Cycling Ireland is the National Governing Body for the sport of Cycling on the island Ireland affiliated to the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

***PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL LICENCE TYPES ARE VALID FROM 1ST JAN - 31ST DEC IRRESPECTIVE OF WHEN LICENCE IS PAID FOR***

Introductory Licence
If you have never been a member of Cycling Ireland, and are not interested in racing you can select an "Introductory" licence for €15. This covers you while you are out training, on club spins, and while participating in leisure tours.

Non Competition Licence
This is a leisure licence, and it covers you while you are out training, on club spins, and while participating in leisure tours. This is available to existing Cycling Ireland members, so if you got an introductory licence last year, when you renew you get this licence for the same options. The fee is €25 if you are based in Connacht, Leinster or Munster, and is €35 if you are based in Ulster.

Club Competition Licence
This licence is €60 if you are in a club, and €90 if you are not in a club. If you are from Ulster, there is a further €10 charge. This licence allows you to race in club leagues in road racing, but not in Open Races.

Restricted Licences
You have the option of getting a restricted licence if you want to race unlimited domestically in one discipline. This licence is €90 if you are in a club and €120 if you are not in a club. There is a further €10 charge if you are from Ulster. Once you select a restricted licence you must select a category. The choices are "Time Trial", "Track", "BMX", "Bicycle Polo", and "Off Road".
If you select "Off Road" you must select the type of licence you need depending on your standard. If you are unsure as to which type you need you are best off asking a member of the club for advice. The types are: elite; expert (intermediate level); masters (age 30-39); senior/sport (usually novice/beginner level); veteran (age over 40).

Full Competition Licence
This licence costs €125 if you are in a club, and €155 if you are not in a club. There is a further €10 charge if you are from Ulster. This licence qualifies you for racing in any discipline (include offroad, bmx, TT etc) in Ireland. If you want to race overseas you can get overseas authorisation for an extra €20, and submit/upload a photo ID electronically. If you want to race on the road in open races, this is the type of licence you want. The categories you can select from are based on your ability, the highest being A+, which is reserved for those road riders who are on pro-teams (with the exception of female pro riders). A1 is the next highest category, then A2, the majority of the members are either A3 or A4 riders, with the A4 category being reserved for new members, and weaker/less experienced riders. The distances vary depending on the category.

Junior
At the 2011 AGM it was decided that the Junior Category would be a stand alone category. Where there is an A3 race is part of a promotion the Juniors would race with the A3s. The Junior Licence is €50 for club Juniors, and €80 for unattached Junior riders. If a junior rider opts for a leisure licence the same fees as seniors apply. All juniors joining Cycling Ireland for the first time must fill out a parental consent form and return it to Cycling Ireland/their club secretary before joining.

Youth
U12 and U14 All riders who are 14 or under (specific dates of birth listed on the fees HERE every year) are entitled to a full competition licence for €5. When selecting the licence the rider needs to select full competition licence, their age category will automatically come up.
U16 Any rider who turns 15 or 16 during the year (specific dates of birth listed on the fees form every year) are entitled to a full competition licence for €35. When selecting the licence the rider needs to select a full competition licence, their age category will automatically come up. If they opt for a leisure licence the same fees as seniors apply.
All youths joining Cycling Ireland for the first time must fill out a parental consent form and return it to Cycling Ireland or their club secretary before joining.
If joining online, all riders must have their own individual email address, ie riders can't share email addresses. In the case of riders not having an email address the rider must apply through the club secretary. If the rider is unattached, they must submit manually, note this is a longer procedure.

Women, Vets:
In previous years there were separate categories for Juniors, Women and Vets, but due to the varying speeds and abilities of riders within these categories, this old system has been replaced with the new grading system. Now riders are racing against riders of similar speeds. At the National Championships there is still a separate race for Juniors, Women and Vets. The Women's Commission also run a programme of races for women only, for those of you not ready yet to race in big bunches.

You can edit all your personal information yourself by logging into your profile and making any changes you need. Use the ‘Edit Information’ button to change name, dob, address etc. Use ‘Sign In Details’ tab to change email & password. All details can be edited.  If you do not have this functionality in your profile please email info@cyclingireland.ie.

***PLEASE NOTE THAT MEMBERSHIP IS VALID FROM 1ST JAN - 31ST DEC IRRESPECTIVE OF DATE OF PAYMENT***

Insurance, events, camaraderie and learning:

Cycling is one of the fastest growing and most popular sports right now. By joining Cycling Ireland you are joining a community where not only will you be insured while you cycle, you can enjoy the social and physical benefits of the sport.  

