West Coast Cyclocross Points Prestige

Race Schedule

Historically, the West Coast has had few opportunities for cyclocross racers to earn points through the USA Cycling ranking system. While our company, Clipped In Races, has organized and promoted the Sacramento Cyclocross series as a grassroot series for the past five years, we hear frustrations of some of our racers - especially given that USA Cycling National Championships are coming to Tacoma in December 2019.

After looking at exactly how USAC ranking points are calculated, we decided to develop a new series: The West Coast Cyclocross Points Prestige.

Our goal for this series is two-fold:

Give amateur, West Coast-based cyclocross racers the best shot possible to get USAC ranking points
Give select West Coast-based professional cyclocross racers a crowd-sourced monetary kick-start to their season

To accomplish this, we have combed through the USA Cycling Results and Rankings FAQ page, and optimized every part of our series based on their calculations.

The West Coast Cyclocross Points Prestige Schedule

Date	Start Time	Category	USAC Cat	Length	Field Size	Prizes
Race #1 - Presented by West Sacramento Cyclocross Grand Prix (and Punk Rock Music)						Results
August 16	6:00 pm	Men	4/5	30 min	125 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 16	6:00 pm	Women	4/5	30 min	125 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 16	7:00 pm	Men	1/2/3	45 min	150 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 16	7:00 pm	Women	1/2/3	45 min	150 combined	Top 3 Medals
Race #2 - Presented by Squid Bicycles (and Donuts with Sprinkles)						Results
August 17	9:00 am	Men	1/2/3	45 min	150 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 17	9:00 am	Women	1/2/3	45 min	150 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 17	10:15 am	Men	4/5	30 min	125 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 17	10:15 am	Women	4/5	30 min	125 combined	Top 3 Medals
Race #3 - Presented by TBD						Results
August 17	6:00 pm	Men	4/5	30 min	125 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 17	6:00 pm	Women	4/5	30 min	125 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 17	7:00 pm	Men	1/2/3	45 min	150 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 17	7:00 pm	Women	1/2/3	45 min	150 combined	Top 3 Medals
Race #4 - Presented by TBD						Results
August 18	9:00 am	Men	1/2/3	45 min	150 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 18	9:00 am	Women	1/2/3	45 min	150 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 18	10:15 am	Men	4/5	30 min	125 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 18	10:15 am	Women	4/5	30 min	125 combined	Top 3 Medals
Race #5 - Presented by TBD						Results
August 18	11:30 am	Men	1/2/3	45 min	150 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 18	11:30 am	Women	1/2/3	45 min	150 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 18	12:45 pm	Men	4/5	30 min	125 combined	Top 3 Medals
August 18	12:45 pm	Women	4/5	30 min	125 combined	Top 3 Medals

Location: All races will be held at Gibson Ranch Park in Elverta, CA. (Google directions) Please note there is a $5 daily fee for entrance to the park.

Accommodations: We have negotiated room rates with local hotels in conjunction with this series. Please mention the West Coast CX Points Prestige when booking!

Food: We have a limited number of weekend-long food packages available for pre-purchase. Food will be made by cycling enthusiast and Executive Chef of El Fira Wood Fired Foods, Jeff Anderson. Here's his tentative menu plan.

Courses: This series will features Classic European Cyclocross courses with a paved start/finish, rolling grass hills, technical climbing and descending, natural run-ups, and sand. All races will finish in the same location, but we will have three different races courses (with two of them being run backwards), so each race will be a different experience.

Callups: Callups will be as follows: Rows 1 & 2 will be our invited pros. Rows 3 - 5 spots will be raffled off (new winners each race). Raffle tickets can be purchased when you register, or before the start of each race! Remaining racers will be called up for Friday's race based on current CrossResults rankings (click here for preliminary callup order). If something is wrong/incorrect with your CrossResults ranking, please let us know by 11:59 PM on August 15th by emailing jennifer@clippedinraces.com. Changes will not be made after that time. Saturday and Sunday call-ups will be based on standings in the previous race, with the order posted at registration one hour before race start.

