The Milliseconds type is not full proof either. At the Boulder Stage Race a couple of years back, they didn't have the Stage 1 results ready prior to the next days stage. Kind of makes it tough for a stage race not knowing the top GC riders.
But what is happening isn't working either. I think one promoter posted that its the riders responsibility for confirming their placing. The is true to an extent. But where does the promoters responsibility end and the riders responsibility start. If we are talking about 1 or 2 mistakes out of 300 riders, I can see that, especially if you have 40 man field sprints. The promoter should do everything they can to get all the correct placings. The promoter in question submitted results with 14 Unknown Riders. Some of those Unknown Riders were in very small fields. To me, that's not even trying. In a crit, the riders are going by every 1 to 2 minutes. I would hope they could pick up the number one of those times around. Put together some results, submit them and say its the riders fault. The issue might be the officials, scorers, etc, but I point the finger at the promoter, because they are ultimately in charge of the race and should demand more from their staff. That's only one of many examples I could point out. I also don't think many promoters go over their results prior to submitting them. Before posting results, I would have to go back to the promoters several times concerning duplicate riders, incorrect license numbers, missing placings, dnf's, etc.
Riders do need to check results prior to leaving the race to verify their placings. If you leave early, you are taking a gamble. Problem here is the results are taking a ridiculous amount of time to get posted. Personally, I don't even bother with some races because of previous experiences. At East Canyon, I rode for 1.5 hours after the race, came back, got dressed, and the results were still not posted. Bear Lake seems to hold the results hostage to get people to the beach. State Crit, they posted the top 10 and told everyone to get out of there asap. Unfortunately, I personally have a maximum of about 30 minutes bs time after the race before I have to head back home. I can't wait 1 or 2 hours to verify my placing. No one should be expected to wait that long. I don't care if the results are printed from the worlds fastest computer with the slickest software on the newest printer. Go back to a piece of paper with our numbers scribbled on it. We can verify our placing and go home. After the numbers are verified, they can go back to inputting the numbers in the computer.
How is it that since cycling results have gone hi tech, we have longer waits and more errors than we did the old way??
I hate to sound so critical of people that bust their butts as much as the promoters and officials do. It's a thankless job. But as a consumer, there seems to be a problem with the product. It's interesting that this discussion comes up every year and its typically the Cat 4's and 5's that bring it up. As new racers, they haven't lowered their expectations yet in regards to correct, timely results. I'm glad we continue to get new blood to continue to give us prespective on what we are doing well and not doing well.
I think the biggest thing needed is results posted ASAP to solve these issues on site, with as many riders present as possible. Not 2 hours later with no one around or 4 days later on online forums.