Rider Category Changes

Due to the large number of riders in the B race, certain changes need to be made. We've attempted to give riders a chance to try out categories to see where they best fit in (see the Updated Categories post just below), but now we must act on that information.

Accurate Results
We are sticklers for accurate results. The B race is becoming too large for the commissaires to effectively manage. Other jursidictions sometimes have larger fields, but they use electronic chip timing which we can't afford and they generally pull riders as soon as they're lapped*. You might say let me race in the B race, I don't care about my results, but the other riders whose results you may adversely effect will not share the same view.

Interference With Other Riders
Lapped riders, no matter how careful, eventually interfere with the front of the race.

Safety
Safety is our foremost concern. You must be able to dismount and remount your bike at high speed in order to race in the B and A races. Dismounting is an essential skill. Not being able to dismount at speed creates especially dangerous situations for other riders. There were several very dangerous close calls on Saturday. If you need to work on your dismounting that's fine, but C is the race to do it in. We will organize a cross lab or two to help people with their skills, perhaps Thanksgiving weekend. Check back here for an update.

We re-balance categories regularly. All the races will be extremely competitive. As skills and fitness improve we move racers up.

Once the official results from Dark Cross are available I will post the uptodate category lists. If you have a question about your placement contact mca_cross at mts dot net.


*In the past, we have tried not to pull lapped riders. Without a re-balancing of the categories that would have to happen. It may still become necessary, but we are trying to avoid it. If you were pulled in the B race you would almost certainly have a much shorter race than if you rode 30 minutes in the C race.