USA Cycling has tried different methods for establishing start orders for National Championships the past few years. While Elite racers have a UCI point system that makes ranking and positioning easy, non-UCI and age-based racers first endured the “race to registration” – whereby the front row was determined by the previous year’s results, but everyone else got their spot on the grid based on when they signed up online – then for 2010 had a time trial the day before the main event determine lineup.
USAC has talked about implementing a point system for non-UCI races for a while now, but it’s not an easy system to implement; different regions treat age splits and categories differently, making it tough to compare apples.
Hot off the presses, USAC now has a solution. The question many have is how racers in non-USA Cycling areas like Colorado, Oregon and the Bay Area in California will fare in such a system? Have an opinion? Drop a comment below.
From USAC:
Start order for Cyclo-cross Nationals to be determined by revamped USA Cycling Rankings System
Start order for all non-UCI categories at the 2012 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships will be determined by rider ranking using the organization’s new, improved rankings system to debut Sept.1.
Cyclo-cross will be the first USA Cycling National Championship to use the remodeled rankings system to resolve call-up order for all race divisions other than junior 17-18 and elite. Following member feedback, this method of seeding aims to offer the most equitable and concise call-up procedure possible and does signify a departure from the previous approach of utilizing time trials, random drawings or based on when a rider registered online for Cyclo-cross National Championships.
USA Cycling’s new rankings system is set for public launch September 1, 2011. The rankings system will use an innovative algorithm to rank riders based on their results compared to other competitors rather than using an arbitrary event value. The new system will allow riders to achieve a ranking, based more on how well they race rather than how often. Rider rankings will be derived from an individual’s average of his/her top three results within a rolling 12 month period. More details on the revamped rankings program will be released in the coming weeks prior to the debut of the new system.
To ensure as fair and accurate a process as possible, USA Cycling is requesting all cyclo-cross race directors to submit results to USA Cycling in an accurate and timely fashion.
Basic instructions for submitting race results are available on the Race Directors page of usacycling.org.
