USA Cycling

USA Cycling Sanction

The 2011 Bell’s Beer Iceman is sanctioned by USA Cycling, permit number 2011-814. For 95% of Bell’s Beer Iceman riders USA Cy- cling sanctioning will have little impact on their Bell’s Beer Iceman experience.
For current USA Cycling mountain bike license holders, it means presenting their USAC license at packet pick-up will earn them a $5.00 rebate.

This year we will have USA Cycling officials at both the start & finish to assist with the operations at both ends of the race. Our start officials will ensure that all of the starts are fair and that riders are not trying to “work the system” in their favor. The finish line judges will be assisting Gault Race Management with the manual results scoring for the back-up data.

The two races that are directly impacted by the USA sanctioning are the men’s & women’s races in the afternoon. A USAC (or UCI) mountain bike “Category 1” or Professional license is required to race in the afternoon.

“Having the event sanctioned by USA Cycling helps it become more sophisticated” , said Steve Brown, Race Director. “Our Chief Referee, Dorothy Nichols, has really helped identify areas where we need to improve our systems. It’s not that we have doing things improperly over the last few years but we didn’t want to become complacent in our methodologies. It was really just a coincidence that we happened to change our categories last year that made it practical to pursue a sanction."

FAQ about the USA Cycling Sanction

I remember the long lines for a one day license way back when Iceman was sanctioned by NORBA. Do we have to go through all that again?

You don’t. Everything is handled electronically now and you will automatically race under a “One Day Permit” from USA Cycling.

Do I have to purchase an annual USA Cycling license?

No, you are not required to purchase an annual mountain bike license from USA Cycling. You can participate in all of the age based categories just like you have in the past without an annual license. However, if you do have a current annual USA Cycling mountain bike license, you can enter your license number in the USA Cycling License field in your Swift Entry account. If you don't have a USA Cycling license, simply leave that field blank and move on to the next data field. If you do have an annual USA Cycling mountain bike license, you will receive a $5.00 refund upon presentation of your license at packet pick-up. In order to compete in the Pro class you will need a valid "category 1" or "Pro" mountain bike license from USA Cycling or other UCI affiliated National Governing Body (such as the Canadian Cycling Association).

Include your USA Cycling license number on your registration form if you want to receive credit for your performance with USA Cycling. (For USA Cycling, when the results are sent to the Rankings Manager, the results are posted based on your license number. This posting is what is used to compute your regional and national ranking. Also, this information is what the Regional Manager uses to verify your category upgrade status.) Racing with a one-day race permit does not earn ranking and/or category upgrade points.

This all sounds complicated. I am not sure I want to go through all the hassle just for one race a year.

For 95% of Iceman riders, nothing has changed (and there's no hassle). You can show your DRIVERS' LICENSE at packet pick-up, grab your packet, and you are set to rock.

For those riders who are looking for the next level of competition, USA Cycling offers an opportunity to advance within the sport of cycling on a regional, national and international level. You can purchase an annual USA Cycling MTB license at www.usacycling.org (And you'll receive a $5.00 refund at packet pick-up by simply presenting your valid USAC mountain bike license).