want to upgrade—contact your Regional Coordinator.