Otherwise known as CBR, we are a grassroots cycling organization whose mission is to grow the sport through the promotion of holding competitive, national events. We hold most of our events in Long Beach, California and hold other events throughout the Southern California region. CBR is a non-profit corporation classified as a 501(c)3 by the Internal Revenue Service. Most of CBR's income comes from the annual license fee that racers use in conjunction with attending our bike races. Having this annual license entitles the racer to deduct a portion of their entry fees, and the deduction is always stipulated in each of CBR's race flyers.
New racers are automatically assigned to the Category "V." Depending upon the race promoters' categories, a cat. V could race in a couple of races. For instance, CBR has found the Masters 40+ IV/V category to be a very successful category. Most of our new racers are over the age of 40, but they don't want to race with the younger Cat. Vs, so this racer has the option of racing with the 40+ IV/V. Racers not yet the age of 40 must race the Cat. V until they have the experience or the race upgrade points to move into Category IV.
No, there is no certification process or clinic that you must pass. Although we highly advise new racers to attend clinic, it is not compulsory. One of the things that we initiated was a free, Cat. V clinic that we have for our weekend events. this is held just before the start of the Cat. V race, and it is a very basic introduction into the sport of bicycle racing. Going to a bike race can be quite intimidating: there are many racers on a team, it seems like people know each other, and you feel like everyone knows more about this sport than you. The one thing to remember is this: every bike racer you see got there start somewhere. No one just wakes up and becomes a top-knotch racer. It takes time, training, and experience. CBR felt that not enough attention was placed on new racers being made to feel welcome into this niche sport, so we came up with the idea of holding a clinic, where we discuss many topics at a very quick pace. For instance, we welcome racers who don't belong to a team to approach us and ask us questions about joining a team. One consideration is the team's proximity to your neighborhood.
There are three age-graded categories: Junior [17 & below], Senior [18-29], and Master [30+]. There are five racing categories: five [V], four [IV], three [III], two [II], and one [I]. Cat. V represents the most novice category and Cat. I represents the top of the amateur racing "food chain." You're only other option after Cat. I is to acquire a professional license. Bike race promoters will sometimes define their category by age, by race, or a combination of both: for example, Masters 30+ I/II/III. This means that only racers who are over the age of 30 AND hold a racing category of I, II, or III can race this event. There is no Cat. V designation for women, so they are automatically assigned a Cat. IV because there are not as many women racers as there are men.
Some category upgrades can be done based upon experience, while most upgrades are based upon points. To upgrade by experience, a Cat. V must successfully finish ten qualifying races to acquire a Cat. IV upgrade. If a Cat. IV wants to upgrade to a Cat. III, then that racer must successfully finish twenty-five qualifying races to receive a Cat. III upgrade. A racer can also earn upgrade points by how well they finish in a race. Different races are assigned different point structures. For instance, a stage race and a road race has greater point-depth than a criterium. As a racer moves up in category, more points are required to upgrade. A Cat. IV needs 20 points to be a Cat. III, a Cat. III needs 25 points to be a Cat. II, and a Cat. II needs 30 points to become a Cat. I: but it doesn't just stop there. There are also field limits to consider when applying for an upgrade. For example, if you place 3rd in a bike race that only had 10 racers; it wouldn't count. A minimum field size limit is mandated to ensure that the race was competitive enough to justify the upgrade points. In a criterium, the upgrade points are awarded as follows: 1st (7pts), 2nd (5pts), 3rd (4pts), 4th (3pts), 5th (2pts), and 6th (1pt). A qualifying race must be a mass-start event, meaning that time trials are not used to award upgrade points.
This is to prevent "sandbagging." Sandbagging is when a racer belongs in a higher category but intentionally remains in a lower category to either satisfy their ego or to collect as much cash or as many prizes as possible. For our brand-new racers, CBR's greater emphasis is on experience and not prize money. The is why the Cat. V men and the Cat. IV women only receive medals. If we find someone sandbagging, we will automatically upgrade them and formally notify the USCF of the CBR category upgrade. If racers want to race for money, then they should race at the elite levels. Imagine what would happen if we awarded $1,000 to the top-10 Cat. V racers! There would be no real incentive to upgrade to Cat. IV, Cat. III, Cat. II, or Cat. I! We have categories that receive cash prizelists in between the Novice and Elite categories, and those prizelists take into account the probability of sandbagging versus the training needed to be competitive.
