Road

Road cycling is one of the most widely recognized forms of competitive cycling, taking place on paved roads and highways. Riders compete in a variety of formats, including mass-start races, time trials, criteriums, and stage races. Road cycling emphasizes endurance, strategy, teamwork, and speed, and offers opportunities for riders of all ages and abilities — from community events and recreational rides to high-performance competition.

The several types of Road Races that require the ability to incorporate strength, fitness, strategy, precision and endurance to achieve success include:

Road Race (RR):

  • Mass Start event held on open roads
  • Riders race in a group called a “peloton” or “bunch”, corner at high speeds and take turns ‘pulling’ at the front of pace lines as well as drafting behind to rest, and pick a tactical spot to try to break away
  • The first rider to cross the finish line is declared the winner
  • This course may be partially or completely closed to traffic

Time Trial (TT):

  • Individual or team race over a fixed distance and against the clock
  • Riders start individually and complete the course, the rider or team with the fastest time is declared the winner
  • Distances vary from just a few km to 40 or 50 km
  • Courses may be point A to B or on a circuit with the start and finish in the same place

Criterium (CRIT):

  • Short road races on a circuit, usually city streets and always closed to traffic
  • Distance per lap may vary from 0.8 km to 3 km
  • Races are run over a set number of laps, or for a defined period of time, but are usually 1 hour or less long
  • Mass starts, high-speed cornering and sprinting make the Crit an exciting event for both participants and spectators

Stage Race (SR):

  • A combination of several 1-day road, crit, or time trial races
  • Events take place over multiple days
  • Each cyclist’s time for all the individual events is totalled, and the rider with the lowest cumulative time is the overall Stage Race winner
  • There are also winners for each stage

In BC, there are 5 different ability categories (cat, for short) levels for male and female road riders. Most races offer all of these categories, though some may be combined for racing.

  • Cat. 1: Members of National Teams, National Trade Teams, Continental, or Pro Teams
  • Cat. 2: Highly skilled amateur riders
  • Cat. 3: Intermediate-level amateur riders
  • Cat. 4/5: Novice-level amateur riders

Sponsors & Partners

There is a wide range of opportunities to sponsor Cycling BC and its programs. Contact us today to become a sponsor.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia. Cycling BC is a viaSport Accredited sport for 2025/26.

Become a Sponsor
Mailing Address

Cycling BC is a fully remote workplace and acknowledges the ancestral and unceded territory of the Indigenous people of all the lands we are on today. We encourage staff, members, and partners to reflect on the history of the land we inhabit and the Indigenous people who call this land home by going to native-land.ca

Please direct all mail to the following address.

Cycling British Columbia
PO Box 44001 RPO Kensington SQ
Burnaby, BC
V5B 4Y2

Contact

© CyclingBC
Website by SplitMango