A Stage Race is a multi-stage event. You complete all of the event's routes, in the order the organizer set, within a date window — and you're ranked on how long the whole sequence took you.
Is this your event?
You're on a Stage Race if its routes are numbered as stages to be ridden in a set order, all of them are required, and the leaderboard ranks riders by total time. If you can ride the routes in any order, or only one of them counts, see Classic, Timed Loop or Fastest Time.
What counts as a result
All three conditions have to hold, or nothing is recorded:
- You complete all of the event's routes.
- You complete them in the prescribed order.
- You finish within the date window, which starts on the day you ride your first route.
This is the format's biggest surprise: an incomplete sequence doesn't earn you a partial standing. If you ride four stages of five, or ride them out of order, your time and your place are cleared rather than reduced. It can look like something has gone wrong — it hasn't. Finish the sequence and your result appears.
What replaces a previous result
Re-riding a stage replaces your result for it only if you were faster. A slower repeat leaves your existing time alone, exactly as on a Classic event.
Route difficulty
Every climb is rated for its average slope, its length, and its type (road or off-road). That rating is the route's difficulty — it comes from the route itself, not from how hard you pushed, so it's the same for everyone who rides it.
In short: long, steep and off-road routes are worth more than short, flat, paved ones. You don't have to work it out — each route shows its own difficulty.
On a Stage Race difficulty tells you what each stage will demand of you, but it doesn't decide your place — the clock does.
How the leaderboard is ordered
The Stage Race leaderboard shows:
- Total time — your times across the whole sequence, added together.
- Routes — how many of the event's routes you've completed.
Places are decided by fastest total time. There's no Score column on this format — points play no part in it.
Becoming a Finisher
You become a Finisher by completing at least the number of distinct routes the event requires. That number is set per event. Once you've earned it, it stays.
Worth knowing
Plan the whole sequence before you start the first stage. The date window opens the moment you ride stage one, so the schedule is running from that point whether or not you meant it to.
Other event formats
Not the event you're in? See Classic, Timed Loop or Fastest Time.
Related: Categories (gender & age) · Becoming a Finisher · Following the official route · Did my activity count?
