In 2023, the NCNCA BOD is trying to have better communication and explanation of the decisions being made and conversations taking place during board and committee meetings (which are open to the public).
Recently, we have had riders asking for clarity on the Masters Men’s categories, the new Women’s Road Race format, and the vision and goals of the NCNCA BOD.
The NCNCA BOD created standardized categories for 2023 racing, designed to create equitable opportunities for racers of all ages, genders, and experience levels. These categories are required for a race to be in the Premier Series, and recommended for all other NCNCA races. Opting to use these categories creates consistency from race to race, so riders know what to expect when registering. (view the linked document at the bottom for the full explanation of Standardized Categories)
NOTE: BAR Categories and Standardized Categories are different. There are more BAR categories than there are Standardized Categories. Standardized categories are made up of certain BAR categories, and offer guidelines for promoters on how to group fields together in a time-constrained race day.
Road races generally have fewer time constraints and fewer concerns over combined fields, so this summary will focus on the crit race standardized categories. However, there is an update to Women’s Road Races and this will cover it as well.
New this year, some road race promoters are running a new format for Women’s Road Races – two distances (a “short” and “long” course) that are open to all categories (P/1/2/3/4/N). This is designed to encourage more participation in whatever distance is most appealing, without limitations by category. This is also designed to increase field sizes and opportunities for upgrade points. Traditional format women’s road races are still on the calendar. These races have combined categories in order to maximize field size, which makes for a more competitive and interesting racing experience.
There are 3 Standardized Categories for women’s crit races. They are designed to maximize opportunities to race for Cat 3 riders, and give higher category Master’s women the choice to race with the Cat 3s, the P/1/2/3s, or both. The 4/N category also ensures less experienced riders have similarly skilled peers to race and learn together with.
There are 6 Standardized Categories for men’s crit races (which can be reduced to 4 Categories if the promoter is facing constraints but this is not recommended). These are designed to have similarly skilled riders racing in the same events, and prevent huge fields in the Novice and Cat 4 categories. There was an issue last season where Cat 4s were lapping Novice racers immediately and impacting newer riders’ abilities to learn how to race. We suggest separating Cat 4 and Novice races to create a better experience for both categories.
The most frequently asked questions fielded this year by promoters and the BOD center around Master’s Mens BAR categories, and our recommended Standardized Categories. The Master’s Mens BAR categories are 35+ 1/2/3, 50+ 1/2/3, 60+ 1/2/3/4, and 35+ 3/4. For crits we suggest a 35+ 1/2/3 and a 50+ 1/2/3 (which can be combined into one race if circumstances require) and promoters can add additional ones at their preference.
The 30+ BAR category was removed because it was unanimous on the Board that 30 year olds do not need a Master’s category classification. The highest BAR category is now 60+ because there was feedback that a 55+ BAR category as the highest age group would have too wide a spread of abilities. Instead of doing a 35+, 45+, 55+, the decision was to go with 35+, 50+, 60+. The two points that were discussed in this decision were 1) the number of racers in the extended age range field, and 2) possible skill differentials between the youngest and oldest racers. Using race data from the prior season, it was established that there are not significant numbers of racers in the 35 – 40 year age range, so adding them into the 40 – 50 year category wouldn’t create massive fields, and that the younger racers in the category were not significantly faster than the racers at the higher end of the category, therefore the concerns over speed differences were also settled.
A concern that was brought up during a public session in a BOD meeting: promoters combining the 35+, 50+, and 60+ Master’s Mens fields into one race. To preface, the BOD can’t explicitly prevent promoters from scheduling a race how they want to schedule it, but we can encourage using various methods (such as BAR/BAT eligibility, Premier Series eligibility, being on the NCNCA website calendar, etc.). We do not and have not recommended that promoters combine these three races together — in situations where promoters may face a time crunch, we would only recommend that a promoter combine the 35+ and 50+ fields.
However, we did not explicitly tell promoters to avoid a 35+, 50+, and 60+ combined field, and moving forward that is a reasonable clarification to make. We can also recommend that promoters have a 35+ and 50+/60+ field, which is a slight tweak to the current recommendation of the 35+ and 50+ fields.
The BOD has pitched other ideas for Masters Men’s races, with initial positive feedback from racers attending the BOD meeting. One proposal — for crits with enough time (where they normally would have had two Master’s Mens categories of 45 minutes each) have the 35+, 50+, and 60+ races separate but have each of them be 30 minutes long. This would minimally increase the length of the race day, and explicitly split apart the categories. It would make the races shorter, but they would be purely the age category field and racers could race more than once. As with most things, it’s hard to know how well or poorly this would work until it is implemented and we gather feedback. Races later this summer and fall (that aren’t currently through the permitting process with USAC) could be potential locations to test this out.
Next, the BOD’s vision for the future. All of us as individuals have specific focuses and expertise, but we recognize the need to grow road racing as it faces decreased participation at both a national and local level. Youth riders are coming through NICA and adult riders are choosing gravel over road racing. Right now, the BOD is trying to encourage and provide space and opportunity for Junior riders and women, as these are underrepresented groups that are showing skyrocketing participation growth in other cycling disciplines. We know that without that space set aside, Juniors and women will not see growth. Even with that space set aside, growth may be stagnant or slow — but we believe it’s important to try. We also want to keep our current racers who have been with us for many years. This is a balancing act and we appreciate the understanding and support from the racers in this district.
The NCNCA Board of Directors is working this year to set out goals and a vision for the future of our district, while better communicating both the work that we do and better marketing our sport. This is a work in progress. We’re tackling the website — such as a FAQ page (where we can cover the things talked about above), and also bring the site into the 21st century. We’ve started an email newsletter. We’re organizing social media around the Premier Series. All of these things are just getting off the ground.
Thank you for your support. Our Board meetings are the third Monday of every month at 7pm PT and open to the public.