Cost:The price for all five races is $189. For comparison, five SacCX "race credits" (that are good at any of our Sacramento Cyclocross races with no transfer fees!) is $165. We'll have $24 of additional expenses incurred by sanctioning through USAC (insurance surchage, application fees, officials fees, etc.)... hence the price of $189. Please note: Because West Coast CX Points Prestige is an entirely separate series from the Sacramento Cyclocross race series, credits are not transferable between events.

Sacramento Cyclocross racing at Gibson Ranch Park in 2017. Photo courtesy of Jorge Flores.

Let Us Explain How We Got Here

We have explored the idea of sanctioning our Sacramento Cyclocross series through USA Cycling since we took over the series in 2014, and in 2016 we even persuaded USA Cycling to allow us to sanction our A and B races! Unfortunately, the structure USAC mandates for sanctioned races does not fit with the whole Sacramento Cyclocross series, as we outlined in our 2017 Open Letter to Cyclocross racers.

But we've been listening to what a select group of West Coast cyclocross racers want: USA Cycling points. And to better serve our points-seeking racers, we've designed a series just for them. Here's how and why we've set up this series the way we have:

Optimizing USAC Points

	The USAC Rulebook	Our Solution
Best 5 Races	Your ranking is the "average [of] your top five rankings from events within the last twelve months." (Please see FAQ #13)	So we present to you, those five races in one weekend!
Race Quality	The first part of the points calculation is the Race Quality which takes "the five best ranked riders from the top 10 finishers, average their rankings and multiply that by 90 percent to create the quality of the race." (Please see FAQ #2)	So we are actively recruiting highly ranked West Coast Cyclocross Men Racers and West Coast Cyclocross Women Racers to participate in this series, to optimize the Race Quality value! You can view the current list of confirmed participants, and if you are (or know!) someone who qualifies and would like to receive an incentive to participate, please email Clint Claassen.
Total Finishers	The next part of the calculation has to do with how many finishers there are.In short, age groups or license categories don't factor in at all. (Please see FAQ #8)	So we are running fields of 150 for Cat 1/2/3 and 125 for Cat 4/5. How else can Masters racers benefit from racing with the top-ranked racers on the West Coast? Plus, have you ever raced in a huge field like this? So. Much. Fun.
Enticing the Pros	To improve everyone's ranking we need "riders who are currently ranked stronger" for everyone else to compete with. (Please see FAQ #15)	We're doing a weekend-long raffle, with all of the proceeds going to invited Pro racers to help kickstart their season as they travel all over the United States (and the world!) to get points. We're piggybacking on the points they've worked hard to gain, so we figure it's only fair to give back! To this end, we will be raffling off 18 callup spots for rows 3 - 5 at each race! Please consider chipping in as we all work together to evelvate the West Coast point profile!

Our Invited Pro Racers

We have invited a select group of West Coast Pro Cyclocross racers to compete in this series. Below are the racers who have confirmed they will be in attendance. We're grateful to them for the hard work they've put in, and are thankful for their support of this series!

Nathan Barton

Auburn, CA
Voler/Easton/HRS/Rock Lobster
Strava Profile
nathan_mtb
nathan.barton.1232
Read Nathan's Bio

Nathan Barton was born and raised in Auburn, California. He started off his cycling career as a cross country mountain biker, competing in the NICA NorCal high school mountain bike series holding the overall NorCal leaders jersey for the four years of racing in high school. After the high school league he continued racing in the pro field in local and national races, traveling to many of the Pro XCT races in the United States. After three years racing mountain bike he decided to give Cycle Cross a try in the season 2018. He started with the local races, Rodeo cross, and Sacramento Cyclocross. He then decided to race the West Sac UCI race, starting dead last he worked his way up to top ten which had a large showing of pro's from all over the country. Finalizing the season he flew out to North Carolina for a UCI race and Nationals in Louisville Kentucky finishing 17th in U23.

