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This page explains what governing bodies, standards bodies and road authorities publish. It is not a substitute for cycle training from a qualified instructor, for a qualified bike mechanic, or for medical advice.
Cyclo-cross
Cycling Canada describes cyclo-cross as racing that alternates riding and carrying the bike over mixed ground such as woods, muddy trails, meadows and short hills, on a bike like a road bike with wider, grippier tyres.
The course and race rules
We could not read the UCI's own Part 5, Cyclo-cross. A 2026 edition in force from 1 July 2026 is listed by a third-party regulations host, but we did not open it and did not find the UCI's PDF. The articles below are as quoted by Cycling BC in its rules summary for the 2024-25 season. They may have been amended since.
| UCI article (as quoted by Cycling BC, 2024) | What it says |
|---|---|
| 5.1.017 | The course is a closed circuit of at least 2.5 km and at most 3.5 km, at least 90 percent of it rideable. |
| 5.1.018 | The course is at least 3 m wide throughout, clearly marked and protected on both sides. |
| 5.1.039 | Bikes and wheels may be changed only inside the pit lane. A rider who passes the end of the pit must go on to the next pit area. |
| 5.1.062 | Food and drink may not be handed out during a race, though riders may use what they carry. Cycling BC adds provincial exceptions for heat and for youth categories. |
| 5.1.051 | Lapped riders finish the lap on which they were caught and leave before the finish straight, or in the "80 percent" zone where article 5.1.052 applies. They are ranked in the order they were pulled, with the laps they did not complete. |
Cycling Canada's national note to article 5.1.001 allows mountain bikes in some cyclo-cross competitions and categories in Canada, according to the same Cycling BC summary.
How long is a lap? The UCI rule quoted by Cycling BC gives 2.5 to 3.5 km. A BikeRadar beginner's guide, read only as a search summary, says courses are typically 1 to 3 km, which may describe local races rather than UCI events.
Race durations at UCI level are set in Part 5, which we did not read. A German magazine preview and a newsletter give figures for elite races, but we could not check them against the UCI text, so we do not give them here.
The cyclo-cross bike under UCI rules
The equipment rules come from the UCI's clarification guide, as reproduced in the Japan Cycling Federation's copy, whose edition date we could not confirm.
- Tyres and wheels (article 1.3.018): wheels from 550 mm to 700 mm in diameter including the tyre; cyclo-cross tyres no wider than 33 mm at their widest, with no spikes or studs. From 1 January 2026, wheels for mass-start road and cyclo-cross may have a rim no higher than 65 mm.
- Brakes: brakes acting on both wheels, operated by two levers, and no fixed gear (commentary on article 1.3.009). Disc brakes have been allowed in cyclo-cross under article 1.3.025 (text modified 1 July 2018).
- Handlebars from 1 January 2026 (article 1.3.022): the UCI Management Committee in September 2025 confirmed, for road and cyclo-cross, a 400 mm minimum overall width, a 65 mm maximum flare and a 280 mm minimum between the brake hoods. It asked its Equipment and New Technologies Commission to review the 280 mm figure during 2026, with a view to possibly increasing it.
- Helmets: the UCI's mass-start helmet specifications apply to road and cyclo-cross from 1 January 2026.
The equipment pages give the detail: handlebars, wheels and the 2026 changes and helmet rules in racing.
Age categories work differently
UCI Part 1 (version on 1 July 2026, article 1.1.034) sets a rider's category for international events by the year of the event minus the year of birth, with an exception for cyclo-cross under article 5.1.001. That cyclo-cross rule is in Part 5, which we have not read. See licences and categories.
Gravel
The first UCI world championships, 2022
The first UCI Gravel World Championships were held in the Veneto region of Italy on 8 and 9 October 2022, running from Vicenza through Padova to Cittadella. The UCI described the course as roughly three-quarters gravel and cobbled sections.
Elite riders had to belong to a UCI-registered team or hold a wild card from their national federation. Age-group riders qualified by finishing in the top 25 percent of their age category and gender at a UCI Gravel World Series event. Elite world champions receive the rainbow jersey; age-group winners receive a separate age-group world champion's jersey.
How far was the men's elite race? The UCI's route release gives 190 km, the 140 km course plus two 25 km laps. Previews from Gran Fondo Guide and TOUR magazin, read only as search summaries, gave 194 km and 192 km.
The UCI Gravel World Series
The series is a season of qualifying events. Wikipedia says its first edition had 11 races in ten countries.
What counts as a gravel bike
The UCI's 2022 route release did not define "gravel" or set a bike rule, and our research found no official UCI definition of the discipline. The UCI Gravel World Series did publish bike rules on 22 March 2023: any bike is allowed at its qualifier events except e-bikes, time trial bikes, recumbents and tandems, while the world championships accept only bikes with dropped handlebars, so mountain bikes are not accepted there.
Wikipedia describes a gravel bike as a drop-bar bike for unpaved roads, typically with tyres around 40 mm (sometimes 45 to 50 mm), nearly always with disc brakes, geometry between a road bike and a cross-country mountain bike, extra mounts for bottles and luggage, and lower gearing than a road bike. It contrasts this with the cyclo-cross bike, which has tyres up to about 33 mm and quicker handling. The bike types page compares them.
Sources
- Cycling Canada, disciplines
- Cycling BC, cyclo-cross rules 2024-2025 (quoting UCI articles)
- Spoleg, listing of UCI Cycling Regulations Part 5 Cyclo-cross 2026
- BikeRadar, getting into cyclocross racing (search summary)
- UCI Cycling Regulations Part 1, General Organisation of Cycling as a Sport (version on 1 July 2026)
- UCI, Clarification Guide of the UCI Technical Regulation (Japan Cycling Federation bilingual copy, edition date unconfirmed)
- UCI, measures to protect rider safety and health (Management Committee, September 2025)
- UCI, first UCI Gravel World Championships race routes (2022)
- Gran Fondo Guide, stars come to first UCI Gravel World Championships (search summary)
- TOUR magazin, UCI Gravel World Championships 2022 preview (search summary)
- Wikipedia, 2022 UCI Gravel World Championships (secondary)
- UCI Gravel World Series, bike rules (22 March 2023)
- Wikipedia, Gravel bicycle (secondary)