BAR/BAT Rules

Last changed: 17 October 2026

Purpose

To encourage teamwork and competitiveness by recognizing the leaders of the BAR (Best All-Around Rider) competition and the BAT (Best All-Around Team) competition in each designated category, and the men’s and women’s Overall BAT competitions, which combine all results from eligible events.

Best All-Around Rider (BAR) / Best All-Around Team (BAT) Format

Best All-Around Rider & Best All-Around Team Category Competitions

There are two separate category competitions: BAR for individual placings and BAT for team placings. Eligible points are combined by category competition field, at a rider level for BAR and at a team level for BAT. Only the fields below are eligible for category competition. Combined fields may be eligible according to the Combined Fields rules later in this document. Teams must be registered with both USAC and NCNCA to be eligible for BAT (see Clubs/Teams below).

Men	Women
Elite 1/2	Elite 1/2
Elite 3	Elite 3
Elite 4	Elite 4
Master 35+ 3/4	Master 40+
Master 35+ 1/2/3	Master 50+
Master 50+ 1/2/3	Master 60+
Master 60+ 1/2/3/4

Overall BAT Competitions

There are two Overall BAT competitions, one for men and one for women. All of a rider’s points from eligible races in all categories are counted for the team registered on that rider’s USAC license. The Overall BAT competitions run from January 1 through the first weekend in October.

Men	Women
All eligible races for all categories, for the team registered on the racer’s USAC license	All eligible races for all categories, for the team registered on the racer’s USAC license

Eligibility and Rules

Riders

Racers are eligible for points from the date their USA Cycling license is processed and appears in the USAC database. Results from events before that date are not eligible for points. Licenses purchased online are usually processed right away but can take some time to propagate.

Novice / Category 5 races are INELIGIBLE to earn BAR/BAT points, including Overall BAT points.

Clubs/Teams

The cut-off date for BAT competition eligibility is the last day of February. Only clubs that are both USAC clubs and NCNCA member clubs on or before the cut-off date are eligible to earn category BAT and Overall BAT points starting January 1. Clubs that become eligible to earn team points after the cut-off date will earn points only from their eligibility date (no retroactive points will be awarded).

If a rider changes clubs, the points they have earned stay with the club under which they were earned. Points are not transferable from one club to another. It is the rider’s responsibility to have the correct club/team affiliation in their USAC account, no exceptions. Riders can manage their club/team affiliations on their USAC “My Account” page.

Events/Promoters

• Only USAC-permitted Road events within the NCNCA region that pay the NCNCA per rider per race fee are eligible.
  • Road events include Road Races, Stage Races (general classification only), Circuit Races, Criteriums, and Time Trials.
• BAR/BAT points will not count until the event results are posted on the USAC website and include Place, First Name, Last Name, License Number, and Team.
• After November 1, promoters who add a race on the same date as an existing race on the calendar must contact and discuss the event with the existing race’s promoter. If an agreement cannot be reached for the new event (e.g., adjustment of fields/categories or dates), the new race will not be eligible for BAR/BAT points. The new race’s promoter may appeal this rule to the NCNCA Board of Directors.
• If a race changes dates or a new race is added and it does not interfere with an existing race, it will be included in the BAR/BAT competition.

Scoring

Only the categories listed in the BAR and BAT Category Competition Fields table above, in qualifying Road events, are eligible for category BAR and BAT points. All points from qualifying Road events are counted in the Overall BAT competitions.

Points are awarded to the top 15 places as shown below. For events with fewer than 15 riders, points are adjusted to reflect the field size. For example, in a field of 6 riders, 1st place earns 6 points.

Points by place (rows) and field size (columns)

Combined Fields

Sometimes multiple categories race together in the same field. There are two setups for this:

• Racing together and scored together, all as one field
  • Example: Riders register in an Elite 1/2/3 field, and everyone in the field is scored together regardless of category.
• Racing together and scored separately
  • Example: Riders register in either Elite 1/2 or Elite 3. Both groups race together, but the Elite 1/2 and Elite 3 riders are scored separately in the USAC results.

The following rules apply:

• Combined fields that are scored separately will be counted for all eligible categories. Results must be posted and uploaded to USAC as separate fields. The field size used to calculate BAR points is the number of racers in that category, as shown in the USAC results.
  • Example: Master 35+ 1/2/3 and Master 50+ 1/2/3 raced together, and the results are posted separately.
• Elite 1/2 races that include lower-category riders will count for BAR points.
  • Example: an Elite 1/2/3/4 race will count for Elite 1/2 BAR even though Category 3 and 4 riders are allowed to race.
• Races that include higher-category riders will NOT count for BAR points. As a reminder, this does not apply if the categories race together but are scored separately on USAC.
  • Example: an Elite 2/3 race will NOT count toward Elite 3 BAR points when a separate Elite 3 race is offered at the same event.
• Exception to the rule above: races that include higher-category riders and are scored together WILL count if there is no BAR/BAT field available for that rider at that race.
  • Example: for an Elite 3/4 race where there is no separate Elite 3 or Elite 4 race, riders will be counted as placed in the combined race, but points will be allocated to the Elite 3 or Elite 4 BAR/BAT competition depending on each rider’s category.

Championships

• District Championship masters races (Criterium, Road Race, and Time Trial) will count for the respective BAR and BAT category competition points as follows:
  • Men’s Master 35+ 1/2/3 = 35–39, 40–44, 45–49
  • Men’s Master 50+ 1/2/3 = 50–54, 55–59
  • Men’s Master 60+ 1/2/3/4 = 60–64, 65–69, 70–74, 75–79
  • Women’s Master 40+ = 40–44, 45–49
  • Women’s Master 50+ = 50–54, 55–59
  • Women’s Master 60+ = 60–64, 65–69, 70–74, 75–79
• Eligible District Championship events (Criterium, Road Race, and Time Trial) will earn double points (maximum 15 places, based on field size as shown above).

Stage Races

Stage race placings in the final general classification will receive double points. Individual stage placings do not earn points.

Additional Rules

• It is the rider’s responsibility to verify their placing in the official results posted at each event within the published USAC protest period. Race results cannot be changed once they are final. BAR/BAT points are based on the results on USAC’s website. (The October 15 deadline below applies only to corrections to BAR/BAT point calculations, not to race results.)
• If a field fills up and a second overflow field is created, each field will be scored separately.
• Twilight races and training races will not be eligible for BAR/BAT points.
• The BAR/BAT competition will start January 1 and end the first weekend in October.
• Any protests or requests for corrections to the BAR/BAT competition results must be made by October 14. All BAR/BAT competition results will be final on October 15.
• At the conclusion of the BAR/BAT competition, the rider and team with the highest number of points will receive the BAR and BAT winner designations. In the case of a tie, the highest number of 1st-place finishes will be the tiebreaker. If still tied, the highest number of 2nd-place finishes will count, and so on. BAR winner awards will be presented at a year-end awards ceremony.

For additional information or questions, contact the NCNCA BAR/BAT coordinator at results@ncnca.org.