New Mountain Bike Race Categories Announced

USA Cycling has announced new racer categories for events in 2009. The current categories - Sport, Expert, Semi Pro and Pro - will be replaced by: license categories 1, 2, 3, and Pro. The category numbering system is the similar to that used for USA Cycling road events, which includes cat 4 and 5 divisions.

Gary Fisher, industry representative on the NORBA (National Off-Road Bicycle Associaton) Board of Trustees, supported the proposed and accepted race category changes. Fisher stressed that by increasing the number of divisons, American mountain bike racers will better be able to advance through the ranks and improve their skills, which will hopefully lead to better results for U.S. riders on the international race scene.

The mapping from current to new categories will be as follows. Members currently categorized as Experts will automatically become a Category 1; Sport members will automatically be converted to a Category 2; and Beginners will automatically become a Category 3. Members currently categorized as Semi-Pro may choose either Category 1 or Pro designation for the 2009 racing season.

Visit the USA Cycling web site or see Velo News for further reading on the mountain bike racing category changes.