Objective / Goal

The objective in the main competition is to complete the whole of Tour durch Wien scoring the most points over your competitors. The rider with the most points in the overall classification is the winner of Tour durch Wien.

There are two side competitions – a climbing competition and a time trial competition. The winner of these is also the rider with the most points. After 3.5 weeks, TdW will have three winners from each gender.

 

Requirements

- Participation in the competition requires a form of pedal bike. Any type of pedal bike is allowed for all the stages (eg. road bike, hybrid, gravel, MTB).

- The bike cannot be motorised through fuel or electricity.

- A GPS tracking device that creates any file type accepted by the Strava app.

- To accept the conditions of participation during the registration process.

- A minimum of 10 participants for each gender must register to validate a competition.

- A helmet must be worn by participants at all times during the event.

 

Timing and Validation

The source for timing the event is through the Strava app. This app can be easily downloaded onto your smartphone from its app store.

 

A form of GPS recording device will be required for TdW to enter the rider’s tracking data onto the event leaderboards. It is recommended that you use a GPS bike computer (Garmin, Wahoo etc.) to record your cycle activities, as they are specifically designed for this usage. Where possible, it is advised to use a second form of GPS device (eg. a GPS watch or a Smartphone) to also track your activity to minimise the unfortunate circumstance of data loss (eg. corrupt file, low battery). Strava has a GPS recording function built into its app which can be utilised by users not owning a bike computer.

 

After completing your activity and then saving/uploading it to Strava, the times will be retrieved and then used to form our TdW leaderboard. The participant must share the hyperlink of their Strava activity to our Google spreadsheet in order for it to be valid with TdW. The Strava activity is then used to retrieve all segment times in order to formulate the various TdW leaderboards. It is the participant’s responsibility to forward their Strava activity to the Google Spreadsheet. Failure to submit their Strava activity in the Google spreadsheet will result in the leaderboards not being updated with their stage and segment times.

 

 

The Competitions

 

General Classification (GC)

This is the main competition/leaderboard classification. Achieving points puts the rider onto the leaderboard. Points are first awarded to the rider for reliability and consistency eg. completing stages successfully. Thereafter, points are awarded to the top fastest finishers. As a final bonus, each rider receives half their accumulated points from the two side competitions, which contributes to their GC point total. The rider with the most accumulated points at the end of the event is announced the TdW winner.

 

King/Queen of Climbs (K/QOC) –

A leaderboard classification to test the climbing abilities of all competitors. Hilly segments are created on various stages throughout the tour, with each of the segments being allocated a base time that must be achieved for a rider to score their first point. If that base time is exceeded, the rider can score more points. The more seconds the base time is exceeded by, the more points a rider scores. This format gives everyone the opportunity to score points, instead of just the top 10 fastest. These segments can be found in the Strava activity in the segment section highlighted as “TdW K/QOC __”.

Time Trial (TT) -
A leaderboard classification for power riders who like shallower gradients. Flatter segments averaging between +3% and -3% gradients with a minimum of 3km in distance are created on various stages throughout the tour, Each segment is allocated a base time that must be achieved for a rider to score their first point. If that base time is exceeded, the rider can score more points. The more seconds the base time is exceeded by, the more points a rider scores. This format gives everyone the opportunity to score points, instead of just the top 10 fastest. Also note, a whole stage can also be used as a TT segment.

A TT segment can be found in the Strava activity in the segment section highlighted as “TdW TT __”.

 

 

Points

 

GC

Points are first awarded for reliability and consistency of riders – this is done by completing the stages.

Thereafter, points are awarded for achieving a finish time at a standard average speed – these are Baseline 1 and Baseline 2 times. Baseline 1 is set at an average speed of 22.5km/h for men and 20km/h for women; Baseline 2 is set at 25km/h for men and 23km/h for women.

Lastly, points are awarded to the top fastest finishers on every stage.

Half of the accumulated points achieved from both the K/QOC and TT competitions are also added to the GC points tally.

Submit a completed stage (on Strava)       = 10 points

Achieve baseline 1 time                             = 2 points

Achieve baseline 2 time                             = 5 points
Top 10 stage finisher                                  = 1 - 15 points (15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1) 

 

K/QOC

TdW sets a base time for the K/QOC segment. One point is rewarded if the base time is achieved.

Thereafter, one point is awarded per every 10 second increment a rider is faster than the base time.

 

Example:

K/QOC segment   = 2km, 400Hm

Base time             = 15min (8km/h average speed), with 10s point increments.

 

Rider 1             = 14m 44s = 2 points (1 base point + 1 increment point)

Rider 2             = 13m 01s = 12 points (1 base point + 11 increment points)

Rider 3             = 13m 00s = 13 points (1 base point + 12 increment points)

 

 

TT

TdW sets a base time for the TT segment. One point is rewarded if the base time is achieved.

Thereafter, one point is awarded per every 5 second increment a rider is faster than the base time.

 

Example:

TT segment         = 5km, 20Hm

Base time            = 12min (25km/h average speed), with 5s point increments.

 

Rider 1             = 12m 04s = 0 points (0 base points)

Rider 2             = 11m 44s = 4 points (1 base point + 3 increment points)

Rider 3             = 11m 00s = 13 points (1 base point + 12 increment points)

 

 

Stages

 

Overall, there are 21 stages spread out over the course of the 3.5 weeks. A TdW stage can be as short as 10km, or as long as 35km. However, the stages have been designed that a rider can ride three, and sometimes, four stages consecutively in one activity. Each stage has a certain theme to it, whether it’s a hilly stage, a flat TT style stage or a mixture of both. Some stages are also significantly longer than others. The rider has the choice to complete one stage at a time, or to complete multiple stages at once. Any stage can be ridden multiple times by a rider, in such a case where they feel they can improve their stage time.

In order to keep TdW as safe and fair as possible, riders must begin their stage attempt between 6:30 and 20:00. If a rider starts the stage too early or too late respectively, TdW has the right to question and void the stage time.

You will find stage times highlighted “TdW Stage __” in the segment section of your Strava activity.

 

Night Stage

This stage is ridden at night through the city centre when there is minimal to little traffic. The Night stage has its own leaderboard and prize for the fastest overall time in both genders. This stage doesn’t contribute points towards the K/QOC or TT competitions, but it does contribute participation points to the GC competition, therefore encouraging all riders to ride the stage even if they choose not to try and win. The Night Stage must be completed between the hours of 22:00-6:00. If a rider starts the stage too early or too late respectively, TdW has the right to question and void the stage time.

You will find this stage time highlighted “TdW Night Stage” in the segment section of your Strava activity.

 

 

 

Neutralised zones -

These are segments found on some stages where a rider's stage time might be unfairly compromised by various outside influences - such as traffic lights, T-junctions, left turns. These zones can be compared to stopping the stopwatch upon entry into the neutralised zone and then restarting it again upon exit. The goal is that a competitors time is not significantly affected by:
a. heavy traffic;

b. a left turn a a junction;
c. unfortunate bad timing at traffic lights;
d. precarious descents;

e. any other such delays.

A calculated maximum time will be allocated for each neutralised zone, dependent on certain variants which cause the potential delay. The allocated time will give riders enough opportunity to wait at traffic lights/junctions when required and then cycle out of the zone, but not so long as to be able to have a coffee break. Although best attempts are made to minimise such neutralised zones, some of these can't be avoided and can be found on a few stages. The segment will be created on Strava and highlighted as "TdW Neutralised zone ___". A competitor may use as little or as much of the neutralised zone time as they wish, as it will be deducted from their stage time. If a competitor exceeds the neutralised zone maximum time, only the maximum allowed neutralised zone time will be deducted from the rider's finish time.

 

Final race time = Elapsed race time – Riders neutralised zone time(s)

 

Hypothetical examples:
Riders A and B both complete the stage in 50 minutes;
Neutralised zone time period is 3 minutes;
Rider A cycles through the neutral zone in 1 minute 45 seconds = 50 – 1.75  = 48.25 (48 mins 15 secs)
Rider B cycles through the neutral zone in 3 minutes 30 seconds = 50 – 3 = 47 (47 mins)

 

 

These rules are not exhaustive. More rules may be added (or removed) up until the beginning of the event.