TIME TO RENEW: 2010 licenses on sale now.
Plus, enter to win a racing license prize package!

2010 licenses are officially on sale. The renewal process is quick and easy. Click here to get started now. New members can click here to buy a new license.

At the end of the online renewal process, you’ll be prompted to take a 10-minute survey. This survey helps USA Cycling tailor its services to meet your needs. Your feedback is very important, and all renewing members are strongly encouraged to complete the survey.

In conjunction with renewal time, USA Cycling is running a Twitter sweepstakes to award one lucky member with a 2010 racing license prize package. The prize package includes a 2010 domestic racing license, Oakley backpack, USA Cycling jacket, ball cap, and fleece blanket.

So how do you enter? Publish a Tweet on your Twitter feed that includes the phrases “@usacycling” and “#lovetorace,” and states why you love to race. For complete sweepstakes details, please click here.

Membership

Changes to USA Cycling rule book for 2010

USA Cycling’s mountain bike, collegiate, and road, track, and cyclo-cross boards of trustees met in Colorado Springs last month. The meetings resulted in several new rules or changes to existing ones for the 2010 USA Cycling rule book. Click here to read about the most significant rule changes. The complete rule book will be available in pdf format on USA Cycling’s website in January.

Only a few days left to apply for “Club of the Year”

If your club hasn’t done so already, there are only a few days left to apply for USA Cycling’s annual “Club of the Year” awards. On December 18, the national governing body will award three “Overall Club of the Year” designations and seven special awards to clubs that have made exceptional efforts in 2009. Applications must be POSTMARKED BY DECEMBER 4th. Click here for more information and to download the application.

Promoter summits conclude in Colorado Springs

The second annual National Racing Calendar (NRC) and Mountain Bike Promoters Summits were conducted November 13-15, at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs where 46 people gathered to exchange ideas. The NRC promoters shared thoughts regarding the nation’s premier Pro-Am road race calendar while the mountain biking summit drew 32 stakeholders who discussed the advancement of mountain biking in the U.S. Click here for the full story.

Shop the USA Cycling mall this holiday season

When you visit the new USA Cycling online store, you can shop for USA Cycling branded jackets, shirts, backpacks, hats, and much more, or be creative and customize your own.

There are no minimum orders or set-up fees, and your order will ship to your door in about a week.

Click here to check out the new store now.

USA Cycling Member Benefits and Partners

Shop the USA Cycling Member Benefits Providers this Holiday Season and receive GREAT DISCOUNTS!

The USA Cycling Membership Benefits page offers great discounts on cycling related merchandise.Click here for more on the deals exclusive to USA Cycling members only.

Bank of America – Make your purchases in style this holiday season with a USA Cycling credit card – while receiving top quality benefits and service. This special program offers a credit line up to $100,000. Carry the only card that helps support USA Cycling programs and initiatives at no additional cost to you. Simply click here to apply online today.

Rola products brought to you by Cequent Performance Products – USA Cycling licensed members receive a 10% discount on bike racks and cargo management products. Click here for more information and enter “CYCLE10″ to access this exclusive discount. A portion of your sale helps to support USA Cycling.

Flex-Power – Get a FREE training tie-up bag with a discounted purchase of Flex-Power Performance Cream!!! Visit- www. flexpower.com   and punch in promotional Key code – USAC1. Flex-Power Performance Sports Cream is a clean scented pre- and post-activity solution that was initially created to help world-class athletes cope with the aches and pains that come with strenuous workout and activity. Flex-Power is commonly used on joints & muscles before activity for warm-up and performance, and after activity for recovery from aches and pains of muscles, joints and arthritis. Flex-Power is the official performance sports cream of USA Cycling, USA Triathlon, USA Skiing & Snowboarding, USA Weightlifting, NASM, and the NBA Player’s Association. Visit flexpower.com to receive 33% OFF using the promotional code: USAC1

eSoles – Members receive $35 off ePro custom footbeds and $5 off eFit custom modular footbeds when they use their USAC license number. Click here for more information.

53×11 Coffee – Receive a 10% discount on coffee. To take advantage of this offer, enter USAC53x11 at check-out. Click here and place your order.

