I just discovered
knowyourrival.com from clicking on a banner ad on my blog. I have been a huge fan of
Colin Reuter's project,
crossresults.com, as I feel that the comparisons are statistically accurate and are an useful snapshot of riders' standing in the discipline of cyclocross.
Cyclocross is largely an individual sport, while road racing, when done correctly, is a team sport. One of my main "rivals" on knowyourrival.com is a teammate. We spent the entire 2008 season working hard together. Either he was working for me or I was working for him or we were both working for someone else in every race. Even at the
New England Track Championships, when we were in the top two spots, we blocked for each other in races that would have put one or the other of us in the gold while bumping the other to silver (I ended with Silver, Nick with Gold).
Camnbridge is focused on team results at the expense of group standings. We'd rather have one rider on the podium and 5 off the back than 6 in the top 20 and no one on the podium. Our race tactics and results reflect this value system.
Individual results mean little in a road race. A leadout man's race results are not an accurate reflection of that rider's standing in a race or how well he played the game. If a rider spent the whole race chasing down and sitting in on breaks in order to protect a teammate and then got dropped in the last 2 kilos because they were slain from putting huge efforts for the whole race, how is a comparison of that rider's results valid against another rider who just sat in and waited for the finish of the race?
While I support efforts to provide a new service to competitive cyclists, I don't think that knowyourrival.com is particularly useful most of the time. Obviously, with improvements, it could be made more useful. The way that the information is presented could be cleaned up and refined as well.
I am curious to see how my readers feel about this website.
Are the comparisons valid?
Do you find the information useful?
Comments?
