Dear NCNCA Community,

We’re writing to update you on the Golden State Race Series. In response to feedback regarding the lack of Elite Women’s P12 field, Rio Strada Racing has added an Elite Women’s P12 field to the race schedule.

Due to the late change, the P12 Women will race alongside the P12 Men, but will be scored separately. These combined races will take place at 5:15 PM on both Saturday and Sunday and will each be 90 minutes in duration.

The added field is now available for registration on BikeReg. Please note that the individual time trial requires pre-registration, which closes tonight. In recognition of the last-minute nature of this addition, day-of registration fees will be waived for women’s P12 racers.

Background

We’ve heard feedback from our community regarding the original schedule for the Golden State Race Series and the absence of a dedicated Elite Women’s P12 field. We understand the strong feelings this generated.

The initial decision by Rio Strada not to hold a separate Women’s P12 field was based on several years of low participation in these categories at the 3-day series. For example, in 2024, only one woman participated in the full P12 series. The Rio Strada board, which includes both men and women, predicted similar numbers for 2025 and made the difficult decision to focus resources on the Women’s Elite 3, 4, 5, Masters 40+, and Juniors’ fields.

We want to emphasize that the recent addition of the Women’s P12 field is a direct result of the passionate responses that we received from many of you. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

We encourage the community to actively participate to ensure that the NCNCA can best support Norcal and Nevada cycling both now and in the future. A great opportunity to do this is by attending the public sessions at the beginning of every NCNCA Board Meeting. These meetings are listed on the online NCNCA calendar. We noted that this specific issue wasn’t raised during our public sessions.

Open and respectful dialogue is crucial for the board to understand and respond to the diverse needs of our community. We rely on volunteers who dedicate their time and best judgment, informed by the feedback we receive. We encourage you to bring your perspectives and concerns directly to the board, either at our meetings or by reaching out to us. We are present at races and within your local cycling communities.

We believe that through active participation and open communication, we can collectively work towards a stronger and more inclusive NCNCA.

Sincerely,

NCNCA Board of Directors