Rules & Regulations

All teams are requested to register using the form on the Registered Teams page before 1 March each year. All teams shall pay  a registration fee of £35 by bank transfer and add evidence of transfer to the application form. Teams may register during the race season but will only qualify for team points for races after the registration fee is paid.

Riders may change teams at any time during the year, but any points they have gained will stay with the team they have won them for. Any changes to riders registered with a team should be notified to britishwomensteamcup@gmail.com

Where teams wish to enter more than 6 riders in a race, they can enter additional teams of up to 6 riders as Team A, Team B and so on but  each team must compete in different designed jerseys. The riders for each team must be notified to britishwomensteamcup@gmail.com prior to the race. Only the first 4 riders from Team A of BWTC registered teams will count for BWTC points. 

However, a team’s entry may be restricted to 5 riders or even 4 riders if the event is oversubscribed to ensure more of the registered BWTC teams can participate. Race entries are selected after the closing date prioritising riders registered in BWTC teams. If an event is oversubscribed and teams have already been restricted to 4 riders,  a waiting list will be created prioritising riders from registered teams.

UPDATED FOR 2025: Riders registered on UCI teams can participate in BWTC races but will not be eligible to take part in the BWTC competition or to guest for other BWTC registered teams. Riders registered on UCI teams who have scored UCI points in the calendar year will not be eligible to participate in BWTC races. This rule is to preserve the primary aim of the BWTC to bridge the gap between Regional and National A level racing.

Guest riders that are not on UCI teams are allowed to guest for teams that are unable to field the full complement of riders  for a race but they must be notified to  britishwomensteamcup@gmail.com prior to the race and must ride in the team jersey of the team they are guesting for. They will then be registered to that team for the rest of the season unless a change of team is notified britishwomensteamcup@gmail.com but any points they have gained will stay with the team they have won them for. Guest riders may only swap between teams up to twice in the racing season.

4th category licence holders are not eligible to compete in BWTC events.

Individual riders or riders that are not members of a team that has registered for the BWTC competition can compete in the races but are not eligible to receive team prize monies and should be aware that riders in teams that are already registered for the BWTC competition will be prioritised for race entry acceptance.

A BWTC rider support fund will be made available from 1st July each year to support both riders and organisers of women's races. As the season progresses, we appreciate there is financial strain on certain riders meaning they are unable to afford all the races they want to participate in. If a rider in a BWTC registered team is in this situation, BWTC will offer to cover their race fees to ensure they can race the remaining rounds of the BWTC competition.
Riders are invited to send a brief email to britishwomensteamcup@gmail.com of why they need support, and what their aims in cycling are. They must be 3rd category or above, have previously competed in at least one British Women's Team Cup event in 2024, have contributed to, or will commit to contribute to,  helping develop women’s cycling E.g., mentoring other riders, organising or helping at women’s races, assisting with running a women’s team, helping at women’s coaching days etc. Riders may apply for a single race or multiple races. The riders will be required to enter a race by the BC system as usual and their race fee will be refunded if they have started the race.

As this is a Team competition, riders are encouraged to finish the races to earn points for their team by racing for a higher placing amongst the group they are riding within even if they have been dropped from the main peloton. For safety reasons, riders who are 15 minutes or more behind the main bunch as they enter the final lap
will be stopped on the finishing line by means of the chequered flag. They will still be given a finishing position that will entitle them to Team Cup points in that race.