UCI race classifications

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body in the sport of bicycle racing, classifies races according to a rating scale.

The rating is represented by a code made of two or three parts and indicates both the type or style of race (the first part), and its importance or difficulty (the second and third parts, lower being harder). The first part can be an integer or an abbreviation, and the second part, when present, are usually integers. Both parts are separated by a period or decimal point (.).

A higher rated race will result in the successful riders receiving more world ranking points.

Road racing

The first part of the codes to rate a road race is '1' for a one-day race, and '2' for a multi-day (stage) race. They are separated from the second part of the classification, the ranking, by a decimal point. 'HC' (beyond categorization, from French hors catégorie) is the highest ranking category, followed by '1' and then '2'. For example, a race rated 1.1 equates to a one-day, category 1 race.

Code	Description	Examples	Participation
WT	UCI World Tour-races	Tour de France, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Tour of California, Tour of Turkey	UCI WorldTeams (compulsory participation). UCI professional continental teams need a wild card In events covered by article 2.15.154: National team of the organising country
1.HC 2.HC	One-day race Stage race	Paris–Tours Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne Tour of Croatia Arctic Race of Norway Tour of Utah Tour de Langkawi Tour of Slovenia Tour de Yorkshire	UCI WorldTeams (max 70%) UCI professional continental teams UCI continental teams (of the country the race is in) National teams (of the country of the organiser) UCI foreign continental teams (max. 2)
1.1 2.1	One-day race Stage race	Le Samyn Tour of Slovakia	UCI WorldTeams (max 50%) UCI professional continental teams UCI continental teams National teams
1.2 2.2	One-day race Stage race	Paris–Troyes Tour de Normandie	UCI professional continental teams of the country UCI continental teams National teams UCI foreign professional continental teams (max. 2) Regional and club teams

Mountain biking

The mountain bike discipline includes the following events comprising the formats listed below:

Code	Description
XC XCO XCM XCP XCC XCE XCT XCR XCS	Cross-country: XC (Chapter II cross-country events) Cross-country Olympic: XCO Cross-country marathon: XCM Cross-country point-to-point: XCP (point to point) Cross-country short circuit: XCC (Short Track) Cross-country eliminator: XCE Cross-country time trial: XCT (Time Trial) Cross-country team relay: XCR (Team Relay) Cross-country stage race: XCS (Stage races)
DH DHI DHM	Downhill: DH (downhill) (Chapter III downhill events) Downhill individual: DHI Downhill marathon: DHM
4X	Four cross: 4X (Chapter IV four cross events)
END	Enduro: END (Chapter IVa enduro events)

Cyclo-cross

All cyclo-cross races are identified by the code 'C'. Again, no decimal point is used in the written form of the classifications.

Code tables

Code	Meaning
JO	Olympic Games (Jeux Olympiques)
JR	Regional Games (Jeux Régional)
CM	World Championships (Championnat Mondial)
WT	World Tour
GT	Grand Tour
CDM	World Cup (Coupe du Monde)
HC	Hors Classe (Beyond Category)
CN	National Championships (Championnats Nationaux)
CC	Continental Championships (Championnats Continentaux)
CMM	World Masters Championships (Championnats du Monde Masters)
1	Category 1
2	Category 2
3	Category 3

External links

• UCI codes explained - cyclingnews.com - Jeff Jones and John Stevenson