MiSCA Terminology

Most of what you need to know about MiSCA racing is easily found on the MiSCA website. Our team is first and foremost a MiSCA team. While we have kids that race across the state throughout the year, and some that race beyond Michigan at regional and national races, the core of what we do is focused here in MiSCA.

  • MiSCA Race Series – A series of 6 races (as of 2024) across the state of Michigan. MiSCA races are available to all students ages K-12 regardless of team affiliation (though we hope you’ll be a Coyotes!) and skill level.
  • Race Class – MiSCA provides various “difficulty levels” (e.g. Varsity and Junior Varsity). Talk with a Coyotes coach about what’s right for your child.
  • Pricing – You can buy a full-season pass, or pay for individual races. We encourage all Coyotes to try racing at one of our home races. For 2022 we’ll be at Owasippe and Merrell on this side of the state. The other races are in Mt. Pleasant, Metro Detroit, and Adrian. MiSCA races offer beginner levels (alongside more advanced if that’s your thing), a supportive atmosphere, and a low-pressure way to try the competitive side of this sport.

USA Cycling (USAC) Terminology

USA Cycling (USAC) is the oversight group for the development of the US Olympic Cycling team, as well as our national race governing body, the oversight group for collegiate racing, and the group that helps US athletes compete internationally. USAC ranks riders based on points earned in races they oversee. At national races, the points are part of how they seed riders (with the best seeds being placed upfront at the start, and the unseeded riders filling in the back rows).

In states outside of Michigan, most local races are also managed by USA Cycling. Michigan is relatively unique in that we don’t really have any USA Cycling MTB races. Iceman is the lone exception that I am aware of in our state for adults looking to race on the national level with points earned in-state.

MiSCA, to their immense credit, has partnered with USA Cycling to ensure that our junior racers earn USA Cycling ranking points. All MiSCA races count toward USA Cycling rankings if you join USAC as a racing member. This is relatively complex when you start, but here are the key terms you should know:

  • USAC Racing License – To attend a USA Cycling race, you need to be a paying member. They call this membership a “license.” All it really means is that you signed up with USA Cycling and told them you’d be racing. They confirm ages, etc. As a MiSCA racer you’re probably eligible to sign up for what USAC calls a “Junior License” (meaning you turn 18 later than 12/31/YYYY). That is your “racing age” and if you’re racing age is 18-Under, you’re a Junior.
  • USAC Racing Category – You’ll see people throw around terms like “Cat 2” when describing their USA Cycling racing. USA Cycling Mountain Bikers are split into three categories:
    • Cat 1 – Pro/Elite. If you’re consistently on MiSCA Varsity Podiums, you are probably Cat 1.
    • Cat 2 – People who race, have raced, and continue to race but not at the pro/elite level. In Michigan, if you race “Sport” you are Cat 2 for USAC. There is a grey area for Michiganders. We often have “Expert” riders separated from
    • Cat 3 – Beginners/Novices.
    • NOTE: Road racing has 5 categories and much stricter rules for moving up and down between categories.
  • Movement between racing categories – All MTBers start in Cat 3. In other disciplines of cycling, there are strict rules about moving between categories. In mountain biking, you just ask and they move you up. To move from Cat 3 to Cat 2 for example, you just ask USAC to move you up. To move to Cat 1, you just ask again, and they’ll move you up. Moving down requires justification, however, so the idea is that you only move up when you’re ready, and you don’t move down again after that. All of this is done through the USA Cycling website on your account page.
  • UCI ID – If you are planning to race at a national championship, you’ll need one more thing: a UCI ID. There are a lot of UCI terms listed below, but the UCI ID is a free add-on to your USAC Racing License (remember, a license is just a membership). To get a UCI ID you follow these directions. This is a requirement for national championship racing. This does not enable you to race internationally. That requires something more (keep reading!). You will be required to submit a copy of your birth certificate of passport. Your UCI ID allows for your results to be submitted for international ranking (you can search out Coyotes on this page in fact).

UCI Terminology

The UCI is the international governing body for cycling. If you’re a soccer player, it’s FIFA. If you’re a swimmer it’s FINA. For cycling, it’s UCI. The UCI only matters to you for two reasons.

  1. If you want to race at a national championship, you need a UCI ID to go with your USAC race license. Other USAC races don’t require the UCI ID (just the USAC license) but because national championships are tracked internationally (because of the Olympics and World Championships) anyone racing at nationals needs the FREE UCI ID.
  2. If you want to race internationally, you need a UCI ID and an International Race License from USAC & UCI. This costs $230 as of 3/12/2024 and entitles you to international racing. For example, our very own Addison Forrester raced MTB in Barcelona in 2022.

The other interesting angle of the UCI is that any race classified as UCI is going to draw racers from across the country (because they want to earn international ranking points). For example, in 2021 and 2022 we had riders compete at the Englewood Open MTB race, a UCI-classified XC race in Wisconsin. In 2022, the race drew pro racers from 28 states, as well as Ontario.

