How much are UCI points really worth in cycling, and why do they matter?

An equal amount of points per race will be up for grabs for both women and men in new UCI ruling for 2026

The peloton at the 2024 Tour of Britain Women
(Image credit: SWpix.com)

The UCI have recently released a flurry of new rules to be implemented in 2026, including a long-awaited points parity between the men's and women's races.

So, what are UCI points, and why do they matter?

Additionally, the four women's Monuments - Milan-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège - will, for the first time in women's cycling, be worth 800 points each. Points can also be picked up in special categories, like the mountain classification and on individual stage wins.

At the end of three years, the points are counted once again, and the top 18 men's and top 15 women's teams receive UCI WorldTour licences for the next three seasons. WorldTour teams outside the 18 or 15? They’re relegated.

As a passing football-fan, the word “relegation” is shrouded in a Wrexham FC informed disneyfication - will the underdog break through the barriers enforced by the system?! But relegation is a slower process in cycling, with teams competing over the course of three years to accumulate enough points to avoid it, or to accumulate enough points to get to the next level.

Yet, with the opportunity to accumulate points across stage wins and podium places, the leader board is far from fixed. For teams vying to maintain their World Tour licence, or those looking to break into it from the ProTour ranks, the points system offers the chance to confirm their spot in the racing calendar for the next three seasons. And new rules for men’s cycling might make the battle for points even more exciting. As of 2026, Grand Tour organisers must invite the top three UCI ProTeams and two “wild card” teams to their races, as well as the existing 18 UCI WorldTeams.

The levelling of women’s and men’s UCI points might seem minor, but it is yet more of a recognition of the popularity and high-calibre of women's cycling. The points do matter.

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News Writer

Meg is a news writer for Cycling Weekly. In her time around cycling, Meg is a podcast producer and lover of anything that gets her outside, and moving.

From the Welsh-English borderlands, Meg's first taste of cycling was downhill - she's now learning to love the up, and swapping her full-sus for gravel (for the most part!).

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