In today’s first stage of the Tour de France there were two good examples of how time splits are done between groups of riders. I don’t know how they exactly determine the distance in the Tour, but the local stage races I have worked at the timing people have always looked for a full barrier to be visible between riders to give a different time. Certainly with the timing and camera equipment available today it is possible to determine when a 1 second gap is there, but having a visual rule certainly helps if there is any dispute.
The 1-second difference today between Valverde and Gilbert is easy to see. The six second gap between 13th place Carrara and 14th Sastre is a little trickier. There clearly was a gap between the two riders, but only a second or two. Since a new time was given it was the real time so the 7 seconds is the time back from Valverde. If they could have closed the 1-second gap it would have saved the 30 plus rider group 6 seconds. In flatter stages with a large field there is a chance for even bigger time differences. A small gap allowed at the end of the race can mean a 10+ second difference since it takes so long for a pack of riders to roll through the finish.
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