"Same Time" in Tour de France

In reading the results from the Tour de France I see many listed as "Same Time." I look up to see what time they are the same as, and generally the only time listed is the first place finisher.

How could all these bikers finish at the same time?

I also noted the other day that if there is a crash involving lots of bikers less than a kilometer from the end, they are all given the same time as the first place guy.

It would seem that if everybody gets the "same time" it would be hard to separate out who is ahead.

Can somebody shed some light on this scoring?

Alex

Alex,

In reviewing the results, "Same Time" means that the rider was awarded the same time as the leader of that group. However, the riders are listed in the order that they crossed the line ( at least the first 5 or 10 are accurate). All riders who finished in the same "virtually continuous" stream of riders are given the same elapsed time for the stage. The first 3-5 places can receive small time bonuses and point bonuses so at the end of the day their cumulative time is adjusted by the amount of the bonus.

If a crash occurs in the last 1k all riders in that group who finish get the same time. Crashes occur a lot during the last 1k when all the big, fast guys rush to the front to get the sprinters points so I guess this rule was put in place so the "little guys" wouldn't lose any time if they got crashed out.

The winners of the TDF typically put time on the main groups by breaking out of the main group ( attacking) on steep hills and in the time trial stages. On the flat, long stages everybody is pretty evenly matched so it difficult for one rider to distance himself from the main group. It happens, but it is usually allowed by the other riders only if the rider has no chance of winning overall.

Hi Alex,

Frequently a stage will end with several cyclists
sprinting, in a pack, for the finish line.
Often in this case the winner will only cross the line a few inches (or less) ahead, and the next 10 riders or so can be less than a second behind. Hence the same time.
The crash near the finish rule is in place to prevent any "accidents" from having an impact on the overall time of a rider who is involved.
In Europe professional bicycle racing is a very
cut-throat sport/business.
Go Lance and Tyler!!

MM