When the results of an event are posted it's possible to work out any handicap retrospectively, so I am frequently asked how I calculate the handicaps for club events, particularly as many riders feel their handicap is insufficiently generous! We used to arrive at them by clever estimation, but when I took over the handicapping a few years ago I decided to establish a method which would remove personal decision making, as far as possible, and treat everyone the same using fixed formulae in a spreadsheet. There's nothing wrong with the estimation method, but the handicapper is always open to accusations of bias etc.
Take the 10-mile TT, the most frequent event. I take the average of the best 3 times achieved during the season. I then relate these to a mythical 20-minute man, so if your handicap is 5m 30s this indicates you would do a time of 25:30 (given decent conditions etc). Thus everyone's net time should be 20:00 (ie the time after the handicap is applied), so it's easy to spot who's up and who's down. I also apply a factor (a few percent) to the handicaps, just to make sure the system is very slightly biased towards the slower riders. In accordance with CTT handicapping guidelines I then round the handicaps to the nearest 10 seconds (it was 15 secs until recently). As this is done within the spreadsheet, all I do each week is adjust for any times which a rider achieves which are faster than those that are already in the system. Thus the figures are based on the times achieved in 10 and 25 mile events, so for other distances, like 5, 7.25 and 14.5 miles, I ratio these handicaps.
The problem with the system comes early in the season, because conditions are less favourable and everyone is slower until they peak around July or August. What I've adopted is a method which initially uses the handicaps from the previous year, but once we start doing 10s again I update them using the latest times. For example, after the first event I discard a rider's previous best and replace it with the newly established time (assuming it's slower), then after the second 10 use the next new time, until after three 10s a rider has a new set of times in the system. Obviously I wouldn't include an obvious slow time where someone has limped home with a problem. The times are then updated as the season progresses. This clearly favours the riders who come along early season, compared to those who miss the colder events and then find themselves with last season's handicap. I tend to think that's fair, as the object of all this is to encourage people to ride.
With 25 miles I use the same basic method, but based on the "55 minute man". With only four 25s per year it's often necessary to use the previous year to obtain meaningful times. If there is no 25 form available I just up the typical 10 mile times by around 2.5 times, just to get something into the system. I also use the 25 times in calculating the 13.6 hilly, since it's nearer to a 25 than a 10 in terms of time and effort required. Handicaps for a 25 are rounded to the nearest 15 secs.
New members are always the most unpredictable. If they're over 40 I use their Vet on Std figure from the VTTA tables to start with. New riders often make rapid progress which is why many winners of the handicap points competition are riders in their first or second season. Most people would agree that it adds encouragement to the newcomers who can initially feel blown away by the fast guys.
I never use times established in open events, for two reasons: first, I don't always get to know who's done what in opens, and second, people go faster in opens because they are usually better prepared, have marshals round the course and probably have not had a full day at work.
So there you have it - it's all out in the open and mostly based on my own ideas. I'm open to suggestions if anyone can come up with any improvements, preferably something that can be easily computerised. I currently have over 60 riders in my system, including those who have disappeared for a season and suddenly turn up again.
Laurie Bird