Cycle competitions are carried out on an age basis until the age of 23. Espoirs are under 23 years old but over 18 (ie aged 19 – 22), juveniles are between 16 and 18.
Juniors and Youths are defined as schoolchildren (under 16's). In British Cycling terms they are;
The British Cycling year runs from 1 January so as an example if you are 14 now but have a birthday later in the year then you are classed as 15 years old and must therefore ride in the U16 race.
British Schools Cycling Association (BSCA), formerly English Schools Cycling Association (ESCA) until joined by Welsh Cycling Association BSCA, uses the school year to dictate a riders age. The school year (and BSCA's year) runs from 1 September but age categories clash. BSCA categories use odd age categories of;
At age 19 the rider becomes an espoir. Above the age of 22 the rider becomes a senior, and above the senior age bracket are the veteran age brackets. These are discipline specific. Cycling Time Trials describes a veteran as age 40 and above. These are then split into age brackets each spanning five-years.