Published by Don White 12 September 2010
Background
I agreed to take on the handicappers job at the AGM in 2007 at a time when there were quite a number of adverse comments regarding the traditional RTT method of handicapping being applied at the time. From discussions on the forum and direct with club members I established that the main element that members were unhappy with is the level of judgement that the RTT system requires of the handicapper. Most would prefer a process that could be fully defined and be based more on a formula than judgement, i.e. could be seen to be fair. It sounds simple but to establish a process that does away with the judgement element and still remains fair was not a simple task. The initial task was to assess the elements that provide fairness and use them as the basis of the process. Throughout the 2008 season I developed the following process which has previously been posted on the forum but, now that all the bugs have been ironed out, I thought that members would appreciate a permanent record being available on the club website.
The process is quite simple to operate so please bear in mind whilst reading these details that the complexity is in the explanation of the rationale, not in the process itself.
THE PROCESS
This handicapping process has been established on the basis of:-
Using "current form" to establish handicap.
Performances in club, training, open and national events are taken into consideration.
First time riders cannot be given a handicap as they must first ride an event to obtain a time.
Current Form
As our club handicap events only cover '10', '25' and '30' distances, the key pieces of information from the entry form are
line 1 and 2 "Fastest performance during current and past three seasons" for '10' and '25'
line 6 "Fastest performance at the distance since Jan 1st last year".
Establishing the handicap time using only the times for the specific event distance (i.e. '10' times for a '10', '25' times for a '25' etc.) can give a false view of a rider's current form. Using the example of a '25', the following situations could unfairly affect the handicapping:-
Many riders regularly ride a '10' but ride other distances less frequently, it is quite normal that improvements are not reflected in the '25' time so the '10' most accurately reflects his/her current form.
A rider may have been on form 3 or 4 years ago but is currently performing below his/her best, this could be due to a number of factors including time out of the sport, injury or just plain getting older. If he hasn't ridden a '25' since Jan 1st last year but has ridden a '10' then the '10' time will represent his current form.
A new rider may only have ridden a '10' so no '25' time is available, clearly the '10' time is the only indication of current form.
To establish current form we need to convert the '10' time to a '25' but as we all know this is not generally a straight ratio of 2.5:1 so a conversion process is required.
Conversion Process - Time v's Distance
To get a fair conversion of time from a '10' to a '25' or '30 a large amount of data was collected. This data was collected from previous club events and specific rider performances taken from Cycling Weekly race reports, the data was then analysed to establish the ratio between times for the given distances. This resulted in some basic rule of thumb ratios:-
Riders that achieve a 20 minute '10' or faster can maintain this speed for 25 or 30 miles - conversion ratios is therefore 2.5:1 and 3:1.
Riders that achieve a 25 minute '10' or slower, slow by 5% for 25 or 30 miles - conversion ratios is therefore (2.5x105%):1 and (3x105%):1.
Between these times a linear sliding scale is applied.
These ratios have been used to establish two conversion charts for converting '10' to '25'/'30' and '25' to '10'.
Conversion chart '10' to '25' & '30'
Conversion chart '25' to '10' & '30'
Example of handicap calculations
The example below is for a 25. When entries are received, information from entry form lines 1,2 and 6 are recorded in columns 1 to 7. The expected '25' time is then established from the comparison chart and entered in column 8. The '25' time that best represents current form is selected from columns 4 to 8 and this becomes the Target Time.
|
Col. 1 |
Col. 2 |
Col. 3 |
Col. 4 |
Col. 5 |
Col. 6 |
Col. 7 |
Col. 8 |
Col. 9 |
Col. 10 |
|
|
Current & last 3 seasons |
Since Jan 1st last year |
Time from 10 to 25 comparison chart |
Target Time |
Handicap |
||||
|
Entry form Line 1 |
Entry form Line 2 |
Entry form Line 6 |
|||||||
|
Name |
10 |
25 |
25 |
||||||
|
Rider 1 |
23:44 |
28/05/09 |
01:06:46 |
19/07/07 |
- |
- |
01:01:33 |
01:01:33 |
08:04 |
|
Rider 2 |
23:50 |
13/09/08 |
01:02:33 |
04/06/09 |
01:02:33 |
04/06/09 |
01:01:52 |
01:02:33 |
09:04 |
|
Rider 3 |
21:09 |
11/07/09 |
00:55:36 |
09/08/09 |
00:55:36 |
09/08/09 |
00:53:29 |
00:53:29 |
00:00 |
|
Rider 4 |
23:30 |
07/08/08 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
01:00:48 |
01:00:48 |
07:19 |
|
Rider 5 |
23:30 |
07/08/08 |
00:55:36 |
09/08/09 |
00:55:36 |
09/08/09 |
01:00:48 |
01:00:48 |
07:19 |
|
Rider 6 |
23:30 |
07/08/08 |
00:55:36 |
09/08/09 |
00:55:36 |
09/08/09 |
01:00:48 |
01:00:48 |
07:19 |
The time that best represents current form is highlighted in yellow and is used as the source of the Target Time. The rationale for this selection is probably self-evident but if further explanation would help the logic is as follows:-
Rider 1 did 23:44 for a '10' in '09 and 1:6:46 for a '25' in '07, the expected '25' time shown in Col. 8 is 1:01:33 as this was derived from the '10' time achieved in '09 it represents his/her current form.
We do the same for rider 2 but as the '10' was achieved in '08 and the '25' in '09, the actual '25' time represents the current form.
Rider 3 is a slightly different case a 21:09 '10' equates to a 53:29 '25' but the actual time recorded is slower at 55:36, so 53:29 represents the rider's true form.
Rider 4 did a 23:30 '10' in '08 and hasn't recorded a '25' time so we use the time derived from the '10' shown in column 8.
Rider 5 has a PB of 57:29 achieved in '09 as this beats the time derived from his '10' (also achieved in '09) it represents current form and is the time used for the handicap.
Rider 6 has the same '25' PB as rider 5 but achieved it in '08, he/she did a 22:08 '10' this year which translates to a 56:31, this rider is clearly back on form after a slower 2009.
Target times for '10' and '30' events are established in a similar manner except the Col. 8 figure is derived from the '25' and '10' respectively.
Calculating the Handicap from the Target Time
Rider 3 has the fastest time and is therefore scratch man (zero handicap) the scratch man Target Time is deducted from other Target Times to establish individual handicaps. After the event the handicap is deducted from each rider's actual time to produce his/her handicap time.
Publishing the Handicap and Target Times
From the start of the 2011 season, target times and handicaps will be posted on the club forum prior to the event. The post will provide a link to the calculation chart (as shown in the example above) so that members can see how the target times and handicaps have been established and have the opportunity to give feedback.
Handicap Points
The male rider with the fastest handicap time is awarded 10 points reducing by 1 point for second, third etc. Riders from 10th onwards are all awarded 1 point. The process is the same for ladies except first place is 6 points. The male and lady riders gaining the most points throughout the season are awarded the Mens' Handicap Plaque and Ladies' Handicap Plaque respectively.
Don White 12 September 2010