new mtb cats announced by usa cycling

most of you have probably already seen this. those on high in colorado springs have decided there will be no more beginner, sport, expert, semi and pro, now it's 3,2,1,pro. makes sense. bigger fields at national events, more chaos for national caliber pros and up-and-comers. why not? my only comment is that they should just force all semi-pros to become pros (to get the field sizes up) instead of giving us a choice between 1 (age class splits) and pro. or at least added a "NO SANDBAGGIN!" comment or something. maybe something like, "if you sandbag, we will be forced to tattoo the letter L (for 'loser') to your forehead for the rest of the calendar yr."

instead they said:
“We want bigger pro fields in the National Calendar events so our racers can better prepare for international competition like World Cups and World Championships,” said Fisher. “Our pro fields are tiny compared to our European counterparts. We have the numbers in terms of ridership, but we’ve been referring to them as Semi-Pros.”

so be it. i don't care if i'm labeled a pro, a semi-pro, or a bowl of jello, i'm gonna race the same. the only difference will be at the occasional NMBS race i do, where i'll be riding my ass off to not get lapped. kinda like getting chased by a grizzly bear. well, not really. bad analogy. too much homework to do right now to think of a good one!