Caitlin Bernstein

San Francisco, CA
McGovern Cycles/Easton/Velocio Apparel/White Industries
Strava Profile
cdawg936
Read Caitlin's Bio

Caitlin comes to Cyclocross with a background as a competitive skier and mountain biker. In her short Cyclocross career thus far, she's worked her way up the local ranks into UCI racing. She has a handful of top 10 UCI results to her name, including a 10th place finish at 2018 National Champs. Caitlin balances her racing with a career as a Recruiter at Strava. After an injury sidelined her for most of 2018, she's now healthy and excited to dive into a full season of Cyclocross in 2019!

Kobi Gyetvan

Napa, CA
Strava Profile
kobigyetvan
kobi.gyetvan
Read Kobi's Bio

Kobi Gyetvan was born in Napa, California in 1998 and is currently studying business marketing and studio art at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. He began cycling at the age of 14, racing the DFL series and slowly progressed from the local California cyclocross scene, to racing at UCI events across the country.

Kobi has competed at three Cyclocross National Championships both in the U23 category as well as representing Fort Lewis College in the collegiate category. Kobi also represented Fort Lewis College at the 2019 Collegiate Road Nationals.

He also loves racing criteriums, mountain biking, snowboarding and cooking.

Max Judelson

Berkeley, CA
Voler/Easton/HRS/Rock Lobster
Strava Profile
maxjudelson
max.judelson
Read Max's Bio

Max Judelson, a New York State native, began racing mountain bikes at 13 years old, and was crowned State cross country champion in 2001. After a few more seasons in the Junior Expert field, Max took a sabbatical from bike racing. He worked as a messenger in New York City and Paris. 10 years later, after receiving his Bachelor’s of Music from the Boston Conservatory, Max jumped back into cyclocross racing.

Since 2014, he has been a member of the Rock Lobster Cycles elite team and has been getting faster every year. Judelson explores the parallels between the arts and athleticism; he is taking his mandolin to the european world cup circuit in the 2019-20 cyclocross season.

Brendan Lehman

Santa Cruz, CA
Voler/Easton/HRS/Rock Lobster
Strava Profile
pelagic_banana_slug
Read Brendan's Bio

Brendan Lehman, also known as "Shredlocks," is often spotted riding in the mountains above Santa Cruz. Working as a marine biologist by day and bike mechanic by night, he recently started building custom frames under the name Onko Rinkus. Brendan has been racing cyclocross every year since first entering the sport at the 2010 Golden Gate Grand Prix.

Anna Megale

Boise, ID
Trek CXC
Website
akmegale
Read Anna's Bio

Marked by a life fueled through athletics, Anna Megale has found her calling in the gritty sport of cyclocross. In just a few short seasons she has risen from green Cat-4 to a world-ranked elite racer, finishing her first full season of UCI racing with a top 200 ranking (top 30 US). Anna began racing cyclocross at the age of 23 transitioning from triathlon and road racing, quickly realized her love for the discipline. For the 2019 season, she is looking forward to a full calendar of UCI racing, including both domestic and a mid-season European campaign.

Amanda Nauman

Laguna Hills, CA
SDG Factory Team
Strava Profile
amanda_panda_
SDG Factory Team
amanda_panda_
Read Amanda's Bio

Amanda "The Panda" Nauman can often be found racing on two wheels somewhere in the dirt or mud. With a few years of cyclocross racing under her belt, her accolades include multiple UCI podiums, a few SoCal Cross Prestige Series wins, a couple California Championship titles, World Cup appearances, and a brush with the European racing scene.

