Jess Mace

Totally agree Mike..I've been racing for five years and have yet to meet two people with "equal abilities"...
There are always differences in physical training, mental fortitude and attitude, or what the rider had for
breakfast that morning or how well he/she slept the night before...
those things account for time differences more often than gear choice and typically can be attributed
to placements above and beyond what kind of helmet they wear or the geometry or material of their bike.

Jess Mace, MPH
Clinical Outcomes Research - Oregon Sinus Center
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
Oregon Health & Science University
503.494.5886

-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On Behalf Of Mike Murray
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 6:06 PM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] TT, categories, and beer for lunch

Karsten Hagen [mailto:hagenkt@mac.com] wrote:
"If two people of equal abilities start a TT at the same time of day during
the same weather conditions and one is on a standard road bike and one is on
a Felt DA with Zipp disc and Giro TT helmet ... the guy on the TT setup will
win; that is obvious."

The real question is "By how much?" If the difference is less than the
variability between a good day and a bad day then it is not significant.

Having yet another category for "traditional" equipment would only
perpetuates the myth that all this gee whiz equipment is effective and
needed. The playing field would still not be level because some guys would
be having a good day and others a bad. The field never gets level, if it
did all riders would have the same time.

Mike Murray

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