Cape Town Cycle Tour 2020

[Shebeen]

From what I can remember, it was done with photographs. Back in the day when we had to have a front and back number.

 

Which is why it took a week to get the results. In the newspaper. The ARGUS newspaper. Cracking the first 1000 for the first time was pretty cool, as that was the front page!

and actionphoto would print out every photo and mail them to you.

you could either send the photos back, request bigger ones or the money.

 

if you just scanned them in, you scored with the 21st century technology!

 

do neither and their legal team would be on your case, threateneing to take you to court or (heaven's forbid) BAN you from the Argus. I had this once (well one image got lost apparently). Took me about 3 years before they finally lost interest on my interest.

[Long Wheel Base]

and actionphoto would print out every photo and mail them to you.

you could either send the photos back, request bigger ones or the money.

 

if you just scanned them in, you scored with the 21st century technology!

 

do neither and their legal team would be on your case, threateneing to take you to court or (heaven's forbid) BAN you from the Argus. I had this once (well one image got lost apparently). Took me about 3 years before they finally lost interest on my interest.

Back then, even if you bought them, they were still not too badly priced. Now they ridiculously expensive.

[NotSoBigBen]

and actionphoto would print out every photo and mail them to you.

you could either send the photos back, request bigger ones or the money.

 

if you just scanned them in, you scored with the 21st century technology!

 

do neither and their legal team would be on your case, threateneing to take you to court or (heaven's forbid) BAN you from the Argus. I had this once (well one image got lost apparently). Took me about 3 years before they finally lost interest on my interest.

I told them to come their pictures with pleasure .... still have some they never fetched, told them to get lost with their threatening letters

[Tim Brink]

 Cracking the first 1000 for the first time was pretty cool, as that was the front page!

 I still check this, every year. 2020 was my finest effort. Until Sparky finds another lost sub-3 to add...

[Tim Brink]

From what I can remember, it was done with photographs. Back in the day when we had to have a front and back number.

 

Which is why it took a week to get the results. In the newspaper. The ARGUS newspaper. Cracking the first 1000 for the first time was pretty cool, as that was the front page!

 

I know a guy who wrote a book...

 

"The timing was still being done by hand, essentially, with banks of Rotaractors sitting atop a bridge over the finish line, writing down numbers and time-of-day times as fast as they could, which would then be shuttled to data processors, who would input them to correlate with the finish cards the riders had handed in, and give – remarkably accurately – a finishing time to each card. These would then be processed, and compared (by the computer in recent years, by humans in the early years) with the rider’s start time, and gradually the full results would take shape.

 

So how did the timing crew cope with big bunches? Not a problem: if they got the first rider’s time and number, and the last rider’s number, and the volunteers collecting the finish cards kept them in the right order, the bunch was given the front rider’s time on the line. John Stegmann created this system for the very first Tour, based on the Tour de France’s ruling that all riders in a bunch get the same time, even if the back rider has taken a few seconds longer in the real world: not everyone can be the first one in the group, can they? Again, it was remarkably effective, and robust to the degree that the complaint rate was in the tenths of a percentage point each year, even with 30,000 people finishing in the space of seven hours. Historically, more than half the field finishes in the last two hours of the finish window – that means something like two riders a second crossing the line, for two hours solid. Quite remarkable.

 

As good as the system was – and it could comfortably have been upscaled to cope with a field twice the size – transponder timing was the way forward. For 1999, every rider in the Tour purchased and wore a transponder on their ankle, held on by a Velcro strap. Mats after the start would pick your ‘chip’ up, to show that you had started in the correct group (the clock starts with the gun, not on the mat), and there would be various mats along the route to help the organisers keep tabs on where riders were, and to stamp out cheating. A pair of mats after the finish line would make double sure your chip was registered, with the time adjusted by a few seconds to allow

for the roll from the line to the mats."

[DieSwartGevaar]

Anyone else still waiting for their official result?

