STRAVA sportives ?

[doonhaemer]

I got a garmin and signed up with Strava for the first time this year. I think it's great
Is there any point now in timing chips on sportives? or any official time keeping at all? Why not just put the sportive route on strava as a segment then those riders who are bothered about an accurate time and comparing how they do against others can just go on strava and see how they did, not just against that day's riders but everybody who has done it ever. The organised sportive event would still have a lot to offer such as signed route ( safety traffic signs, not just the arrows that you see when riding), feeding and getting everyone together on the same day.
The organiser could publish the times from strava so those who have just timed themselves with a watch can at least see how their time compares.

 

[Col5632]

Not everybody uses garmins and strava though

 

[robgul]

An apposite post ... we run the Shakespeare 100 events ( www.shakespeare100.org.uk - SPRING in April and AUTUMN in September) and have fought shy of the cost/value of timing chips (we're volunteers, all proceeds go to Macmillan Cancer Support) ... a bit of a survey revealed that only a small percentage of riders were bothered about times .. and they all have their own measuring devices to compensate for getting through the line on mass start etc. The vast majority are there to cycle in great countryside, have a nice day out etc - and benefit from the work that the team puts in with organisation, signage etc etc.

We used Strava in April 2013 and it was an instant hit ... again in September with about 45% of the riders recording segment times. We've spoken to the Strava guys in the US and we're working on a "product idea" .... We plan to publish the Strava times on our event websites.

Slightly at a tangent ... sportive events are starting to turn into "races" which whilst one can understand the competitive aspect there needs to be a balance struck between time and safety/sensible riding - but that's another discussion ...

Rob

 

[mip]

I got a garmin and signed up with Strava for the first time this year. I think it's great
Is there any point now in timing chips on sportives? or any official time keeping at all? Why not just put the sportive route on strava as a segment then those riders who are bothered about an accurate time and comparing how they do against others can just go on strava and see how they did, not just against that day's riders but everybody who has done it ever. The organised sportive event would still have a lot to offer such as signed route ( safety traffic signs, not just the arrows that you see when riding), feeding and getting everyone together on the same day.
The organiser could publish the times from strava so those who have just timed themselves with a watch can at least see how their time compares.

In Strava parlance I think that would be a 'Route' not a 'Segment'.

 

[MichaelO]

Looks like they're about to roll out something along these lines
http://www.strava.com/races

 

[DiddlyDodds]

I got a garmin and signed up with Strava for the first time this year. I think it's great
Is there any point now in timing chips on sportives?quote]

The phrase "im all right Jack" springs to mind reading this post.

 

[doonhaemer]

Cannot disagree there, Garmins, or similar are not the cheapest bike computers,. However, if there where enough times on Strava it would be a reasonable statisical sample so even someone self timing with a simple watch could look at the strava times and get an idea of how they compare to the others. Though i suppose the strava riders would be the keen regular riders so times might not be reflect the whole field.

i'm with robgul, I don't see the electronic timing a being good value for money, especially if it impacts on money raised for a charity. Manual timing isn't difficult to organise with a few willing volunteers.

 

[Rob3rt]

There should be no timing, no publishing of results (other than a list of riders who completed the designated route) and no encouragement of race like behaviour by organisers. Sportives are rides not a race.

 

[400bhp]

There should be no timing, no publishing of results (other than a list of riders who completed the designated route) and no encouragement of race like behaviour by organisers. Sportives are rides not a race.

Certainly not on an open road.

I think it's only a matter of time before the insurers clamp down on it, either by banning timing or making it very expensive to insure.

 

[HLaB]

Certainly not on an open road.

I think it's only a matter of time before the insurers clamp down on it, either by banning timing or making it very expensive to insure.

Timings were banned for a descent in the Mamotte!

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

There should be no timing, no publishing of results (other than a list of riders who completed the designated route) and no encouragement of race like behaviour by organisers. Sportives are rides not a race.

Completely agree with this; if you want to race get a number stuck on your back, not on your bike!