INSURANCE: you will be covered for personal injury, and third party damage/liability. This cover extends to training, and events (See "What kind of licence am I looking for" for details of the events covered under each licence). See our FAQ for insurance HERE

Bike Insurance: You can purchase Bike Insurance from our insurance brokers O'Driscoll O'Neill by clicking on the following link: www.odon.ie/index.php/cycling

PHYSICAL: Cycling is a non weight bearing sport, which means it is easy on the joints, and recommended by many specialists as a good sport for rehabilitation of injury or sickness while improving your overall well being.

EDUCATIONAL: Cycling Ireland encourages learning and development in its members, and runs a series of Coaching Qualifications. In 2011 we signed a contract with British Cycling which will further the range of services and training that we can offer our coaches. For all details see our coaching section on the website HERE

SOCIAL:

Events: Many events offer discounted entry fees for Cycling Ireland members. Once you become a member of Cycling Ireland you will get a yearbook, which has, among other information, a calendar of events for road racing, off road racing, and leisure tours. Throughout the year the weekends are full of events in which you can participate. 

Clubs: Our clubs are one of our greatest assets in Cycling Ireland. While you don't have to be a member of a club to join Cycling Ireland, we recommend you join one, as it is in the clubs, through our members, that you will learn vital skills and training methods to help you improve as a cyclist.

Newsletter: Back in 2009 "Braking News" was a quarterly newsletter that we posted to our members, keeping them up-to-date with what was going on. In 2011 Braking News went online, and our Ezine is now circulated to all Cycling Ireland members.

It is not possible to upgrade your licence online. We will be introducing this functionality to our system in the future.

At the moment, the process is to email info@cyclingireland.ie with 'Licence Upgrade' in the subject line. In the body of the email please confirm:

- Name & Club (if applicable)

- current or most recent licence number

- best daytime contact number

- confirmation of which licence type you require

When processing your request, we will call you to take payment over the phone by card and process & issue your new licence. The amount you pay will be the price of the new licence less what you have already paid for your current licence.

Please note that changes in Full Competition racing categories are only conducted in line with points accumulated from race results. This is a seperate process. Details of which can be found HERE

There is an Admin Fee of €20 to replace a Competitive Licence and/or Race Numbers and €10 to replace for a Non-Competitive Licence.

If your Licence or Race Numbers have been lost or stolen and you need replacements please email us to info@cyclingireland.ie confirming:

Name:
Club:
Daytime Contact number:
Licence Number:
Reason for replacement request: 

We will call you take payment over the phone and will then send the new licence (& numbers) to you.

For Full Competition Licence & Number replacement a brand new licence is generated with new Licence & Back numbers. You will not get the same licence number as previously issued again. All other Licence types will be re-issued the same Licence number.

Please note: You can continue to participate in events while awaiting your replacement Licence by printing your profile page to show your name & licence number. This will confirm your membership and facilitate participation as a registered Cycling Ireland member.

For new members;

Register Now

Go the top left hand side of our website and hit "Register Now".
On the next screen you select to either register in a club, or without.
Follow the instructions & save. 

You will then get an email asking you to confirm that your email is correct.

Once your details have been vetted by Cycling Ireland you will get an email sent to your email address, this will have your password. With this password you will be able to login to your profile.

For existing or previous members and new members that have completed the Registration process (above):

Signing into your profile
At the top of our home page you will see a button saying "log in".
When you hit this you will see the log in section.
Enter your email address as your user name, and the password that you have received.
This will bring you into your profile.
You will be advised to request a licence type. Click on this banner and select the licence you need by filling in the details required.

Once you have submitted this request you will be advised that you are awaiting club approval.

Awaiting Club Approval
Contact your club secretary and ask them to approve you licence.
Once they have approved your licence, Cycling Ireland will also approve the request.
Once we approve your request, you will be able to pay online.

Paying online
To pay you must log into your profile
If your application has been approved by your Club & Cycling Ireland it will be at payment stage.
When your licence is at the final payment stage you will see 'PAY HERE' clearly visible in your profile. To pay, simply click on this and follow instructions.

Once you have paid your licence number will be generated straight away and you will receive email confirmation which serves as a temporary licence until you receive the hard copy in the post. A print out of your profile page will also serve as proof of your membership licence being up to date if required for entering events. You will receive your actual licence generally within two weeks of payment.

Note that during our busiest season (Nov - April) this may take longer to process.
If you have questions please approach your club secretary before approaching Cycling Ireland.