While some organizations are too busy looking for the next Lance, CBR focuses its efforts on motivating bike riders to become bike racers: local racing for the local racer. We do this by providing non-technical courses and holding many events where the new racers will become more adept and confident at racing. We do offer Elite racers the chance to race, but we intentionally keep the prizelist focused upon local racers. Since the cash prizelist is comprised of annual license fees, we want to make sure that the prizelist (for the most part) is returned back to the local racers. If we had a $10,000 Pro-Elite category prizelist, then racers would come out of the woodwork for a chance to grab that money. CBR's not there yet, and even if we were, we'd find another way to grow the sport and reinforce our 'grassroots cycling' mission of growing the sport.
El Dorado, better known as "Eldo," is a regional park in Long Beach, off the 605 Freeway/Carson Street exit. For the last twenty-two years, there has been a Tuesday Twilight Racing Series there. This race is held every Tuesday, from March to August. The race lasts for one hour, and starts just before dusk or "twilight." Because of the length of the 1.75-mile course, we can have three distinct categories racing at the same time. Those categories are: Pro-Elite.I.II.III, Masters 40+/Women, and Category IV/V. Those new to racing will observe a much more relaxed atmosphere that is quite different than the "race faces" one typically sees during the weekend. One notable difference is the 40+ category: the Tuesday race is not for ex-professionals, whereas the weekend 40+ races may have the likes of Thurlow Rogers, Mark Hoffenberg, Evan Teske, and Richard Meeker. While you might see those faces on Tuesday, they will be racing the Pro-Elite.I.II.III category. If you're over 40, then you have two racing options; you can race the Cat. IV/V or the Masters 40+. The Category IV/V have younger racers, while the 40+ category has new racers that are older. We generally advise the newer, older racers to participate in the 40+ category as that is a bit slower and better prepares them for 'getting their feet wet' in bicycle racing.
Yes, they do. CBR has a reciprocity agreement with the United States Cycling Federation (USCF), which also includes the USCF's local Southern California association, the Southern California-Nevada Cycling Association (SCNCA). The upgrade requirements are the same, so as long as each race (whether CBR or USCF) fulfills their requirements, those races can be used towards a race category upgrade.
BAR stands for Best All-around Racer. The BAR Series is comprised of a 'series' of events specifically centered upon the three most popular racing categories: The Masters 30+ I.II.III, the Masters 40+ I.II.III, and the Pro-Elite/I/II. These races have a multitude of other race categories, in addition to the BAR Series categories. The top-20 race finishers in each of the three categories receive points towards the overall cash prizelist of $1,500 that pays 10-deep. Only racers that hold a valid CBR annual racing license are eligible to receive these points. This is a reward system that was devised to return some loyalty back to those that supported CBR via a cash prizelist. Not only do these racers have the chance to earn some cash on race day, but also have the chance to receive more cash at the end of the Series. Usually, the BAR Series finale is held in conjunction with the CBR State Criterium Championships, and that takes place in August (the 3rd Sunday).
Even though only one person can win a race, bicycle racing is definitely a team sport. Some teams really have their act together, while it seems that some teams consist of a bunch of individuals who wear the same jersey. There are a variety of reasons why people select one team instead of another. Some people choose a team based on their neighborhood, the team's mission, racing goals, and their ability to mentor riders into racers. Let's say there's a cycling club that has a bunch of Cat. IV racers, but once those Cat. IVs upgrade to Cat. III, they join another club. Let's say that there's another club that has numerous national champions on their roster. As your cycling ability evolves, your team selection evolves, too. When you first started, you joined a club that really focused on showing you the bike racing basics. Once you mastered those tasks, you discovered that it was going to take another team to develop you into Cat. I or a Masters 55+ national champion. Each team or club has a specific quality that it markets to their members. Ideally, your cycling goals & the team's mission should be one of the same. Some teams primarily consist of Masters or Juniors, some are social-oriented, and some are racing-oriented.