This cyclocross-savvy panda also plays on mountain bikes during the summer and racks up the miles on gravel bikes in the spring. The two-time champion of the Dirty Kanza 200 isn't afraid to push the limits at endurance events and balance out the racing with long, epic adventure rides. The West Coast is home and she's excited to give back and bolster the coast that helped launch her cycling career.

#PandaPower

Caroline Nolan

Reno, NV
Voler/Easton/HRS/Rock Lobster
Strava Profile
caro_nolan
carolineann.nolan
Read Caroline's Bio

Caroline is a California native, now residing in Reno, NV, who is experienced racing multiple cycling disciplines. After dabbling in collegiate triathlon at UC-Santa Barbara, Caroline found her passion for cycling. While pursuing her M.A. at the University of Oregon, Caroline witnessed her first cyclocross race and was instantly hooked on the sport.

Caroline enters the 2019/20 season as an emerging force on the ProCX National Cyclocross circuit. After numerous top 3 finishes in UCI races across the country, she finished the 2018/19 season in the top 15 of the ProCX standings. Last year, Caroline founded and directed North State Composite High School Mountain Bike Team. She is passionate about supporting youth in sport and specifically getting more girls on bikes!

Off the bike, you can find Caroline running, swimming, or skiing with her husband, Elliott, and 2 dogs, Shasta and Norden.

Sophie Russenberger

Bend, OR
Team S&M CX
Strava Profile
sophenberger
sophie.russenberger
Read Sophie's Bio

Sophie Russenberger is a Bend, Oregon native who has been racing cyclocross since 2013. She started racing for Bend Endurance Academy when she was 16, and spent one season racing in Switzerland after she graduated high school. After returning from Switzerland, she raced on the east coast while attending Bard college before transferring to Fort Lewis. She is planning on graduating this December with a degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in Public Health. Her most notable results of 2018 include a third place finish in January at the 2018 Collegiate Cyclocross Nationals, top ten finishes at both Jinglecross and the US Open of Cyclocross, and 11th place at Pan-American Championships. She also finished fourth place in the collegiate race and third place in the u23 race at US Cyclocross Nationals in December 2018.

Ryder Uetrecht

Bend, OR
Bear Development Team
Strava Profile
just_ryder_
Read Ryder's Bio

I have been racing Cyclocross races since I turned 10 and have been traveling across the United States racing for the last 3 years. In my past year of racing I traveled across the United States racing the UCI junior series where I finished top 5 or top 10 in the majority of races. I look forward to racing nationals on the West coast this season.

Photos

Photo courtesy of Jeff Vander Stucken.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Lesieur.

Photo courtesy of Angel Perez.

FAQ

Why do this in August?

We're hoping to bring the entire West Coast cyclocross community together for this event - and starting August 31st many racers scatter across the United States (and the world!) to compete in UCI sanctioned races. Mid-August was our last chance to even have a shot at having everyone in town.

We also wanted to be sure we could get this series in early so that any other USAC sanctioned races in the area (like WSCXGP!) could benefit from the region-wide points boost.

I don't see my age class/group. What gives?

This series is optimized for riders to accumulate points for the USA Cycling (USAC) ranking system, which does not take age groups into account (see USAC Rankings FAQ 8 – “Does it matter if I race my age class/group…”).

Do I have to register for all 5 races?

Yes. Since the focus of this series is to get five races in and improve rankings, we are only offering the race as a series right now. If there is still space as the races approaches, we will likely open it up to individual races.

Is a USAC license required to participate in this series?

Yes. Anyone racing in a USAC Cat that includes a level 5 license may purchase a one day license on site. All other categories require an annual USAC license. Registration price includes the $4.00/day USAC insurance fee.

About The West Coast Cyclocross Points Prestige

The West Coast has historically had few options when it comes to USA Cycling sanctioned cyclocross racing. This series was started in 2019 as an effort to combat that trend.

4818 Golden Foothill Pkwy, Suite 4, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
(916) 905-0965
community@clippedinraces.com
www.westcoastcx.com