Road racing is mass start racing, either held on roads or closed circuits like Castle Combe.  The race distance can be from as little as 30km to 250km, but the majority will be around 80km.  There could be as few as 20 riders in a race, over a hundred!

Road racing is run under the rules of British Cycling (BC) or, if you are over 40, of the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists (LVRC).  To race in their events, you need to become a member of the ruling organisation, and a member of an affiliated club.  Both organisations have a comprehensive race calendar for all regions.

BC events are split by category, the lowest being 4th category.  Once you start to race, then you can score points in each race depending on your position.  When you score enough points, then you move up a category.  Some events that do not attract a large number of riders will run races where the categories are combined.  Typically, 3rd and 4th categories might race together, and Elite, 1st and 2nd categories.