General Upgrade Policies
- Races for upgrades will be recognized dating back 36 months from the upgrade request.
- Upgrade points are based on the overall placing in the entire field, not broken out by category within the field, unless results are posted with separate categories
- Riders who have upgraded will start with a zero race points balance in their new category.
- Junior and Youth riders are exempt from mandatory upgrades in Road, Track and CX for points earned in uncategorized junior and youth races
- Juniors and Youth who earn points in Elite or U23 races in Road, Track and CX are subject to mandatory upgrades with those points only up to Category 3.
- Series: Riders who have been mandatorily upgraded and are more than halfway through a mountain bike or cyclocross series may request an exemption allowing for the completion of that specific series if the request is approved by the race series director and the OBRA executive director. The exemption is valid for a maximum of three event days and may only be used once per rider per category. The mandatory upgrade is in effect for all other races.
- Professional: A Professional is a member of a UCI registered team in that discipline (note: “Pro” is an ability level in MTB, and a Professional would race in the Pro/Elite MTB category).
- A rider who feels like they have advanced too quickly may request a downgrade through their OBRA account, with the request subject to review. Riders may not downgrade to the Novice category in any discipline.
- A rider may be downgraded by OBRA for the following reasons: unsafe riding, lack of ability to compete in current category, or lack of placing within current category.
- All upgrade requests must include a list of races listing date of race, name of race, type of race, placing and number of racers (DNFs may be included in the count). Please send all upgrade requests to upgrades@obra.org.
- Please do not confuse BAR points with upgrade points. The points you find on your results page are NOT upgrade points.
Road Upgrades
- For a road category upgrade, no other disciplines count your upgrade. The only races that can count toward your upgrade are qualifying road, criterium and circuit races (and some Fondos – see below). Time Trials do not count toward your road category upgrade.
Cat 5/Novice > Cat 4
- Voluntary Upgrade at will (please email upgrades@obra.org to let us know)
- Mandatory 10 points in 12 months
Cat 4 > Cat 3
- Voluntary 20 points in 36 months or 20 pack finishes (may include 3 fondos/gravel races)
- Mandatory 30 points in 12 months or 3 wins in a field with 21+ riders in 12 mo.
Cat 3 > Cat 2
- Voluntary 30 points in 36 months
- Mandatory 40 points in 12 months or 3 wins in a field of 21+ riders in 12 mo.
Cat 2 > Cat 1
- Voluntary 35 points in 36 months
- Mandatory 50 points in 12 months or 3 wins in a field of 50+ riders in 12 mo.
| Place | 5-10 Starters | 11-20 Starters | 21-35 Starters | 36-60 Starters | 61-80 Starters | 81+ Starters |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 11 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | |
| 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||
| 7 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |||
| 8 | 2 | 4 | ||||
| 9 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 10 | 2 | |||||
| 11 | 1 |
Cyclocross Upgrades
Cat 5/Novice > Cat 4
- Voluntary Upgrade at will (please email upgrades@obra.org to let us know)
- Mandatory 10 points in 12 months or finish 10 races
Cat 4 > Cat 3
- Voluntary 10 points in 36 months
- Mandatory 15 points in 12 months or 2 wins in fields with 20+ starters
Cat 3 > Cat 2
- Voluntary 15 points in 36 months
- Mandatory 20 points in 12 months or 2 wins in fields of 20+ starters
Cat 2 > Cat 1
- Voluntary 20 points in 36 months
- Mandatory 25 points in 12 months or 2 wins in fields of 20+ starter
Place 5-10 Starters 11-20 Starters 21-35 Starters 36-60 Starters 61-80 Starters 81+ Starters 1 3 4 5 8 10 11 2 2 3 4 6 8 10 3 1 2 3 5 7 9 4 1 2 4 6 8 5 1 3 5 7 6 2 4 6 7 1 3 5 8 2 4 9 1 3 10 2 11 1
Mountain Bike Upgrades
- Masters 60+ Men are not required to upgrade beyond Cat 2 but may do so by meeting the upgrade criteria. Masters Women 50+ are not required to upgrade beyond Cat 2.
- A rider may downgrade one category when they have no significant results for 2 seasons or at rider’s discretion and approval of OBRA.
Novice/Cat 3 > Cat 2
- Voluntary Upgrade at will (please email upgrades@obra.org to let us know)
- Mandatory 5 top-5 finishes in fields of 15+
Cat 2 > Cat 1
- Voluntary 10 points in 36 months
- Mandatory 15 points in 12 months or 2 wins in fields with 20+ starters
Cat 1 > Elite/Pro
- Voluntary 15 points in 36 months
- Mandatory 20 points in 12 months or 2 wins in fields with 20+ starters
| Place | 5-10 Starters | 11-20 Starters | 21-35 Starters | 36-60 Starters | 61-80 Starters | 81+ Starters |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 11 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | |
| 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||
| 7 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |||
| 8 | 2 | 4 | ||||
| 9 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 10 | 2 | |||||
| 11 | 1 |
Track Upgrades
Cat 5/Novice > Cat 4
- Voluntary Upon Approval by OBRA and the Track Operator
- Mandatory 10 points in 12 months or finish 10 races
Cat 4 > Cat 3
- Voluntary 20 points in 36 months
- Mandatory 20 points in 12 months
Cat 3 > Cat 2
- Voluntary 25 points in 36 months
- Mandatory 20 points in 12 months
Cat 2 > Cat 1
- Voluntary 30 points in 36 months
- Mandatory 20 points in 12 months
| Place | National Championships and UCI Omnium or Sprint Tournament | State Championships and UCI Mass Start Single Race/Non-Championship Omniums or Sprint Tournament* | Non-Championship Mass Start Single Race or Sprint Tournament^ |
| 1 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | 2 | 1 | |
| 5 | 1 |
Upgrade points may not be earned in individual events that are part of an omnium – upgrade points for these events are assigned based on omnium placing only.
* Sprint Tournament with more than 6 riders ^Sprint Tournament with less than 6 riders