Racing
Race Berkeley Omnium.
Two races on one weekend in the East Bay: the Berkeley Hills Road Race on Saturday, raced since 1957, and the Berkeley Streets Criterium in downtown Berkeley on Sunday. Elite, masters, women, juniors, collegiate and new racers, on both days.
- Dates
- April 17–18, 2027
- Registration
Online entry on BikeReg opens March 1. In 2026 online entry closed 3 days before the Berkeley Hills Road Race, and day-of entry cost $15 more.
- Saturday
- Berkeley Hills Road Race, from Orinda BART
- Sunday
- Berkeley Streets Criterium, downtown Berkeley
- From out of town
- Plan your trip →
01 New to racing?
Everyone starts in Novice.
Never raced? You're a Novice (Category 5), whatever your fitness, and Novice fields race both days:
- Saturday: the Novice road race, 33 miles in 2026. Women can also choose the Women's Short Race (33 miles in 2026).
- Sunday: the 30-minute Open Novice crit, or the Women's 4/Novice crit, with the Beginner Race Program on the course before racing starts.
- Race one day or both.
What it costs: the entry fee listed for your field on BikeReg, plus a $15 one-day USA Cycling license for each day you race (BikeReg adds it), and $15 more if you register on race day (the 2026 surcharge).
On BikeReg, choose the Novice category for each day you race, such as Open Novice. You need a road bike in good working order and a helmet; not a race bike or a team.
How to start bike racing
Skills, clubs and choosing a first race.
Get your USA Cycling license
A $15 one-day license is added when you register.
Pick your category
Novice, Category 5, and what the field labels mean.
Your first bike race
Race week and race morning, step by step.
Beginner Race Program
Time on the crit course before Sunday's racing starts.
How to train for it
Getting ready for each day, from steady riding to race week.
02 · Two races
A road race and a criterium.
Saturday, April 17
Berkeley Hills Road Race
Out of Orinda BART, over the Three Bears
- Raced since 1957
- An 18.76-mile loop with 759 feet of climbing every lap
- 16 to 90 miles, depending on your field (2026)
- Baby Bear, Mama Bear, Papa Bear on Bear Creek Road; Papa Bear's back side usually decides it
Sunday, April 18
Berkeley Streets Criterium
Closed streets in downtown Berkeley, by Ohlone Park
- A 0.61-mile, four-corner course
- 12 races from 7:30 a.m. to the 5:05 p.m. Pro/1/2 (2026)
- Free to watch, with a kids race in the middle of the day
- Race both days for an Omnium score
03 · Find your field
Which field can I enter?
Find your group below. Never raced? You're a new racer: see New to racing.
Every field and start time →Juniors by birth year →
Words you'll see
- Novice (Cat 5)
- Where every new racer starts.
- Elite 4, Elite 3
- Riders who've moved up from Novice by racing; 3 is the more experienced.
- Pro/1/2
- The most experienced categories, and the longest races.
- Masters
- Fields grouped by age, such as 35+ or 50+.
- Collegiate
- Students racing for their college team.
- Racing age
- Your age on December 31 of the race year.
- Staging
- Where your field lines up before the start.
- Neutral rollout
- Saturday's ride together, not racing, from Race HQ to the start line.
New racers
Never raced? Start here. Novice fields race both days, and the crit has a Beginner Race Program first.
Women
Both days, from Women's 4/Novice up to Women's Pro/1/2/3, with a short and a long road race on Saturday.
Juniors
Under 19, grouped by age, from 10 and under to 17-18. Find yours by birth year.
Masters
Racers 35 and older, grouped by age and experience.
Collegiate
Students racing for their school, from Collegiate Novice to Collegiate Pro/1/2.
Experienced racers
Elite 4, Elite 3 and Pro/1/2: riders who've moved up from Novice by racing.
When does my field race?
