Become a Professional Road Cyclist
Once you have completed your 10th race, you will need to request your upgrade via the USCF (www.usacycling.org) website. Once it is approved, it's time to race as a Cat 4. Here you will have much more competition and be able to race a longer race. You will need to get a minimum of 20 points in a calendar year to put in for an upgrade, and 30 points will give you an automatic upgrade to Cat 3. You get points based off winning or finishing in the top 10 places in a race. This is also the case for upgrading from Cat 3 to Cat 2.
Once you get to the Cat 2 level, you will be racing some of the best riders in the country because most of the races combine Cat 1 and 2 together. Races combining the categories are typically referred to as Pro 1/2 category. There are several races that also offer just a Cat 2 race, typically races on the National Racing Calendar (NRC) as these races are designed for Cat 1 racers. When you do just a Cat 2 race, it's a great opportunity to gain some upgrade points as the competition is not as stiff (no Cat 1 riders). The number of points necessary to upgrade from a Cat 2 to Cat 1 are 30 in a calendar year, while 40 gives you an automatic upgrade. Approximately 2% out of the 58,000 licensed USCF racers are Cat 1 riders while many are some of the best riders in the country. So if you make it to this level, you are among the select few of those elite cyclists in America.
After you make it to the Cat 1 level, the only difference between you and a Pro rider is the paycheck. This is the goal of many who are at this level. The races are all fast, long, hard, and way more competitive than any other category. At this point, you will probably have a coach and be training 20-30 hours a week. If you are good enough, you may be picked up by a U.S. Continental team, which means you are professional domestic racer competing in all the big races across the county. If you continue to have success at this level, the chances of you signing a contract as a Pro Tour UCI (the International Cycling Union - smilar to the USCF but on a global level) rider is great and you will probably end up racing all throughout Europe with some of the best cyclists in the world.
Once you get to the Cat 2 level, you will be racing some of the best riders in the country because most of the races combine Cat 1 and 2 together. Races combining the categories are typically referred to as Pro 1/2 category. There are several races that also offer just a Cat 2 race, typically races on the National Racing Calendar (NRC) as these races are designed for Cat 1 racers. When you do just a Cat 2 race, it's a great opportunity to gain some upgrade points as the competition is not as stiff (no Cat 1 riders). The number of points necessary to upgrade from a Cat 2 to Cat 1 are 30 in a calendar year, while 40 gives you an automatic upgrade. Approximately 2% out of the 58,000 licensed USCF racers are Cat 1 riders while many are some of the best riders in the country. So if you make it to this level, you are among the select few of those elite cyclists in America.
After you make it to the Cat 1 level, the only difference between you and a Pro rider is the paycheck. This is the goal of many who are at this level. The races are all fast, long, hard, and way more competitive than any other category. At this point, you will probably have a coach and be training 20-30 hours a week. If you are good enough, you may be picked up by a U.S. Continental team, which means you are professional domestic racer competing in all the big races across the county. If you continue to have success at this level, the chances of you signing a contract as a Pro Tour UCI (the International Cycling Union - smilar to the USCF but on a global level) rider is great and you will probably end up racing all throughout Europe with some of the best cyclists in the world.
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