The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body in the sport of bicycle racing, classifies races according to a rating scale.
Contents
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.
Mountain biking
There are two possible codes to indicate a mountain bike race rating: 'E' for a single-day race, and 'D' for a multi-day race. There is no decimal point in a written mountain bike classification.
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.