Last season’s Rapha Super-League was decided by the smallest of margins – twice. Matt Bostock held off Will Truelove by five points; Robyn Clay survived Anna Morris’s late charge by the same gap. A single placing in a single race, either way, would have changed the outcome. The new points system makes those margins even more meaningful.
With the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic two days away and the Open League opening at the Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic in April, the full 2026 scoring structure is now confirmed.
The logic: classification criteria
Every race in the 2026 League has been assessed against four criteria: Prestige, Atmosphere, Innovation and Grit. Those scores produce an overall event classification, which determines the points on offer for each round.
The criteria reward different qualities. Prestige reflects an event’s history, profile and competitive level. Atmosphere captures the occasion and the experience of racing in front of crowds. Innovation acknowledges format distinctiveness – urban circuits, night racing, unconventional courses. Grit is the most cycling-specific of the four: it rewards terrain difficulty, physical demand and the kind of attritional racing that reduces fields and tests genuine quality.
The Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic and the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic score highly on Grit for precisely that reason – their unpaved sectors are not a gimmick but a selective mechanism. The City of London Nocturne scores on Atmosphere and Innovation. The Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix, the highest-classified event in both leagues, scores strongly across all four.
The scoring mechanic
The structure is clean. The winner of each event receives the classification points assigned to that race. Second place receives five fewer. From third onwards, the scale drops by one point per position down to 20th.
That five-point gap at the top is the key design feature. It rewards winning without making a win disproportionately decisive – as last season demonstrated, five points is a margin that a chasing rider can build towards over several rounds, but never take for granted.
Date
Event
League
Points for the win
22 Mar
ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic
Women only
32
26 Apr
Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic
Open only
34
10 May
Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix
Open & Women
36
13 Jun
City of London Nocturne
Open & Women
35
1 Jul
LOGCO Otley Cycle Races
Open & Women
31
17 Jul
Dawlish Grand Prix
Open & Women
24
9 Aug
Beaumont Trophy / Curlew Cup
Open & Women
26
16 Aug
North Yorkshire Grand Prix
Open & Women
25
23 Aug
Cambridge Criterium
Open & Women
27
At a glance: points on offer – race by race
What those numbers really mean
Lincoln sits at the top for good reason. With 36 points for a win, the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix is the highest-value event in both Leagues. It scores strongly across all four criteria – and the atmosphere on Michaelgate is unmatched anywhere on the domestic calendar, the cobbled climb delivering drama and crowd noise in equal measure. This year the race celebrates its 60th edition, and the organisers are bringing new formats and innovations to proceedings across the weekend. A win there could prove decisive in a short series.
The Nocturne is the closest challenger. Thirty-five points for a win at the City of London Nocturne reflects its UCI classification, its atmosphere and a format that tests a different skill set from a conventional road race. Night racing through central London, with an international field and ranking points on the line, gives it a distinctive character that no other round can replicate.
The CiCLE Classics open the competition on unforgiving terrain. The Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic, at 34 points, is the third-highest classified event and the opener for the Open League. The Women’s CiCLE Classic – not a UCI race like its Open cousing – sits at 32 points. Both races will shatter comfortable pelotons before many riders have found their season legs – and in a series of eight counting rounds, an early performance carries real weight.
Cambridge closes the series with purpose. At 27 points, the Cambridge Criterium sits above Beaumont/Curlew Cup and the North Yorkshire Grand Prix in the end-of-season run-in. That is deliberate: the title should remain contestable into the final weekend, and the points structure reflects that. Given how close things were in 2025, it would be unwise to assume otherwise in 2026.
A deeper, more generous system
Compared to 2025, the new points structure rewards finishing positions more broadly and more generously. Last year, criterium rounds paid points only to 15th place; in 2026, every event pays down to 20th across road races and criteriums alike. That change matters. In a criterium with a fractured finish, the difference between 15th and 19th is often one bad corner – and this year, both positions earn points.
The points on offer for mid-table finishes have also increased relative to 2025. A rider who regularly finishes in the top ten without winning will accumulate a meaningful tally across eight rounds. The system is front-loaded in the sense that Lincoln and the Nocturne carry the highest win values – but the gap between positions is calibrated to keep the competition alive deep in the field, and the later rounds are not an afterthought. Beaumont, North Yorkshire, and Cambridge each carry enough weight to flip a close title race.
In a series with only eight counting results, there is no redundant result. Every placing, at every round, could end up mattering – and given that both 2025 titles were decided by five points, that is not a theoretical observation.
