The Classics

[Thomo]

My question is this.

 

Why are these 3 CX guys SO good? Is there a lack of depth in the road peleton that these 3 CX guys who have now raced nearly 2 full seasons already in 2021 are still able to compete week in week out against 'road specialists' who have raced half a season?

 

Is CX actually a place to learn your skills, get strong and be better and did the women actually set the trend years ago in doing this with Vos and PFP?

I think it's important to acknowledge that these are exceptional athletes and will probably excel at most cycling disciplines.

Many have preached track cycling to be the best learning ground and perhaps CX should be added to that.

I think that the nature of CX certainly compares favorably to the demands of the classics.

[Gen]

So, turns out the on the line camera was not on the line. So Tom crossed the finish line first but Wout crossed the photo finish line first. The background on the line is red, in the photo finish its yellow. Bit of an oopsie.

And Max still won the down down competition

[Gen]

 

 

How long before some start-up company makes a bobble head of Schachmann??? It will sell millions....

 

 

I've seen gifs

 

But he is such a sport though he plays along with it.

[Pure Savage]

I wonder about this, especially since the time margin of the win is something like 4/10000 of a second, or something like that.

It does seem strange that the margin between is so TINY yet the position of the finish line photography is more than 2cm different from the actual finish line on the road.

[Frosty]

It does seem strange that the margin between is so TINY yet the position of the finish line photography is more than 2cm different from the actual finish line on the road.

That’s because you don’t understand how photo finish technology works. It’s not like a normal photo, and the red line is not the finish line, it’s a tool used to determine each position on the line.

 

Reading this may help:

https://www.velonews.com/gear/tech-wearables/technical-faq-how-a-photo-finish-camera-works/

[Frosty]

Another article that explains it a little better:

https://speedendurance.com/2016/09/18/understanding-how-a-photo-finish-camera-works/

[Frosty]

A common question from people who see a photo finish for the first time is “where is the finish line”? With the above in mind the answer is “there is no specific finish line since the whole image is the finish line”. This is often illustrated by the colour: The track is usually red or blue, except on the finish line where it is white. But since the photo finish only shows the finish line, the whole track seems to be white.

[Eldron]

A common question from people who see a photo finish for the first time is “where is the finish line”? With the above in mind the answer is “there is no specific finish line since the whole image is the finish line”. This is often illustrated by the colour: The track is usually red or blue, except on the finish line where it is white. But since the photo finish only shows the finish line, the whole track seems to be white.

 

 

I learnt a new thing today. Thank you!

[Jakkals.]

Can the lines on the road be "the finish"?

The paint on the road just that. paint.

[Frosty]

Can the lines on the road be "the finish"?

The paint on the road just that. paint.

That could be the timing device. Probably similar to an induction loop at traffic lights. The chip is placed on the seat chain stay, so from what I can see, it’s in the same place on all bikes. Perhaps it’s a certain distance from the front wheel, thereby giving a position “at the finish line”.

 

I’ve had a lot of fights with officials at my race about the use of timing chips. While not 100% accurate, it does confirms that rider X was at the line at that time, vs,m. being 10m behind in bunch 2.

Edited April 19, 2021 by Frosty

[Frosty]

From the UCI guidelines for event organisers.

Notice that the dashed line is not on the point where the black line starts.

 

sauce: https://www.uci.org/docs/default-source/publications/uci-worldtour---specifications-for-organisers.pdf?sfvrsn=17efe485_4

[Gen]

From the UCI guidelines for event organisers.

Notice that the dashed line is not on the point where the black line starts.

 

photo finish.PNG

sauce: https://www.uci.org/docs/default-source/publications/uci-worldtour---specifications-for-organisers.pdf?sfvrsn=17efe485_4

Max still won the down down competition.. It's wasn't even close[emoji6]

[Frosty]

Max still won the down down competition.. It's wasn't even close[emoji6]

Wout said it was 0.0%, so wasn’t a real competition; like drinking lemonade.

[Zatopek]

A common question from people who see a photo finish for the first time is “where is the finish line”? With the above in mind the answer is “there is no specific finish line since the whole image is the finish line”. This is often illustrated by the colour: The track is usually red or blue, except on the finish line where it is white. But since the photo finish only shows the finish line, the whole track seems to be white.

That is also why you have the horizontal green bar (from the Radler mint leaves) over the entire photo in the background.

 

Once you notice where that mint leaves are compared to the black line in the middle of the wide white paint, you have to take a moment...

[Vetplant]

Some quick math to explain what speed deferential is needed to be able to have a different winner at the start of the first white block compared to the start of the black line.

 

Assumptions:

White line width: 150mm

Traveling speed of winner: 61km/h (I took WvA's peak sprint speed from his Strava activity)

Margin of victory: 10mm (I assumed this as a reasonable discernable distance on camera images)

 

So Assuming WvA is the winner at the start of the white line by 10mm, but TomP is the winner by 10mm at the start of the Black Line, what was the required speed deferential needed to make up that 20mm difference over a 150mm stretch of road:

 

10km/h.

 

So if WvA's bike was traveling at 61km/h, TomP would have needed to be moving at 71km/h.

 

A perfect bike throw vs a bad bike throw might help you out but I think it is unlikely that you will get a vastly "wrong" race result by not placing the Finish Line Photo equipment exactly on the last portion of the White Line before the Black Line starts.

 

The Live TV Camera position and alignment is not signed-off for accuracy, thus the reason that the Photo Finish is accepted by all as the final arbiter in close races.

 

But I do think "everyone" is now educated around the technology and the riders will throw their bikes 30mm earlier to account for the different position of the Photo Finish  (Said in jest)

 

PS:

Sensitivity:

-a 5mm margin of victory results in a required speed difference of 5km/h. 

-a 50km/h finish speed results in a required speed difference of 8km/h. 

-a 75mm difference in finish line positions results in a required speed difference of 23km/h

[Frosty]

Some quick math to explain what speed deferential is needed to be able to have a different winner at the start of the first white block compared to the start of the black line.

 

Assumptions:

White line width: 150mm

 

No need to assume the dimensions of the white line, the rules state the width:

 

34cm + 4cm + 34cm

White + Black + White