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How does a Junior get his Semi Pro license?

biker3

Turbo Monkey
OK guys. Im still 17 but I've heard rumors of people going ahead and getting their semi license even while still being a junior? I have 2 top 10s in Juniorx, a 6th at shoe' a 7th at AngelFire and a few smaller wins. Im currently 8th overall out of all 1-18 year olds and 5th out of 17-18year olds on www.usacycling.org and I finished 10th overall this season in the national series with a missed race. Should I just wait till Im not a junior or go ahead and get it done? I dont even know if my results qualify my but I heard anyone in the top 10 Norba will pretty much give it to and I saw a few Yeti kids racing semi this season. This would be an advantage because I woudlnt have to practice in the CLUSTERF*ck expert practice and I would get to race on sunday which is much better than saturday.
 

motomike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 19, 2005
4,584
0
North Carolina
whaaaaasssuuuppp!!! anyway, I know for a fact that you can do it in XC, so it "should" be the same for DH. What you need to do is call USAC and get someone there to tell you for sure.
 

AlmostHeaven

Turbo Monkey
Jun 8, 2005
1,164
0
VIRGINIA
i would actually reccomend waiting until you are schooling the rest of the Junior or Expert field.

it's going to be very sad when you aren't able to beat Expert times as of now and moving straight past them to Semi-Pro. it won't be fun.
 

black noise

Turbo Monkey
Dec 31, 2004
1,032
0
Santa Cruz
You might have to put up with a season of mid-pack finishes. At the beginning of this season (after being ok in sport last season) I decided to step it up and go into Jr.X. I knew I would suck but I figured I would be racing really fast guys so it would force me to step it up, which it did. I only got a few podiums this year, as opposed to lots of podiums in sport, but I had more fun with the Jr.X racers and trying to keep up with some of them.

I say do it.
 

FCLinder

Turbo Monkey
Mar 6, 2002
4,402
0
Greenville, South Carolina
biker3 said:
OK guys. Im still 17 but I've heard rumors of people going ahead and getting their semi license even while still being a junior? I have 2 top 10s in Juniorx, a 6th at shoe' a 7th at AngelFire and a few smaller wins. Im currently 8th overall out of all 1-18 year olds and 5th out of 17-18year olds on www.usacycling.org and I finished 10th overall this season in the national series with a missed race. Should I just wait till Im not a junior or go ahead and get it done? I dont even know if my results qualify my but I heard anyone in the top 10 Norba will pretty much give it to and I saw a few Yeti kids racing semi this season. This would be an advantage because I woudlnt have to practice in the CLUSTERF*ck expert practice and I would get to race on sunday which is much better than saturday.
They will most likely move you up since you finished in the top 10. If not you can always talk to a NORBA rep and request to move up.
 

dhmtbj

Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
467
1
Boston
AlmostHeaven said:
i would actually reccomend waiting until you are schooling the rest of the Junior or Expert field.

it's going to be very sad when you aren't able to beat Expert times as of now and moving straight past them to Semi-Pro. it won't be fun.
I think that has a lot to do with the attitude you have going into the higher level racing. I moved up this past year and despite not doing overly well this season I am still happy I moved up. I didn't expect to be winning so I wasn't disappointed when I didn't. I did however expect to not deal with expert practice issues and that has been awesome:thumb:
 

biker3

Turbo Monkey
AlmostHeaven said:
i would actually reccomend waiting until you are schooling the rest of the Junior or Expert field.

it's going to be very sad when you aren't able to beat Expert times as of now and moving straight past them to Semi-Pro. it won't be fun.
In my better race runs I was beating all the experts and finishing upper pack in Semi. I know Im not going to win or anything but stepping up your competition is a HUGE factor in getting faster. It is always fun and getting to practice 1 more day after driving HALF WAY across the US is more bang for the buck IMO. Plus you also get to skip right past the lines at registration. Expert practice at nationals is rediculous, now i would never be the guy to bitch or complain to anyone specific but pretty much anyone knows that minus juniorx the expert class is REALLY MIXED. These days its pretty much impossible to get a full run in without being stopped for someone crashing or holding up the group.

edit: I just applied on usacycling.com

thanks for the help guys.
 