Three club officials in every club have access to all the members in their club. When that official logs into their profile (with their email address and password in the log in section) they can add, renew and edit members. They can also renew the club membership here. 
To view the club members go to "members" in the black tab, here you can view, edit, renew and manage your members. Under "profile" and "club management" you can renew your club affiliation. Please ensure you contact the office info@cyclingireland.ie if there is a change in roles in your club committee.

When you are registering your club in Connacht, Leinster or Munster you will have to pay a Provincial fee. This is broken down as follows:
Connacht - €140
Leinster - €130
Munster - €130

These fees have been set by the Provincial Committees, and the purpose is to use the money for development. If you are querying the breakdown of this fee in your particular Province you can either contact the Provincial Secretary (details in the annual yearbook that every rider gets), or you can attend the Provincial AGM which takes place usually in October.

In Ulster the Provincial fee is not placed on the clubs, but on the riders, where every rider, except for introductory members and Under 18 year olds, pay an extra €10 on their licence.

Contact Cycling Ireland info@cyclingireland.ie and request a club starter pack. This will be emailed to you. Note that you need a minimum of 6 members to start a club, and 4 positions must be filled by Club Officials: Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer & CPO (Child Protection Officer).

The most common reason for an existing member having trouble logging in is that we do not have a registered email address for them or the email address noted in your profile is incorrect. In this instance you must contact your club secretary to update your email and reset your password.

It is also possible you have a duplicate profile on our system. As your email is one of the unique identifiers for login purposes, if another profile is using the same email address it will cause login difficulties.

If you are an Un-Attached member contact Cycling Ireland to reset your password. Cycling Ireland is info@cyclingireland.ie  

If you are in full time third level education and are a Senior rider (over 18), taking out a Full Competition licence you qualify for a 50% discount.  

To avail of the discount please renew your membership online in the  regular manner, paying the full amount. Once this is done email proof of your student status (Student ID & Letter from Educational Body) to info@cyclingireland.ie with the following details:

Your Name
Your Club
Your Licence Number
Your Home Address
Your Phone Number

We will then refund you 50% of your fees. Processing of these requests can take up to 30days.

If you want to process a licence quickly, the only way to do this is by applying online. Once you pay online your licence number appears on your profile and you are considered insured and covered for participation in events from that point on. You should print this screen and present it to the race organiser on the day. You will also receive an email when you pay that serves as a temporary licence until your actual licence arrives in the post.

You must be able to quote your licence number at the event, or present a print screen of your profile with your licence number to confirm that we have received the fee/ID and all is in order. 

In the log in section you will see the option to request a password saying "Forgot Password". If after clicking on this button your password has not been sent to your email address (make sure you also check your junkmail) you can contact your club secretary or Cycling Ireland at info@cyclingireland.ie

If the points in rider rankings does not reflect the points that you received in a particular race you need to contact Sean Bracken, the Grading Officer, at grading@cyclingireland.ie.

Please note that it may take up to a week for the points to be applied to your account.

If you want to transfer to another club, or indeed leave your club to go unattached, you need to get a letter of release from your club secretary. You also need to get a letter of approval or acceptance from your new club secretary. All this can be done by email.
Basically you get your old club secretary to email us at info@cyclingireland.ie approving your transfer out of the club, and get your new club secretary to email us to confirm that you can move to the club.
This can be done relatively quickly, but a transfer cannot be approved without notification from the club secretaries.

In the case of a club not releasing the member, if an objection has not been registered from the club within 21 days, then the person automatically can be transferred out of the club.

In the case of an objection please see the following from the Technical Rules & Regulations:

4. However within the 21 days referred to in rule G3.3 above, the club may object on the grounds of either
    (a) the person has a provable undischarged liability or
    (b) was in breach of either club or Cycling Ireland rules.
   Notwithstanding point (a) above, a ‘Minor’ will not be held responsible for an undischarged liability.
5. Such objections must be sent to the person by registered letter, and copied to Cycling Ireland and the
    Provincial Secretary referred to in rule G3.2 above.
6. In the case of an objection, it will be the responsibility of the Provincial Executive to ensure that the
    objection is thoroughly investigated and resolved in accordance with AG.1, within a period of 21 days
    from receipt of the letter referred to in rule G3.5 above.

The months October - June are our busiest in the office, as it is licence processing time. There are restricted phone hours (10am - 1pm and 2pm - 4pm). While you have the option to leave a voice message, the most guaranteed method of getting a reply is via email. This will be replied to as soon as possible. If you are a member of a club, you should approach your club secretary first, as they usually have the answer to your query, and access to your online profile.