If you’re thinking of racing outside of Michigan, and have questions about what you need to do, feel free to reach out to the coaches. We’ll do what we can to steer you in the right direction. It can often feel like Michiganders are left behind because of the dearth of USAC/UCI racing within our state.

Getting Started with USA Cycling Nationals

So you want to go to nationals! It’s an exciting experience, and well worth the investment in time and money, if you can make it work for your schedule. There are some considerations you should make before going.

  • Races: In 2023 there were two options for racing: Short Track Cross Country (aka XCC, or STXC) and Cross-Country Olympic (aka XCO or XC). To race Short Track you had to be “Cat 1” (see race categories above). To race Cross-Country you could be any Cat (1,2, or 3).
  • Categories: There are two race categories offered for each age group at USA Cycling Nationals. The Cat 1-2 race is the true national championship. The winner gets a stars-and-strips jersey, the title National Champion, and an automatic front-line start next year. The other race is called Cat 2-3 and is shorter, on a slightly easier course, and targets riders who aren’t quite ready to compete for the top prize. If you’re a “Cat 2” rider, you can choose which race you do. Otherwise, you race the category you’re in.
  • Qualifying for the Event: As of 2024 there is no official ranking required to compete at Nationals. You just register ahead of time, and show up. This was true for 2021 and 2022 as well, so despite rumors of change, there has been no change.
  • Qualifying for Finals in XCO: For 2021 and 2022 there were enough boys signed up to race XCO that USA Cycling ran qualifying heats at Nationals. The qualifying heats took place the day before the XCO National Championship race and winnowed the field to 80 riders. USA Cycling ran 2 heats of riders, seeded by UCI/USAC Rank (better ranks meant better start position), and if you finished in the top 40 you qualified for finals. The qualifying heats were 40-minute races on the XC course used for Cat 3 racing (so not quite as technical as the course of the finals).
  • Event seeding (Call-Ups): Think of your MiSCA races and I’m sure you’ll agree that whoever starts in the first 2 or 3 rows has a much better chance of winning the race than people starting in the back of a 60-person field. At nationals, where the top riders are all super-duper fast, this is even more important. Seeding for 17-18s (and older) is based on UCI rank (points, earned at UCI events like Englewood Open in Wisconsin). Seeding for 16-under riders is based on USA Cycling rankings. For USA Cycling rankings you earn points at MiSCA races, as well as any other USAC-sanctioned race (e.g. Iceman Cometh, or the WORS series in Wisconsin). As of 2023, the only USA Cycling points available in Michigan are through MiSCA and Iceman. To get more points or a better ranking, you need to travel. The easiest and closest races are those in Wisconsin through WORS (which is why we keep mentioning it). If you’re racing in 17-18 age groups and you want a decent call-up at Nationals, you really need to get UCI points (travel-o-rama) but even with a bad callup, the nationals experience is really fun and exciting.
  • Nationals Week: The racing takes place over several days and a final schedule is usually made available in March. It’s March 12th, 2024 when I’m writing this and we still have no finalized schedule, so who knows when that will get published. For 2024 the races will be held in July at Bear Creek Mountain Resort near Allentown, PA. Typically the Cat 2-3 races are the first couple of days, the Cat 1-2 the next few days, and the U23 Elite and Pro races wrap up the week. Because this is your chance to see the top American pros race each other, we always recommend sticking around until the end of the week to watch the action.

Step by step: Getting ready for your first nationals:

Here is a step-by-step for going to your first nationals. For 2024, the event is July 17th-25th, so I’ve provided some basics in terms of when you’d want to do these things.

  1. Get your USAC License: Make sure you have signed up for a USAC Race License. This expires annually. The cost is $40, but MiSCA has a coupon to to get $5 off the license cost. You can get the current coupon code from MiSCA. When you’re done registering, you’ll get a license number (USAC#).
  2. Hook your USAC# to MiSCA: If you are JV or Varsity, your MiSCA races count toward your USAC rankings. To ensure this linkage is set up, you’ll want to include your USAC# when you register for MiSCA. If you already registered and didn’t enter your number, please email regsitration@miscabike.org to have it added to your MiSCA account.
  3. Upgrade your USAC Category (Optional): If you are top 3 consistently in Advanced MS, JV9-10, or Varsity at MiSCA I would argue you are Cat 1 at a national level. Otherwise, if you’re racing Advanced MS, JV, or Varsity and finishing midpack, you’re probably Cat 2. You’ll want to upgrade your USAC license to reflect this category by logging into USAC, clicking “Licenses” from your profile page, and clicking “Request Upgrade.”
  4. Register for Nationals: Registration typically opens in March. This year (2023) it’s still not open, but when it does, register for the race based on your category and get ready to have some fun!
  5. Secure lodging: Nationals will draw people from around the country. For 2023, the resort hosting the event sold out the day the event was announced. Check with the team to see where others are staying as getting together for a meal or two can be really fun when you’re there to check out the racing.