DHanamal

Monkey
Nov 25, 2001
567
1
Boulder, CO
Move up now, so I don't have to deal with you in 19-24 class. You'll get the license, much slower riders than you have gotten theirs.
 

AlmostHeaven

Turbo Monkey
Jun 8, 2005
1,164
0
VIRGINIA
well if riders SLOWER than this guy have gotten theirs...then i shouldn't have a problem getting mine either.

it's a tough choice. don't you have to have the results in order to move up? i guess Top 10 isn't exactly extrordinary, but are you sure that's it?

if not, you'll be dealing with me in 19-24 next year again :evil:
 

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
AlmostHeaven said:
well if riders SLOWER than this guy have gotten theirs...then i shouldn't have a problem getting mine either.

it's a tough choice. don't you have to have the results in order to move up? i guess Top 10 isn't exactly extrordinary, but are you sure that's it?

if not, you'll be dealing with me in 19-24 next year again :evil:
You are correct in all the other expert age classes.
But Junior X smokes the hell out of the other expert age classes.
Junior X is the fastest class for the riders of that age, and Expert is the 3rd fastest class for the riders age 19+, so it makes sense that there is a difference.
As far as what biker3 should do, that is a personal decision as he has one more year in junior if he wants it.
 

profro

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2002
5,617
314
Walden Ridge
dhmtbj said:
I think that has a lot to do with the attitude you have going into the higher level racing. I moved up this past year and despite not doing overly well this season I am still happy I moved up. I didn't expect to be winning so I wasn't disappointed when I didn't. I did however expect to not deal with expert practice issues and that has been awesome:thumb:
I was given this advice when I thought about moving up last year. Its the best I've gotten. I moved up and got my a$$ handed to me on more than one occasion, but when you coast and loli-pop and still win Expert races then you're not really getting faster. But knowing that you have to pin every section just to not finish last.... well you learn awhole lot. But be ready to not win and you'll be okay. At your age you should move up as quickly as you can.
 

konahucker43

Monkey
Jul 18, 2004
437
0
central NY
biker3 said:
Juniorx is pretty much the most competitive class there is, At any given national there is 60+kids racing totally decked out bikes all with no regard for bodies or injury and the majority of them racing on parental coin. Parts and stuff is not an issue and therefore it gets pretty out of hand. QUOTE]

wow, 75 percent of jrxers are regional kids paying their own way, i am one, i know
 

Sherpa

Basking in fail.
Jan 28, 2004
2,240
0
Arkansaw
konahucker43 said:
biker3 said:
Juniorx is pretty much the most competitive class there is, At any given national there is 60+kids racing totally decked out bikes all with no regard for bodies or injury and the majority of them racing on parental coin. Parts and stuff is not an issue and therefore it gets pretty out of hand. QUOTE]

wow, 75 percent of jrxers are regional kids paying their own way, i am one, i know
I disagree. At the National level, 80% of the kids either travel with a team or are flown there by their parents.
 

konahucker43

Monkey
Jul 18, 2004
437
0
central NY
biker3 said:
konahucker43 said:
Yeah dude there is exceptions, like me and you. Yes my parents drove me to a couple but other than that I was paying my own way. Dont even try to tell me the kids with Foes, Demo 8s, sunday WCs, M3s are paying there own way. The only reason I have such a nice bike is because I work my butt of at a bike shop.
well i went to 2 nats, wv, and vt and 70% of the jr x kids i knew or knew about as regional competition. and most of these kids are paying their own way. sure some are getting their rents to pay for it. but i think the # is dropping
 
Feb 10, 2003
594
0
A, A
As a junior with a semi pro license you are allowed to race junior DH only at worlds team qualifiers. for example you can only race junior at the first few nationals of the season and if you race MX you must race it as a semi. also at mammoth next year you will have to race as a semi..i would say stay put. you may be able to round up a national championship title if you stick around in junior.
 

