USA Cycling has decided that participation in the 30-34 Masters age group is not high enough at road and track national championships and has dropped the category from the programme for the 2012 season.
The decision was taken at a meeting held last month by the various Sport Committees, and is as a result of what USA Cycling states are ‘very full race schedules’ at the nationals, combined with a low turnout in the men’s and women’s 30-34 categories. It states that this will make the schedule more manageable henceforth.
“After careful vetting and approval by both internal staff and the USA Cycling road and track sport committees, the chronically low level of participation at masters road and track national championships led us to remove the category completely,” said USA Cycling’s Managing Director of National Events, Micah Rice in a USA Cycling-issue release.
“For example, this year at Masters Road Nationals, we had 25 men show up for the 30-34 criterium while our 40-44 and 45-49 fields had over 100 riders each. For the women’s 30-34 race, there were ten riders. The numbers at Masters Track Nationals were even smaller.”
Age groupings for the team pursuit and team sprint events will be modified as a result.
USA Cycling also announced three other changes. The first is the elimination of tandem track sprint national championships, which it states will see the International Omnium Track National Championships become a standalone event in order to preserve the number of races.
Youth licences will be sold for riders with an actual age of six through a racing age of nine in 2012, enabling them to compete. The definition of a ‘youth race’ has been set as one held on a closed course with a circuit of five kilometres or less.
In addition, USA Cycling stated that all riders of 12 years of age and younger must use mass start-legal bikes in all events, with aero bars banned, covers not allowed on wheels and at least 16 spokes being required.
The rules will extend to the 13-14 age group in 2013.