The points in full
Keep up
Standings will be published here on The British Continental within 24 hours of every round. Bookmark our dedicated Rapha Super-League hub ahead of Sunday’s opening round in Melton Mowbray – and if last year is any guide, keep watching right through to Cambridge in August.
Rapha presents The British Continental.
Last season’s Rapha Super-League was decided by the smallest of margins – twice. Matt Bostock held off Will Truelove by five points; Robyn Clay survived Anna Morris’s late charge by the same gap. A single placing in a single race, either way, would have changed the outcome. The new points system makes those margins even more meaningful.
With the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic two days away and the Open League opening at the Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic in April, the full 2026 scoring structure is now confirmed.
The logic: classification criteria
Every race in the 2026 League has been assessed against four criteria: Prestige, Atmosphere, Innovation and Grit. Those scores produce an overall event classification, which determines the points on offer for each round.
The criteria reward different qualities. Prestige reflects an event’s history, profile and competitive level. Atmosphere captures the occasion and the experience of racing in front of crowds. Innovation acknowledges format distinctiveness – urban circuits, night racing, unconventional courses. Grit is the most cycling-specific of the four: it rewards terrain difficulty, physical demand and the kind of attritional racing that reduces fields and tests genuine quality.
The Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic and the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic score highly on Grit for precisely that reason – their unpaved sectors are not a gimmick but a selective mechanism. The City of London Nocturne scores on Atmosphere and Innovation. The Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix, the highest-classified event in both leagues, scores strongly across all four.
The scoring mechanic
The structure is clean. The winner of each event receives the classification points assigned to that race. Second place receives five fewer. From third onwards, the scale drops by one point per position down to 20th.
That five-point gap at the top is the key design feature. It rewards winning without making a win disproportionately decisive – as last season demonstrated, five points is a margin that a chasing rider can build towards over several rounds, but never take for granted.
What those numbers really mean
Lincoln sits at the top for good reason. With 36 points for a win, the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix is the highest-value event in both Leagues. It scores strongly across all four criteria – and the atmosphere on Michaelgate is unmatched anywhere on the domestic calendar, the cobbled climb delivering drama and crowd noise in equal measure. This year the race celebrates its 60th edition, and the organisers are bringing new formats and innovations to proceedings across the weekend. A win there could prove decisive in a short series.
The Nocturne is the closest challenger. Thirty-five points for a win at the City of London Nocturne reflects its UCI classification, its atmosphere and a format that tests a different skill set from a conventional road race. Night racing through central London, with an international field and ranking points on the line, gives it a distinctive character that no other round can replicate.
The CiCLE Classics open the competition on unforgiving terrain. The Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic, at 34 points, is the third-highest classified event and the opener for the Open League. The Women’s CiCLE Classic – not a UCI race like its Open cousing – sits at 32 points. Both races will shatter comfortable pelotons before many riders have found their season legs – and in a series of eight counting rounds, an early performance carries real weight.
Cambridge closes the series with purpose. At 27 points, the Cambridge Criterium sits above Beaumont/Curlew Cup and the North Yorkshire Grand Prix in the end-of-season run-in. That is deliberate: the title should remain contestable into the final weekend, and the points structure reflects that. Given how close things were in 2025, it would be unwise to assume otherwise in 2026.
A deeper, more generous system
Compared to 2025, the new points structure rewards finishing positions more broadly and more generously. Last year, criterium rounds paid points only to 15th place; in 2026, every event pays down to 20th across road races and criteriums alike. That change matters. In a criterium with a fractured finish, the difference between 15th and 19th is often one bad corner – and this year, both positions earn points.
The points on offer for mid-table finishes have also increased relative to 2025. A rider who regularly finishes in the top ten without winning will accumulate a meaningful tally across eight rounds. The system is front-loaded in the sense that Lincoln and the Nocturne carry the highest win values – but the gap between positions is calibrated to keep the competition alive deep in the field, and the later rounds are not an afterthought. Beaumont, North Yorkshire, and Cambridge each carry enough weight to flip a close title race.
In a series with only eight counting results, there is no redundant result. Every placing, at every round, could end up mattering – and given that both 2025 titles were decided by five points, that is not a theoretical observation.
The points in full
Keep up
Standings will be published here on The British Continental within 24 hours of every round. Bookmark our dedicated Rapha Super-League hub ahead of Sunday’s opening round in Melton Mowbray – and if last year is any guide, keep watching right through to Cambridge in August.
Featured image: Conor Courtney/Rapha
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