Training Peaks - What are your fitness goals? Maybe you’re just hoping to make it through the holidays without gaining too much weight? Regardless of your goals… TrainingPeaks will help you! TrainingPeaks is your one source for training, nutrition, routes, device compatibility and expert advice. With TrainingPeaks, you can search, share, create and record routes. Upload workouts from any one of more than 80 of the most popular training devices including GPS, heart rate monitors and power meters (if you have a power meter, make sure to also download a free trial of TrainingPeaks WKO+). You can even track and plan your diet! And, for expert advice, use the improved Virtual Coach. Or, select from hundreds of training and meal plans designed by experts. Connect with a coach from the TrainingPeaks Professional directory. Sign up FREE at  www.trainingpeaks.com/usac.  Bonus for USAC members: upgrade to Premium and get 10% off!

VeloNews – USA Cycling licensed members can receive 15 issues of VeloNews for $26.95 plus a FREE 2010 calendar with a renewed subscription. For more information please click here. Offer expires 1/31/10. USA Cycling licensed Junior & Collegiate members can receive 30 issues for $29.95 plus a FREE 2010 calendar with a renewed subscription. For more information please click here. Offer expires 1/31/10.

Masters Worlds Jersey Available Now at a Discount
A limited number of USA Cycling’s 2009 Masters World Championship Jerseys are still available for $59.95. For more information, click here.

Ninety riders needed for cross-country relay

Need a reason to go on a week-long cross country ride? How about raising funds and creating awareness for the water crisis in Africa? Ninety riders are needed to take part in the Wheels for Wells Relay across America which begins on June 27, 2010 in Long Beach, California, and ends on August 7 in Ocean City, NJ. The journey will feature six week-long legs and riders can choose which leg they’d like to participate in. Spots are filling up fast. Click here for more information or contact Chris Carr at (484) 459-3280

USA Cycling Preferred Dealers

To search for Preferred Dealers near you, click here.

How to follow USA Cycling through social media

There are lots of ways to follow what’s happening at USA Cycling via Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube. Become a fan, a follower, and a subscriber today!

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Grassroots

Look to your Local Association for expertise

Great discussions took place last month as USA Cycling’s Local Associations (LA’s) gathered in Colorado to brainstorm about growing cycling at the grassroots level. LA’s are the experts when it comes to knowing the local race scenes, and your LA can be a great asset to you. Whether you’re looking for good group rides with a club, or you need help permitting your event – your LA is the place to turn. For more about your LA, click on the links below.

Check My Page for upcoming local races

All USA Cycling members are reminded to check the Upcoming Events tab on your My USA Cycling page for a complete list of upcoming races in your area.

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National Events

Less than two weeks until Cyclo-cross Nationals

With a record number of racers ready to duke it out for Stars-and-Stripes jerseys this month, the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships should offer a thrilling end to the 2009 USA Cycling National Championship calendar. The event will take place Dec. 10-13 in Bend, Ore. and, in addition to racing, will offer four free educational sessions to members. Click here for the event’s webpage where you can check out preliminary call-up lists.

2010 National Championship schedule

With the 2009 National Championship Calendar almost complete, USA Cycling is looking forward to 2010. Next year, sixteen events will provide amateur and professional cyclists with opportunities to win Stars-and-Stripes jerseys across all five disciplines of competitive cycling in 2010. Click here for the full announcement. Here’s a look at the 2010 USA Cycling National Championship calendar:

March 20: USA Cycling BMX National Championships - Desoto, TX
May 7-9: USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships - Madison, WI
June 12-13: USA Cycling 24-Hr Mountain Bike Nat’l Championships – Hazelton, WV
June 22-27: USA Cycling Elite, U23, Junior Road Nat’l Championships – Bend, OR
July 15-18: USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships - TBA, CO    
July 4: USA Cycling MTB Marathon National Championships – Breckenridge, CO 
July 8-11: USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships – Trexlertown, PA.  
August 1-7: USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships – Louisville, KY
August 15: USA Cycling Prof. Criterium Championships – Downers Grove, IL 
September 1-5: USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships – Frisco, TX
September 18-19: USA Cycling Pro Road & TT Nat’l Championships – Greenville, SC
Sept. 29 – Oct. 3: USA Cycling Elite Track & Omnium National Championships - TBA
September: USA Cycling Collegiate Track National Championships – Indianapolis, IN
October 14-17: USA Cycling Collegiate MTB National Championships – Truckee, CA 
December 9-12: USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships – Bend, OR

National Championship registration

Registration for all USA Cycling National Championships will open approximately 60 days prior to the start of the event. Riders can check the individual event page, found on the USA Cycling National Championship schedule, for a link to registration and more information on each event.

