New for 2026: Update on Ontario Cup Points

*New for 2026* Ontario Cup Points  

Ontario Cup points are awarded to the top 20 finishers in each category (formerly top 15). Only riders who have an OC membership are eligible for OCup points. Riders who DNF (do not finish) are not entitled to OCup points. Riders who move categories during the season will not carry any accumulated points into their new category. OCup points earned will remain in the category they were awarded within. Ontario Cup series champions will be decided by season ending OCup series point totals by a simple tally of all the points earned at OCup events for the current year.   

To make the series title race tighter in 2026 and beyond, points awarded for each position have shrunk to a 1-point differential between each position (formerly a 2 or more-point differential between positions 1st-5th).  Series points will be awarded as follows for all Ontario Cups: 

*With 30 days or more notice to riders, double points can be offered.  

**Any riders competing with a non-member permit or residing out-of-province are not eligible to earn OCup points.  

With increased demand for OCup event hosting and greater variety of event type included within each series, Ontario Cycling is implementing a structure for lowest point score’s to be dropped from the series ending points total dependent on how many events are held in a series.  Where a riders lowest or zero (0) point scores from OCup events within a series are dropped from inclusion in the series total score according to the number of events held within the series for the year:  

• 1-4 Events: All events are counted towards OCup points 

• 5-6 Events: One (1) event is dropped from OCup points (event with least amount of points scored) 

• 7+ Events: Two (2) events are dropped from OCup points (events with least amount of points scored) 

OCup Points at Provincial Championships: 

Riders will earn a 10-point bonus to their total 2026 OCup Points tally for registering in the respective disciplines 2026 Provincial Championships.  Riders who do not register for provincials are not eligible.  If a rider upgrades to a higher ability OCup category during the season (all OCup events in the season, does not include Provincials) and earns points in more than one category (i.e. Cat B for OCups 1-3 and Cat A for OCups 4-5), the 10-point bonus will only be applied to the highest ability category the rider scored points in during the OCup season (i.e., Cat A and not Cat B). 

• Road & Cyclocross Series: Categories at Road & Cyclocross Provincials are different from OCups in that they are age-based and not ability-based, riders can choose to race in their respective age championship category or a non-championship category subject to having the applicable membership/license for the category (see licensing rules).  If a rider decides to race in their age championship category at Provincials it is not constituted as an upgrade (i.e., a Cat B rider at all OCups [raced at 11:00am at all OCups] is of Elite age 23+ and decides to race in the Elite category at Provincials [1:30pm start time – same start time as Cat A at OCups] it is not seen that the rider ‘upgraded’ to Cat A, the rider simply decided to race in their age group and will receive the 10-point bonus for registering for Provincials to their Cat B points). 

• Mountain Bike Series: Categories at MTB Provincials are the same as OCups in that they are both age-based and follow the exact same structure of age groups.  Riders can self-seed themselves in the ability category of their choosing (Sport or Expert if applicable) at Provincials like at all OCups.  As the categories are the same however, the 10-point bonus for registering for provincials will only be applied to the category in which they register.  For example, a U17 athlete that raced U17 Sport at all the OCups within a season decides to race U17 Expert at Provincial Championships – that rider will receive 10 OCup points for U17 Expert and not U17 Sport.  Constituting a category upgrade/move, the same as if they were to move categories within the OCup season – their accumulated points in one category will not be transferred to the new category. 

For example, the final top three of an OCup category could look like:  

Tie Breaking Policy – Ontario Cup Series Points: 

When two or more riders are tied at the end of the Ontario Cup series, the following criteria and procedure shall be utilized by the OC office to determine which rider is awarded the higher place in the standings.  Descending through the following steps until one athlete emerges above the other: 

1. Most race wins in the series. 
2. Overall Points Average (number of points divided by events attended). 
3. Highest placing in commonly attended events (who placed higher in the standings when both riders attended the same events). 
4. Highest placing in the last event of the series.