USA Cycling is at it again. They recently announced a new category system for competitive Mountain-Biking. The announcement comes a year and a half after the National Mountain Bike Calendar was implemented to achieve the same basic goal; Make the US MTB pros relevant again. My knee jerk assessment is that the change will have no effect. But rather than leaving it at that I’ve pulled a couple of qoutes for a closer look. What comes out a little more clearly is a subtle shift in the struggle between cycling as a Spectator v.s. Participant sport.

First the new break down becomes Pro (self explanatory), Cat 1 (not good enough to be Pro), Cat 2 (too good to be a beginner), and Cat 3 (beginner). The old system consisted of Pro (again self explanatory), Semi-Pro (um sort of Pro), Expert (the best of the rest), Sport (everything from Pro roadies to beginner’s with too much ego to race beginner), and Beginner.

Now on to the quotes.

“Ultimately, the NORBA Board of Trustees spearheaded this evolution in order to make racing more competitive and create a clear distinction between amateur and professional athletes. The names of the categories were also revised to better reflect the new levels of racing. The terms ‘Beginner’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Expert’ carry little relevance outside of the mountain bike community, which makes it difficult for sponsors and the public to relate. The simplicity of using numbered categories brings with it a universal understanding.”

The message here is fairly straightforward if broken down. The main point is creating a clearer distinction between pro and amateur races. This change marks a decisive shift from cycling as a participant-centric sport.  Previously the only category that stood out was Beginner. Pro, Semi-Pro, Expert, and Sport where descriptive but they didn’t provide an obvious hierarchy. With the changes in place it is clear that the Pros are at the top. Spectators will know which race to watch. And it is plausible that sponsors will have an easier time cutting a check for a race will real Pros instead of Semi Pros. It will be nice to no longer have to wonder wonder why Pros aren’t considered experts if they realy are the best. But in doing so we’ve removed the reassuring, everyone is welcome, Beginner-sign for those at their first race.

Quotes 2 and 3.

“We want bigger pro fields in the National Calendar events so our racers can better prepare for international competition like World Cups and World Championships,” said Fisher. “Our pro fields are tiny compared to our European counterparts. We have the numbers in terms of ridership, but we’ve been referring to them as Semi-Pros.”

“Throughout the last several years, we’ve been discussing ways to improve the quality of races in the U.S. and increase competition,” said Horgan-Kobelski. “This change will result in deeper pro fields, but will also produce an extremely competitive atmosphere among amateurs. The Category 1 designation itself becomes a more prestigious field with talent indicative of up-and-coming pros. The change also simplifies things for race organizers who can now offer fewer categories, while at the same time improving their event.”

The Pro category will likely get a small bump in numbers be dissolving the Semi-Pro category. My guess however, is that the bigger movement will be in downgrades. Most semi-pros are not the young and up-and-coming. They are the experienced racers who train hard, race harder, but have to go back to a 9-5 job after the weekend is over. They’ve already made a conscious decision not to race pro. Ultimately, the swelling of the lower categories is more likely to push talent down into Category 3. Like road racing the danger is the loss of a category for the true “Beginner” to show up and not get shelled. Encouraging competitiveness is a weak argument as the category does not make the racer but the other way around.

As for simplifying events for the sake of quaility I see both sides. Although everyone wants to be competitive, simply finishing does not make for a satisfying podium placing. But lumping categories (and their entry fees) to be able to offer the Pros a bigger is not a sustainable long term fix. 

As a bit of a sidenote, if the Pro’s need to be better prepared for crappy start spots in international races they could just line up behind the lower categories. Then before the start it could be announced that any Pro who yells “Pro rider back (i.e. get the hell out of my way)” will get smacked upside the head with a frame pump.

Again, the new scheme is likely to have little effect on the MTB race scene. Looking into the future, the scheme does lay the groundwork for an eventual seperation of Pro and Ameture Cycling. Not necessarily a bad thing. But at this time Actual “Pros” with no other job, who race international events, are a small fraction of even the “Pro” field.  Their small numbers and even smaller public impact factor dictate that their existence will weigh on the backs of ameture cyclists for the forseeable future. So in the meantime any attempt to cater to them should be considered carefully for any potential negative impact on core of MTB, the average participant.