Times and distances below are from 2026. Check the race information for the next edition when it's published.
| Field | Staging | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| P/1/2 and Collegiate P/1/2 | 8:00 a.m. | 90 mi |
| Elite 3 and Collegiate 3 | 8:00 a.m. | 71 mi |
| Masters 35+ 1/2/3 | 8:00 a.m. | 71 mi |
| Women's Long Race | 8:00 a.m. | 71 mi |
| Elite 4 and Collegiate 4 | 8:15 a.m. | 52 mi |
| Masters 35+ 3/4 | 8:15 a.m. | 52 mi |
| Masters 50+ 1/2/3 | 8:15 a.m. | 52 mi |
| Masters 50+ 3/4 | 8:15 a.m. | 52 mi |
| Masters 60+ 1/2/3/4/5 | 8:15 a.m. | 52 mi |
| Masters 65+ 1/2/3/4/5 | 8:15 a.m. | 52 mi |
| Novice and Collegiate Novice | 8:30 a.m. | 33 mi |
| Women's Short Race | 8:30 a.m. | 33 mi |
| Juniors 15-16 and 17-18 (boys) | 8:30 a.m. | 33 mi |
| Juniors 15-16 and 17-18 (girls) | 8:30 a.m. | 33 mi |
| Juniors 10 and under, 11-12 and 13-14 (boys) | 8:30 a.m. | 16 mi |
| Juniors 10 and under, 11-12 and 13-14 (girls) | 8:30 a.m. | 16 mi |
| Field | Start | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Open Novice and Collegiate Novice | 7:30 a.m. | 30 min |
| Women's 4/Novice and Women's Collegiate 4/Novice | 8:05 a.m. | 30 min |
| Juniors 10 and under, 11-12 and 13-14 | 8:40 a.m. | 30 min |
| Juniors 15-16 and 17-18 | 9:15 a.m. | 40 min |
| Masters 35+/50+ 3/4 | 10:10 a.m. | 40 min |
| Elite 4 and Collegiate 4 | 11:00 a.m. | 40 min |
| Masters 50+ 1/2/3, 60+ and 65+ 1/2/3/4/5 | 12:15 p.m. | 50 min |
| Women's 3, Collegiate B, Masters 40+/50+/60+ | 1:10 p.m. | 40 min |
| Elite 3 and Collegiate 3 | 2:05 p.m. | 45 min |
| Masters 35+ 1/2/3 | 2:55 p.m. | 50 min |
| Women's Pro/1/2/3 and Collegiate Pro/1/2/3 | 4:00 p.m. | 60 min |
| Pro/1/2 and Collegiate Pro/1/2 | 5:05 p.m. | 60 min |
04 The Omnium
Race both days. Your points add up.
Start the road race and the criterium in the same Omnium category, and your finishing place in each earns points, from 25 for a win down to 1 for 20th. The highest combined score wins the Omnium.
05 Collegiate racing
Race for your school.
Collegiate fields race alongside the open fields on both days, from Collegiate Novice to Collegiate P/1/2, and Cal Cycling students lead the Berkeley Streets Criterium. 18 college teams have raced Berkeley, and the criterium hosted a Western Collegiate Cycling Conference race in 2017.
06 Race weekend
Everything for race morning.
The two races are on opposite sides of the Berkeley Hills. Saturday starts at Orinda BART, not at the start line; Sunday is downtown Berkeley.
Weekend schedule
Every field and start time, both days.
Saturday: start, staging and rollout
Race HQ at Orinda BART, check-in, parking and the neutral rollout.
Course maps
The Three Bears loop; the crit course is linked below.
Sunday: getting to the crit
Check-in at Hearst and McGee, and very limited parking.
Day-of registration
+$15 in 2026, cashless, at both races.
Registration problems
Payment, confirmation, full fields.
Plan My Berkeley Omnium
Your field, timeline and checklist in three steps.
07 Traveling to Berkeley?
Make a weekend of it.
Teams have come from Los Angeles, the Pacific Northwest and New York to race here. Airports, lodging, bikes on planes and getting between the two venues are in the travel guide.
08 Where your entry goes
Racing that funds youth cycling.
Entries and sponsorship pay for the races, and the proceeds go to East Bay youth cycling. In 2026 the Berkeley Omnium raised $28,610 for six East Bay NICA high school teams.
09 Results and history
Raced since 1957.
Official results are on OnTheDay. The Berkeley Hills Road Race history lists every Pro/1/2 winner since 1957, and the riders who went from here to the pros.
Race it
See you on the start line.
The Berkeley Omnium is April 17–18, 2027. Registration opens on BikeReg March 1.
Find your way around race weekend.
Two venues, with road-race staging at Orinda BART. Choose a place to see how it fits together.
Race weekend · Regional orientation
Loading the venue map…
Orinda BART: check in and stage here.
Orinda BART, north end parking lot. 2.3-mile neutral rollout to the road-race start. Race HQ and the racing start are different places.
Read the guideOpen directionsCourse information follows the published recon sources. Check the current race information for changes. The map shows location, not a route between venues.