Collegiate categories and upgrade requirements generally follow the same guidelines as non-collegiate categories and upgrades. The most accurate, up to date information can always be found in the rulebook, but we’ve outlined much of the information below.

Riders in a Collegiate Race are eligible for USA Cycling upgrade points, so long as that Race meets all upgrade requirements, including field size and distance, specified by USA Cycling (see below and/or rulebook). Each Rider must request upgrades through his or her USA Cycling account online and provide proof of category at registration. Upgrade requests go through a Rider’s Conference Director or the Collegiate Manager [7H1d].

Some conferences have additional requirements. Always check with your conference director before upgrading.

Road
Track
Mountain Bike
Cyclocross

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ROAD

Initial Placement:

Collegiate Category	Non-collegiate USAC	Available for USA Cycling Road Upgrades…
		From	To
A	Pro, 1, 2, or 3 with 15 upgrade points as a 3	3	2
B	3, or 4 with 15 upgrade points as a 4	4	3
C	4	5	4
D	5	5	4
E	5	N/A	N/A

Note: Collegiate National Championship results may be used for upgrades from Category 2 to Category 1.

Upgrade Requirements:

Category	Requirements
D, E to C	Finished 10 massed-start races as D or Category 5 Or, holding a USAC Road license, Category 4 or higher
C to B	15 upgrade points from collegiate or USA Cycling races as a Category 4 or C Or, experience in 10 qualifying races with a minimum of 5 top ten finishes (in fields under 20 riders, top 50%) Or, 25 upgrade points in 12 months is a mandatory upgrade Or, holding a USAC Road license, Category 3 or higher
B to A	15 upgrade points from collegiate or USA Cycling races as a Category 3 or B Or, 30 upgrade points in 12 months is a mandatory upgrade Or, holding a USAC Road license, Category 2 or higher

Road Race Weekend Minimum – Riders must compete in 4 mass starts before upgrading. Exceptions can be made if the rider places in the top 3 for two races in a row in a collegiate weekend.

Qualifying distances for each category:

To qualify for upgrade points, races must meet distance standards. Races shorter than the minimum distance do not qualify for upgrading. However, if a road race is less than the road race minimum but above the criterium minimum, it will count for upgrading using the criterium points schedule. Points from G.C. places in stage races may only be used for Category 3->2 and Category 2->1 upgrades.

Category	Class	RR	Criteriums
5-4	Men Women	15 mi 10 mi	10 mi/20 min 10 mi/20 min
4-3	Men Women	25 mi 25 mi	15 mi/30 min 15 mi/30 min
3-2	Men Women	50 mi 40 mi	20 mi/40 min 15 mi/30 min
2-1	Men Women	80 mi 50 mi	30 mi/60 min 20 mi/40 min

Upgrade points awarded for criteriums:

Number of Starters
Placing	5-10	11-20	21-49	50+
1	3	4	5	7
2	2	3	4	5
3	1	2	3	4
4		1	2	3
5			1	2
6				1

Upgrade points awarded for road races:

Number of Starters
Placing	5-10	11-20	21-49	50+
1	3	7	8	10
2	2	5	6	8
3	1	4	5	7
4		3	4	6
5		2	3	5
6		1	2	4
7			1	3
8				2
9				1

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TRACK

Initial Placement:

Collegiate Category	Correlative USA Cycling Track Category	Available for USA Cycling Track Upgrades…		CollegiateTrack Upgrade Requirements for this category are the same as…
		From	To	From	To
A	Pro, 1, 2, or 3 with 15 upgrade points as a 3	3	2	4	3
B	3, or 4 with 15 upgrade points as a 4	4	3	5	4
C	4	5	4	N/A	N/A
D	5	5	4	N/A	N/A
E	5	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Note: Collegiate National Championship results may be used for upgrades from Category 2 to Category 1.

UPGRADE REQUIREMENTS:

Category	Requirements
C, D, E to B	Complete a Velodrome Class Or, complete 4 race days Or, holding a USAC Track license, Category 4 or higher
B to A	5 race days and 20 upgrade points Or, holding a USAC Track license, Category 3 or higher

Place	Points
1	7
2	5
3	3
4	2
5	1

ENDURANCE MOUNTAIN BIKE

OVERVIEW:

Collegiate Category	Correlative USA Cycling MTB Category	Available for USA Cycling MTB Upgrades…		Collegiate MTB Upgrade Requirements are the same as…*
		From	To	From	To
A	Pro, 1, or two top five finishes in Cat 2 or equivalent races (with field sizes of ten or more)	N/A	N/A	2	1
B	2, or two top five finishes in Cat 3 or equivalent races (with field sizes of ten or more)	2	1	3	2
C	3	3	2	N/A	N/A
D	None	3	2	N/A	N/A
E	None	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

GRAVITY MOUNTAIN BIKE

OVERVIEW:

Collegiate Category	Correlative USA Cycling MTB Category	Available for USA Cycling MTB Upgrades…		Collegiate MTB Upgrade Requirements are the same as…*
		From	To	From	To
A	Pro, or Cat 1	N/A	N/A	2	1
B	Cat 1 or 2	2	1	3	2
C	Cat 2 or 3	3	2	N/A	N/A
D	Cat 3	3	2	N/A	N/A
E	Cat 3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

UPGRADE REQUIREMENTS:

• Riders may advance as quickly as they wish up to Category B.
• Category C racers must move to Category B after placing in the top five in five races.
• Category B riders may move up to Category A after two top five finishes.
• Category B riders must advance to Category A after placing five top five finishes.

CYCLO-CROSS

OVERVIEW:

Collegiate Category	Correlative USA Cycling CX Category	Available for USA Cycling CX Upgrades…		CollegiateRoad Upgrade Requirements for this category are the same as…*
		From	To	From	To
A	Pro, 1, 2, or 3 with 15 upgrade points as a 3	3	2	4	3
B	3, or 4 with 15 upgrade points as a 4	4	3	N/A	N/A
C	4	5	4	N/A	N/A
D	5	5	4	N/A	N/A
E	5	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

UPGRADE REQUIREMENTS:

Category	Requirements
B, C, D, or E to A	10 upgrade points Or, holding a USAC Cyclo-cross license, Category 3 or higher

UPGRADE POINTS AWARDEDFOR CYCLO-CROSS RACES:

Number of Starters
Placing	5-10	11-20	21-50	50+
1	3	4	5	7
2	2	3	4	5
3	1	2	3	4
4	1	2	3
5	1	2
6

Cyclo-cross categories may also be upgraded by conversion from a rider’s earned road or mountain bike (endurance) category. If during the season, a rider upgrades his or her road category or XC category, the cyclo-cross category can be upgraded to match his or her road or XC category by request of the rider or by request of the administrator.

Collegiate CX Category Based on Road or XC Category
Road Category	MTB XC Category	CX Category
USAC 1, 2	USAC 1 or Collegiate A	Collegiate A
USAC 3, 4 or Collegiate A or B	USAC 2 or Collegiate B	Collegiate B
USAC 5 or Collegiate C, D, or E	USAC 3 or Collegiate C, D, or E	Colleciate C, D, or E