The most visible discipline is road cycling, but there are plenty more ways you can ride your bike!

Road Cycling: This type of cycling is done on regular roads, and the type of bike used is a road bike, or racer, that's the one with the handle bars that curve down. This cycling is most commonly associated with big races like the Tour de France, and our most popular cycling super heroes - Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche. Kelly and Roche (after whom our office is named!) were top international riders in the 1980s. Road cycling is not exclusive to racing, as the leisure tours, and mass participation challenges have become hughely popular over the last few years. Audax cycling is a branch of road cycling, which is a long distance cycle or race that is usually several hundred miles in duration - not for the faint hearted!

Off Road Cycling, or MTB: This type of cycling is done off the beaten track, and is popular with the more adventurous rider. There are many races and events organised by the off road commission throughout the year, with events in Cross Country Mountain Biking, Downhill Mountain Biking and Cyclo Cross being the most popular. BMXing is making a comeback lately also. A recent venue opened in Ratoath will hopefully bring back a surge in BMX riders.

Track Cycling: Over the past few years track cycling has become very popular, and it is mainly associated with the Olympics. A track bike has no gears and no brakes, and the races tend to be short and powerful. While Ireland does not yet have an indoor velodrome, we have two outdoor tracks (Sundrive in Dublin and Orangefield in Belfast), where bikes can be hired, and race programmes are in place throughout the summer. This is a very exciting type of cycling, and is very popular with the young, and the young at heart.

Time Trials: A Time Trial is a race against the clock. The bike is similar to a road bike, but has "tri bars" (which look like two horns) coming out of the handle bars. The rider can get into an aerodynamical position and power their way through a course as fast as they can. This type of riding is often an introduction to cycle racing for athletes who are a bit nervous about racing in a bunch, but want to go fast, it's a true test of strength and endurance, a race between you and the clock.

Artistic Cycling or Indoor Cycling: This is like a mix between cycling and gymnastic, where riders perform the most amazing tricks on bikes in gyms. This is popular in Germany and Holland.

Bicycle Polo: We now have our first bicycle polo club, it does what it says on the tin - ride a bicycle, and play polo... not water polo, regular polo. The club bases itself in the Phoenix Park - contact us for more info.

We expect all Cycling Ireland members to obey the rules of the road. Please become familiar with the rules, and follow them at all times. RULES_OF_THE_ROAD also basic rules: HERE

***PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL MEMBERSHIP & LICENCE TYPES ARE VALID FROM 1ST JAN - 31ST DEC IRRESPECTIVE OF WHEN MEMBERSHIP / LICENCE IS PAID FOR***

The insurance policy FAQ can be found HERE

Your UCI category is the category under which you race if you are racing internationally.

If you are between 18 and 23 then you are automatically an espoir.

If you are over 30 and intend racing in the European or World Masters Championships, you need to select "Masters".

All other people should select "Elite".

Master & Elite are UCI categories and are relevant if the rider intends taking part in any UCI ranked events.

Masters are graded by age brackets starting at 30-35 and going up. As a Master rider you cannot take part in any UCI Elite events and vice versa. Where this becomes relevant is if say, you wanted to take part in the Worlds Masters Road or MTB Race or Track Event(s) he/she could not take part in the Rás or the National Senior Championships as these are UCI ranked Elite events. Similarly an Elite (Pros included) rider that may be 34yrs old cannot take part in the World Masters even though they are at the right age. For most domestic racing it makes no difference which category you choose.

Cycling Ireland membership runs for the calendar year. This means that no matter when you register and pay for your licence, it expires on the 31st December.

The only exception to this is if you renew your licence in mid November, after the registration for the following year has opened.

If you are a club official and want to renew your club fees note that the cheapest time to renew the club affiliation is before December 31st, when the Cycling Ireland fee is €150, this raises by €50 for subsequent months.

The Child Protection Officer is a Safeguarding Officer who is familiar with the Code of Ethics, which are a set of guidelines outlined to protect our coaches, riders, children and vulnerable people. The Child Protection Officer should attend a Code of Ethics Course at some point during the year, where they will be educated on various matter.

The Irish Sports Council have requested that all the clubs have a Child Protection Officer, regardless of whether or not the club has youths, as all clubs should have an inclusive policy in the interest of sport.

Cycling Ireland recently published our Code of Ethics Manual: HERE

The Irish Sports Council Code of Ethics Manual can be found: HERE

Our National Child Protection Officer is Orla Hendron - you can contact here here: orlahendron@hotmail.com