Check out the 2010 National Racing Calendar

Featuring 27 events and nearly one million dollars in overall prize payouts, the 2010 National Racing Calendar (NRC) enters its 14th season as the nation’s premier Pro-Am men’s and women’s road cycling circuit. The calendar will visit 22 states from March through September, highlighting the United States’ best domestic teams and athletes. Click here for a look at the 2010 calendar.

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Athlete Programs

U.S. National Team athletes strong on the track

With the UCI Track World Cup in full swing, U.S. National Team riders have been busy around the world. National Team rider Shelley Olds (Scotts Valley, Calif./Proman Hit Squad) made quite an impression in Melbourne last month with a silver medal effort in the women’s points race at round two of the World Cup. For complete results, click here.

The U.S. National Team is now training for the third round of the World cup which is set for Cali Colombia, Dec. 11-13. Click here for more about the 2009/2010 UCI Track World Cup.

USA Cycling athletes have also been busy contesting Six-Day events in Europe. On November 3, Guy East (Indianapolis, Ind./Trek-Livestrong) and Austin Carroll (Orange, Calif./BMC Racing) completed their first professional Six-Day in Grenoble, where they finished tenth overall. Complete results from this event can be found by clicking here.

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Education

Going to ‘Cross Nationals? Make plans to attend one of four FREE educational sessions!

USA Cycling will offer four free educational seminars in conjunction with the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships in Bend, Ore., December 10-13. The sessions are open to anyone, and USA Cycling certified coaches will earn 0.1 CEU for each session attended. Each session will take place next to REI (the same location as registration and packet pick-up), and will last about an hour. For more information about these sessions and their presenters, click here.

ADVICE FROM A COACH:
“How good do you need to be?”

by Marvin Zauderer — Article originally appeared in PezCyclingNews.com

You’re thinking about racing. Upgrading to that next category. Stepping into a bigger role on your team. Joining that testosterone-fueled group ride that you’ve never done. Or doing a century for the first time. But something’s holding you back. If you’re like many athletes, it could be this voice, whether you hear it or not: I’m not good enough. The mentally fit cyclist knows how to silence that voice: to know that you have – and are – enough to discover your true potential. Click here for the complete article.

SURVEY SAYS: 67 % are power meter owners

USA Cycling’s Coaching Education department conducted a Power Meter Survey during the month of September. Several members have asked about the results of that survey, so we thought we’d share them. Out of the 919 respondents, 67% own a power meter, 4% own one but don’t use it regularly, 9% do not own a power meter, and 20% say that they would own one if they could win the lottery. Of those who own a power meter, 21% claim to own an SRM, 73% a Powertap, 4% a Polar and 7% an Ibike.

Alternatives to impulse-response model

In 1975, Banister et al. proposed a mathematical model quantitatively relating athlete training load to performance ability. This impulse-response model has been used extensively in scientific studies, but has a number of inherent limitations. Dr. Andy Coggan will discuss a variety of alternatives to this approach, from simple regression techniques to complex neural networking methods, with the goal being to provide coaches with a deeper understanding of this field of research. This webinar takes place December 2, 6:30-8:00 p.m. EST. The CEU Value is 0.20. Click here for more information.

*Several free webinars dealing with USA Cycling’s athlete development pipeline, development camps and information for juniors racing in Europe are available for download on USA Cycling’s webinar page.

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Development Foundation

GIFT IDEA: Kristin Armstrong autographed Olympic jersey up for auction on Ebay

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, the USA Cycling Development Foundation is auctioning off a very special collector’s item on ebay – a 2008 Olympic cycling jersey signed by gold medalist Kristin Armstrong. Kristin is arguably the most successful woman in the history of American cycling and 100% of the proceeds from this auction will benefit USA Cycling’s athlete development programs, which is where she got her start. Click here to check out the auction now.

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