Producing Perfect Results Quickly with CrossMgr.

Scoring and producing results quickly for a cyclocross race is one of the most visible and valuable results a promoter can provide racers. Racers expect results to be available within minutes of finishing. For events sanctioned by USAcycling.org, results must be posted for 15 minutes before awards can be presented. Since cyclocross races can consist of multiple categories with lapped riders, the use of scoring software such as CrossMgr is highly recommended.

Producing accurate race results quickly after a race finishes can be a challenge. Surprisingly, most of the issues that prevent a race from being scored promptly are caused by registration problems rather than race data entry problems. After registration problems, the quality of race results are determined by the level of attention and accuracy of the number caller. A distracted number caller will result in missed laps that require investigation and correction.

Consider the example of 30 riders in a 10 lap race. Assuming all riders finish, a total of 300 lap times would be generated. Apart from the finishing lap, any other individual missing lap times can easily be generated by splitting the long lap time. This type of entry error is automatically corrected by CrossMgr, so missing one or more riders during the race has no effect on the results.

Comparing the effect of a single missing lap for a rider to a rider with a bib issue that prevents the rider from being scored, and now the problem is severe. Missing riders affect the finish order, and a single missing rider in a 10-lap race now is equivalent to 10 missed lap times, far more significant than a few missing laps.

The solution to these common problems comes from checking the rider registration data before, during and after the race. These problems can be found and fixed as riders line up at the start line. Bring spare bibs, pins and a permanent marker while inspecting riders for these common problems:

  • missing bib number.
  • upside down bib number.
  • bib number outside race category sequence.
  • bib number on the wrong side, not visible to the number caller or camera.
  • rider with ambiguous bib number: 13, 31, 69 and 96 should be marked to indicate top or bottom.

Other problems may not become visible until the race starts or finishes. These problems typically exist in the Excel registration file.

  • CrossMgr 1.82 and later will detect duplicate and missing bib numbers in Excel and report them in the recommendations page.
  • Riders using a bib number outside the defined category in CrossMgr will not appear in the results until assigned a category.  Riders with recorded times that do not appear in the results will be listed on the recommendations page in CrossMgr.

When reviewing the race results, riders with a mechanical delay that exceeds the time length of one lap may be automatically assigned a missing lap by CrossMgr. Having an official in the pit and comparing the pit report after the race is necessary to avoid giving an extra lap to riders with a lengthy mechanical delay.

Riders that abandon the race without passing the start/finish or notifying the timer may also end up with automatically created lap times by CrossMgr. Riders should be reminded at the line not to abandon the course until they have passed the start/finish, where they should announce DNF.

Registration problems can be prevented by using a printed start list by category and a pre-printed form for tracking additional racers that registered the day of the event.

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