 

E-mailed RaceTec... Ghost ship

[Ashchest]

Anyone else still waiting for their official result?

 

E-mailed RaceTec... Ghost ship

 

I received an SMS with my result

[lechatnoir]

 

I know a guy who wrote a book...

 

"The timing was still being done by hand, essentially,<snip>"

 

 

so, like a parkrun? i know a guy who does results for a parkrun... poor guy has had so many saturday's nuked by results processing

[SoloCyclist]

I received an SMS with my result

SMS states provisional results

[Shebeen]

 

I know a guy who wrote a book...

 

"The timing was still being done by hand, essentially, with banks of Rotaractors sitting atop a bridge over the finish line, writing down numbers and time-of-day times as fast as they could, which would then be shuttled to data processors, who would input them to correlate with the finish cards the riders had handed in, and give – remarkably accurately – a finishing time to each card. These would then be processed, and compared (by the computer in recent years, by humans in the early years) with the rider’s start time, and gradually the full results would take shape.

 

So how did the timing crew cope with big bunches? Not a problem: if they got the first rider’s time and number, and the last rider’s number, and the volunteers collecting the finish cards kept them in the right order, the bunch was given the front rider’s time on the line. John Stegmann created this system for the very first Tour, based on the Tour de France’s ruling that all riders in a bunch get the same time, even if the back rider has taken a few seconds longer in the real world: not everyone can be the first one in the group, can they? Again, it was remarkably effective, and robust to the degree that the complaint rate was in the tenths of a percentage point each year, even with 30,000 people finishing in the space of seven hours. Historically, more than half the field finishes in the last two hours of the finish window – that means something like two riders a second crossing the line, for two hours solid. Quite remarkable.

 

As good as the system was – and it could comfortably have been upscaled to cope with a field twice the size – transponder timing was the way forward. For 1999, every rider in the Tour purchased and wore a transponder on their ankle, held on by a Velcro strap. Mats after the start would pick your ‘chip’ up, to show that you had started in the correct group (the clock starts with the gun, not on the mat), and there would be various mats along the route to help the organisers keep tabs on where riders were, and to stamp out cheating. A pair of mats after the finish line would make double sure your chip was registered, with the time adjusted by a few seconds to allow

for the roll from the line to the mats."

 

that is partially incorrect.

it was 1998 that we had chip timing.

 

Digitron was the company, and they got probably 99% of the people's time right.

The other 1% were missed had to then fill out forms, send faxes, smoke signals and stuff motivating why they should be recorded a finish. and then (when the racetec register came) they still lost it.

 

I know this for a fact because I am part of the 1%. And have got all the evidence I can show and despite trying my damndest and going through every channel they refuse to credit me with this finish. oh, ps, also just wanted to type that bit in bold for once to feel special.

[Velouria]

 

I know a guy who wrote a book...

 

"The timing was still being done by hand, ..."

Seriously impressive - for a sleepy little city on the tip of Africa...

[Long Wheel Base]

Seriously impressive - for a sleepy little city on the tip of Africa...

Yip, A S#!thole country. Wait till we show the world how to spread corona, Guiness record stuff.

[Karooryder]

O ja, I forgot...probably the best ARGUS deal you will get the entire weekend...

 

If you hang around long enough at hospitality after the race you can land a Spur burger (albeit cold) for thirty bucks. Bargain. Think I had 4 or 5...

[SGCycle]

Hello all

 

Does anyone have the name and contact details of the emergency mechanic that was based checkpoint 7 (at the 51 km mark).

  

Thanks in advance

Shaheed

[Zub]

Oh, yes, I stand corrected.

 

Where is the savage race report and video??? It's been 5 days

[Nick_A]

Anyone else still waiting for their official result?

 

E-mailed RaceTec... Ghost ship

 

Also still waiting on my results - nothing on Racetec, no SMS or anything... 2 people I rode with both received their results (with the 1 also dropping back like me to ride with the 3rd person).

 

Sent in a query to CTCT and Racetec but no response as yet.