CHILDREN AGE CATEGORIES EXPLAINED
 
Confused about all the different categories in cycling…. Wondering what the age break points are ??? Well this article is just for you !!
 
When you first start cycle racing you soon realise that as often as not, you'll find yourself racing against people of similar ability. In adult Road, Track and MTB races, this means that as you get better you are promoted through the category system. For younger riders, categories are decided by age.
 
Starting with the youngest riders, the first category in Road and Track racing is Youth E, which is open to riders 8 and under (up to the end of the year in which you are 8). From there onwards it's a simple progression through Youth D (10 and under), Youth C (12 and under), Youth B (14 and under) to Youth A (16 and under). Many race organisers run mixed races with boys pitted against girls from the next age category up - for example Youth D boys racing with Youth C girls - this means that many youth events are won by girls!
 
From Youth A, riders then become Juniors. The junior category lasts from the 1st Jan of the year in which you 17th birthday falls, to the 31st December of the year in which your 18th birthday falls.
 
Even then, you're not finished, because there is still the Under-23 category (sometimes known as the Espoirs category), which has its own national series on the Road and its own national championships in both Road and MTB.
BMX has dozens of different categories to ensure that you are racing against people of similar ability, with the youngest riders starting in the Under 7 class. BMX also has separate age categories for boys and girls.
 
Cycle Speedway runs age classes for Under 13, Under 16 and Under 19 riders, but is expected to follow the same system of Youth categories as Road and Track in the near future. Cyclo-Cross and Mountain Biking have Junior (17 to 18 year olds), Youth (13 to 16 year olds) and Under 12 classes, with younger riders often welcome as well.
 
Reproduced from the British Cycling Website.
www.britishcycling.org.uk/