Cross the Bay starts this Sunday with Breezeway Cross, and riders looking for the endgame now know what it will take to win the points title.

At a star-studded gala in Ibiza, Cross the Bay organizers announced the points format that will determine the overall points winner for the 2013 season. It’s a demanding and rewarding system that handicaps riders from all fields, encourages rather than discourages moving up a category, and should go a long way in making this series a massive challenge that demands perfection from start to finish.

There are a number of racers looking to target specific races along the way, but the diehards like Ross Gibbs, Trever Kingsbury, Chad Wells, Ryan Bolin, Wes Sovis and a host of others with certainly look to place in the overall. The new points system is restructured from last season and will be a big motivating factor to bring racers back for all four stops of the year.

The new structure will reward points with varying amounts to A, B and C classes. They will be in the same overall series standings, but weighted differently based on the category and placing.

Series director Jason Whittaker hailed it as a ‘dynamic system’ that should make for some interesting racing and will draw big names throughout the fall. “Math, guys. There’s going to be some math, some addition. We’ve invested in calculators to that end and are exciting at the prospect of writing ‘hello’ on it by typing numbers and then turning it upside down,” he said over a plate of foie gras.

Race officials have released the following formula to determine the series winner. The overall should come from the A category, provided the top four or five racers show up every time. Otherwise, a dedicated and successful B racer could take the overall with two wins and perhaps a top five in the A after moving up.

Breezeway Cross is Sunday, September 29, with day-of registration opening at 11.00am.