Medals and jerseys await the new champions. (Image credit: Maurice Hessel)
Registration for the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships begins in just a few hours for Masters racers, at 12:01 AM Eastern Daylight Savings Time on Saturday.
The time of registration will, in part, determine the rider's starting position, although USA Cycling posted new rules to its web site clarifying the procedures for call-ups.
Masters racers will be lined up first by the defending National Champion followed by the previous year's top eight riders (if still in the same class). A previous champion moving into a new age group will displace the eighth placed rider from the previous year. "If any of the aforementioned riders are not participating, those spots will be filled by order of registration," the rules read.
"After the first row, start order will be determined by category and time of registration, beginning with all cyclo-cross category 1’s, then 2’s then 3’s, the 4’s. Within each category, placement will be by time of registion."
A rider's current category will therefore determine starting position, since the procedure states "Riders who upgrade from their time of registration will not be moved."
Registration for the remaining categories begins at 12:01 EDT Monday. UCI categories (Elite Men, Women, U23 Men and Junior Men 17-18) will be lined up with the defending champion first, the sorted by the UCI points accumulated at the time of the championship race. Riders with no points will be staged by registration time.
