The competition was established in 2007 and is open to all riders who ride with an Italian-licensed team.
[1] The current format of the Italian Cycling Cup groups all Italian one-day and stages races of HC and first category, i.e. all races just below UCI World Tour level.
Since 2016 the competition also includes the time trial and road race of the Italian national championships.
In each race, the top 20 riders score points and the rider scoring the most points in total is crowned the Italian Cycling Cup champion.
The winning team used to receive a wildcard invitation for the Giro d'Italia the following season.