AlmostHeaven

Turbo Monkey
Jun 8, 2005
1,164
0
VIRGINIA
biker3 said:
Almost Heaven, Just to let you know, Juniorx is pretty much the most competitive class there is, At any given national there is 60+kids racing totally decked out bikes all with no regard for bodies or injury and the majority of them racing on parental coin. Parts and stuff is not an issue and therefore it gets pretty out of hand. Lets see you results before you keep going on calling mine "not stellar".
biker3 - No need to lecture me on Junior-X racing. I raced in Junior-X for the last 2 seasons. I've known it's the most competitive class and it still is. When you mention kids that AREN'T parentally-sponsored, look no further. You've never seen a racer with less support. Everything I have and the races I've won have been because I worked for them(with a few exceptions). Through my JR-X career I was in high school so getting to the races was hard because I didn't make a lot of money with a part-time job and most of the races were a pretty far drive. I didn't get the Junior results that most of you have (which is a MAJOR sponsor plus),so I've had to make up for it and try my hardest to get my results in Expert before moving to Semi. I moved to Expert 19-24 this season and have had pretty good results. If you wanna see 'em, you let me know. I'm going to race another season in Expert then move to Semi-Pro.

i have seen more spoiled brats than you could handle bro, I work at Snowshoe. i never said your results were not stellar. they are good results, but they aren't near Semi-Pro times (mine either) and are not the cream of the crop in the Expert class. As long as you know you won't be there to WIN, you'll be there to LEARN instead, it should still be as fun as it always has been for you and making you a much better rider at the same time. I, personally, am going to wait until I am lolly-gagging through race runs and still winning to move up. That's what I've done in the past and it seems to work pretty well ;)
 

biker3

Turbo Monkey
AlmostHeaven said:
biker3 - No need to lecture me on Junior-X racing. I raced in Junior-X for the last 2 seasons. I've known it's the most competitive class and it still is. When you mention kids that AREN'T parentally-sponsored, look no further. You've never seen a racer with less support. Everything I have and the races I've won have been because I worked for them(with a few exceptions). Through my JR-X career I was in high school so getting to the races was hard because I didn't make a lot of money with a part-time job and most of the races were a pretty far drive. I didn't get the Junior results that most of you have (which is a MAJOR sponsor plus),so I've had to make up for it and try my hardest to get my results in Expert before moving to Semi. I moved to Expert 19-24 this season and have had pretty good results. If you wanna see 'em, you let me know. I'm going to race another season in Expert then move to Semi-Pro.

i have seen more spoiled brats than you could handle bro, I work at Snowshoe. i never said your results were not stellar. they are good results, but they aren't near Semi-Pro times (mine either) and are not the cream of the crop in the Expert class. As long as you know you won't be there to WIN, you'll be there to LEARN instead, it should still be as fun as it always has been for you and making you a much better rider at the same time. I, personally, am going to wait until I am lolly-gagging through race runs and still winning to move up. That's what I've done in the past and it seems to work pretty well ;)
I made it perfectly clear I wasn't going into Semi to win. Its just a chance to get faster and get more quality practice in. If im driving half way across the country for a race I want full runs without being held up and being told to slow down.
 

AlmostHeaven

Turbo Monkey
Jun 8, 2005
1,164
0
VIRGINIA
biker3 said:
I made it perfectly clear I wasn't going into Semi to win. Its just a chance to get faster and get more quality practice in. If im driving half way across the country for a race I want full runs without being held up and being told to slow down.

i hear ya man. i'm in the EXACT same boat. it'st the best chance anyone could have to greatly increase their comfort and skill on the bike.

rip it up!
 

TheInedibleHulk

Turbo Monkey
May 26, 2004
1,886
0
Colorado
Ride hard this off season, stay in Jr X, and try to go to worlds next year. Unless you have a very successful pro career, Jr X is your last chance to wear the stars and stripes. Don't waste it going to semi pro. Semi pro is fun and I know expert practice blows, but it will be worth it. I actually think Jr X garners more attention as far as sponsors are concerned then semi-pro anyway.
 

tacobelldhr

Monkey
Jun 1, 2005
231
0
lake forest
semi pro is slower than junior ex most of the time...dont move down move up, just get your pro lisceanse get you butt kicked for a few years and just try and train
 
Feb 10, 2003
594
0
A, A
tacobelldhr said:
semi pro is slower than junior ex most of the time...dont move down move up, just get your pro lisceanse get you butt kicked for a few years and just try and train
kid..dont make me show you up like i have all season. semi is the next step out of junior. what the little sh*ts like this fail to realize is that racing on haggared and different conditions can make a huge difference in times. even with that junior hasnt been as fast as semi in either disipline. monkey nutz..also you could move up and not even qualify for most events..then u really wasted ur money.
 

