Irish Cycling Races - Timing Chips

ajk24

Do any of these races use timing chips - A friend raced the lacey cup at the weekend as Cat 4 and said because finished in the main bunch he won't find out what position he finished.

Having been involved in running a duathlon at the weekend after which all the times/splits were available to competitors while they were still finishing their tea and sandwiches, I was surprised to hear that cycling doesn't operate a similar chip system. Also the pre-registration that is common in tri is not used by cycling clubs with little publication of details of the events in advance.

Any thoughts? would accurate times for all not be of benefit to cat 2/3/4s so that they know how they finished against their peers.

Quigs Snr

Cycling is different to running, triathlon etc... basically its not every man for himself, it's not against the clock either, there are no personal bests, if you cannot stay with the bunch it's over and you will lose a lot of time. Sliping out the back on a climb halfway through and losing 15 minutes by the finish does not make you 15 minutes worse than the guy who finished with the bunch, it might have just meant that he could suffer for 10 seconds longer than you could when the going got tough. Similarly, I have hung on by my fingernails and beaten riders in a sprint when I was the worst rider in the bunch, so I didn't get excited looking at the times, I knew the others were vastly better, that day I was just lucky, smart or both. Simply put, times are not a valid comparisson, unless you are doing a TT.

For road racing unless you are trying to hold your position on GC in a stage race, time is simply irrelevant for road racing, you can't boil it down to minutes and seconds. You have a finite amount of power and energy, your opponents at least in my case will always have more so the trick is to spend what you have as wisely as possible and as a result you are either first or you are last. Who cares about the positions in between ?

The only events I have done that are timed are Time Trials and the Etape Du Tour (where I actually did have a timing chip). Stage races are also timed, but usually not with chips. Apart from those, I don't see the point in having timing chips, they are an unncessary cost for race organisers and most road racers have no interest in them.

victorcarrera

Time Trials are recorded accurately and individually. This is where you measure your ability against the clock and others.
The road race is different in that everybody in the bunch is given the same time but unless its a multi stage race it makes no difference as most of the riders are cycling in a partial vacuum. Only the winner of the bunch sprint or possibly top three riders get a prize or points in a league race.
This is why all but the front riders in the bunch just roll over the finish line. If you came 14th in the bunch sprint you might not want to say it to anybody.

ajk24

Quigs Snr wrote: »

Cycling is different to running, triathlon etc... basically its not every man for himself, it's not against the clock either, there are no personal bests, if you cannot stay with the bunch it's over and you will lose a lot of time. Sliping out the back on a climb halfway through and losing 15 minutes by the finish does not make you 15 minutes worse than the guy who finished with the bunch, it might have just meant that he could suffer for 10 seconds longer than you could when the going got tough. Similarly, I have hung on by my fingernails and beaten riders in a sprint when I was the worst rider in the bunch, so I didn't get excited looking at the times, I knew they were better, that day I was just lucky, smart or both.

Unless you are trying to hold your position on GC in a stage race, time is simply irrelevant for road racing, you can't boil it down to minutes and seconds. You have a finite amount of power and energy, your opponents at least in my case will always have more so the trick is to spend what you have as wisely as possible and as a result you are either first or you are last. Who cares about the positions in between ?

The only events I have done that are timed are Time Trials and the Etape Du Tour (where I actually did have a timing chip). Stage races are also timed, but usually not with chips.

now I feel stupid for asking. call it triathletes obsession with splits/seconds. there is a reason my sort isn't welcome around here:D

was hoping to try my luck at a few cat4s this year but injury has ended my season before it even started. will aim for 2011 now.

Quigs Snr

ajk24 wrote: »

now I feel stupid for asking. call it triathletes obsession with splits/seconds. there is a reason my sort isn't welcome around here:D

was hoping to try my luck at a few cat4s this year but injury has ended my season before it even started. will aim for 2011 now.

Hey, anyone who loves riding a bike is welcome around here. Even if you are confused with all this wetsuit and runners business and therefore only 33% cyclosexual.

dave2pvd

FWIW, I think CI ought to rent out chips and transponders for suitable events. Surely stage races use timing?
Over here, at least where I live (Georgia), all the promoters have standardized on the Championchip system. I own one. Anyone who races owns one. The popularity of the system may have something to do with the fact that quite a few of our events are criteriums. Which would be why finish-line cameras are typically present also.

Quigs Snr

Usually stage races in Ireland are done by camera's, thats why they get you to wear your number on the back of a particular shoulder, so it's visible to the camera on a particular side of the road.

It mostly gets the job done but is not always 100% accurate, I have spent the odd evening after a stage talking to commisaires to let them know that our rider finished in a different group on the road.

dave2pvd

Quigs Snr wrote: »

Usually stage races in Ireland are done by camera's, thats why they get you to wear your number on the back of a particular shoulder, so it's visible to the camera on a particular side of the road.

Yeah, I suppose that makes more sense.

For our annual race, we hire a husband and wife team to handle scoring (English couple actually). They are the ultimate number-placement nazis. And rightfully so. Those 2 don't make mistakes.