League Rules

Race Entry & Categories

Riders are expected to enter the A-Race if they:

• have achieved a podium result in a B-Race in the Leinster League of CycloCross
• have been promoted to the A-Race in another CX league or series
• have an S1/C1 licence
• have ridden in a previous A-Race in any province

Allowances can be made for riders who raced the A-Race in a previous year to downgrade to a B-Race if they've suffered a loss of form — a new season on its own is not a “loss of form”.

Juniors who finish second or third in a B-Race may choose to remain in the B-Race to race for the win. An A-Race rider who is consistently finishing two or more laps behind the A-Race winner can move to the B-Race.

Race organisers should limit B-Race entry in EventMaster by licence to C2 and C3 riders.

Race Lengths

Race lengths are derived from Cycling Ireland Technical Regulations (PDF) T4.A1, T4.A2, T9.A2.2 and T9.A2.24, and UCI Cyclo-Cross Regulations (PDF) 5.1.048.

Race durations, in laps, can be calculated using this Race Duration Calculator, which factors in an “in lap” for when multiple races are waiting on the grid, or there's a long start straight. Race organisers and commissaires: request edit access a few days before the race, or click “Add to Drive” and make a copy.

Underage races

• U6: 2 minutes
• U8: 5 minutes, 10 minutes max
• U10: 10 minutes
• U12: 15 minutes max

Youth

• U14 and U16: 30 minutes max

Juniors & Seniors

• Junior-only race: as close as possible to 40 minutes
• Women's Race (including Juniors): as close as possible to 45 minutes, and between 40 and 50 minutes
• B-Race (including Juniors): as close as possible to 45 minutes, and between 40 and 50 minutes

The length of the A-Race depends on whether Juniors are present in the race — commissaires or race organisers should ask Juniors to identify themselves at gridding to determine the race length. As close as possible to:

• 60 minutes if there are no Juniors
• 50 minutes if there's a mix of Juniors and Seniors
• 40 minutes if it's Juniors only

Racing Age (2026/2027 Season)

In accordance with CI Technical Regulation T9.A1, cyclocross uses a competitor's racing age from the calendar year in which the World Championships are held — February 2027 this season. This means all competitors age up, and in some age brackets they'll age into the next one.

Racing age category is calculated from year of birth as 2027 minus year of birth:

Gridding

Grid places are awarded based on, in order:

1. UCI points — Men Elite merged with Men Juniors, and Women Elite and Junior (via CX24)
2. the current national champion (underage categories)
3. order of standings (total points, not best X of Y)

This applies to the A-Race, Women's Race and B-Race, and gridding can be applied to the Youth and underage races too. For the first race of the season, active UCI points and the previous year's standings are used to determine gridding.

Race organisers can use this Gridding Template for league rounds, or this Championship Gridding Template for the Leinster CX Championships.

For the Leinster CycloCross Championships, we sum the current standings of the Leinster League of CycloCross and any other active provincial league where the race lengths match those defined above, in the week leading up to the Championship race.

Scoring & Points

Our scoring system is the same as the National Cyclo-Cross Series, Ulster Cyclocross and the Specialized Ireland Supercross Cup: a competitor's best four of five rounds count, as the adjusted total. The Leinster CX Champs does not carry Leinster League points.

Finishers after 50th place all receive 1 point.

B-Race: winning the league after an upgrade

Yes, it's possible to be awarded a prize in the final standings of the B-Race even after being upgraded to the A-Race — your points are retained in the B-Race after the upgrade.

Tie Breaker Criteria

In the event of a tie, the following order of tie breaker criteria are applied:

1. Best X of Y points — this is the default criteria
2. Highest total points
3. Head-to-head record, in rounds where the riders actually raced against each other
4. Highest place in the final round of the season

Race Day Schedule

This is the schedule of a race day, in most cases. Full details in Communiqué: Schedule Change.