Msisle Dad

Monkey
Jul 1, 2003
569
0
Catonsville, MD
v10"o-PlEaSuRe said:
kid..dont make me show you up like i have all season. semi is the next step out of junior. what the little sh*ts like this fail to realize is that racing on haggared and different conditions can make a huge difference in times. even with that junior hasnt been as fast as semi in either disipline. monkey nutz..also you could move up and not even qualify for most events..then u really wasted ur money.
United Nations could we have an interpreter here?
 

Zutroy

Turbo Monkey
Dec 9, 2004
2,443
0
Ventura,CA
It's a tough call, i personally would stay in Jr X another year and go for the big results. If you can clean up in JX that will help you get better deals in the long run i think, make it cheaper to race when you move up. The other thing is at least at the DV national and BH, Expert actually had more practice that pro/semi pro. The pace will be quicker over all in practice, but you'll still run into the same problems with having to slow up sometimes.

Up to you, and good luck which ever route you decide to go.
 

dhmtbj

Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
467
1
Boston
At nationals I was under the impression that pro-riders could race jr-x if they were trying to qualify for worlds since a "junior" for worlds stuff can be over 18. Hence why riders like kyle strait and cameron zink raced both jr x and pro two years ago at west virginia. Maybe that rule changed though...
 

tacobelldhr

Monkey
Jun 1, 2005
231
0
lake forest
v10"o-PlEaSuRe said:
kid..dont make me show you up like i have all season. semi is the next step out of junior. what the little sh*ts like this fail to realize is that racing on haggared and different conditions can make a huge difference in times. even with that junior hasnt been as fast as semi in either disipline. monkey nutz..also you could move up and not even qualify for most events..then u really wasted ur money.

is that you mikey? :nope:
 

Red Bull

Turbo Monkey
Oct 22, 2004
1,772
0
970
tacobelldhr said:
is that you mikey? :nope:
Nukka, i think i met you at snow... It was like Saturday night and we were outside the hotel and my DNA was broken... (I ride Straits bike...)
 

tacobelldhr

Monkey
Jun 1, 2005
231
0
lake forest
dude are you v-10 pleasure...no your not. And i dont think you race semi pro

v10"o-PlEaSuRe what about mountain x or ds.....? we are about the same all tho ryan is faster then we are ...oh and what happend in vermont??? i had no chain and i would have won semi pro by 15 seconds or so, but i got third in junior ex....w.e. im not here to fight with you about it.
 

Red Bull

Turbo Monkey
Oct 22, 2004
1,772
0
970
tacobelldhr said:
dude are you v-10 pleasure...no your not. And i dont think you race semi pro

v10"o-PlEaSuRe what about mountain x or ds.....? we are about the same all tho ryan is faster then we are ...oh and what happend in vermont??? i had no chain and i would have won semi pro by 15 seconds or so, but i got third in junior ex....w.e. im not here to fight with you about it.
Yah thats you and yah thats Mike...
 

I know sanjay

Monkey
Aug 16, 2004
247
0
The OC
You two sound like deuschbags, no im faster and i didnt even have a chain, shut up. come on people fight it out like real americans. No matter what ur both semi pro material. shashawwwww

p.s. my bike is clapped out and cracked in 5 places and i still ride it, this makes me the coolest racer alive. Freeride for life.
 

Red Bull

Turbo Monkey
Oct 22, 2004
1,772
0
970
I know sanjay said:
hes so much faster than everyone with no chain and im in love with him and he has cute hair.
One time, i met a guy, who knew a girl, who's boyfriend knew a dog, who knew a cat, who knows a MILF, who knows this kid who knows Sanjay. Were basicly family... :love: