How would racing be different if the winner were determined by total time in the lead?

Endurance would play way less of a role for one. That and there would be no more exciting photo finishes or amazing last minute come backs. (well i suppose there still could be, but i doubt it’d be as exciting.)

I am guessing that statistically it probably wouldn’t change the outcome that much.

You see this with a lot of computer games that are king of the hill or capture the flag.

You’d see a lot of struggle early in the race, then people would tire out, then others would try and come up and take it, so my guess is that you’d see a LOT of jockeying for position since people don’t want to expend more energy to get in front.

thanks andrew, i need to go play me some ctf on gaylo now….

It would certainly change strategy. Rather than being content to sit back within striking distance and saving a little something extra for the end, I think we’d see guys pushing for the lead early and expending their engines prior to conclusion. I personally, don’t believe I would like such a change. See ya….Gary/wtf/lurve whore
@ben & @andrew….so glad to see you boys come out to play!

racing would suck.

there would be no more drafting, no more comebacks, no more lapping people, no more climax to the race.. it would ruin everything.

When would you stop keeping track of lead times? I guess you would have to stop as soon as someone crossed the finish line. That could lead to some weird situations. Suppose someone comes from behind. That person might want to see how slow he could go and still be in the lead in order to increase the amount of time in the lead. Or consider the case of someone who is in the lead for over half the race and then quits. If the others run real hard for the rest of the race, the first guy will win. Maybe it would be better to look at the distance a person covers while in the lead.

On second thought, the distance idea is not any better. It would be a disaster in the second scenario I mentioned

Somehow I thought they did some variant of this with the Tour de France, by citing how many times someone wins the right to wear the yellow jersey.

Personally, I think it would be confusing as all get out.

Other than the fact that some races might actually be over when they were, well, half way over, this might be nice. I think a point system might make more sense, incorporating both the finish (worth a significant amount of points) and the amount of time spent in the lead (a more steady earning).

First of all, if this was to happen then the racers must complete a certain amount of time in the lead to win…Instead of trying to cover a certain distance.
Also I think it would be super dangerous.

It would be total bullshit. Almost every bike race I’ve ever been in, the winner comes from out of the pack, or at least out of the front group, before the last turn. Once in a while, you get somebody who breaks away early and holds onto it, but it’s not the norm. The whole prime system was set up to stop everybody from circling slowly in a big clump waiting for the last lap.

No difference in foot races, horse races, or motor sports. It would also take all the excitement out of watching it. Beer companies would pull out, TV contracts would end, and nobody would be in the stands. Who needs that?

I don’t think it would work. If you have a race that’s going to last, say, 3 minutes, and one person is a great sprinter and he runs out, gets the lead and holds on to it for 1.6 minutes—well at that point he could just quit and walk on in!

How would you compare the results from one race with the results from another. If in one race someone holds the lead for 10 minutes and in another race someone holds the lead for 11 minutes, which performance is better? Does the 11 minutes represent greater dominance or does it mean that everyone ran a slower race? You could just measure dominance by giving the percentage of the time that the winner held the lead. There is still a problem because people are interested in speed records. Wouldn’t it be kind of ridiculous if someone comes from behind to set a world speed record in the event, but does not win the race because of not being in the lead for long enough?