BYJL: Who won the Under 14s?

We were sent in the following footage of the final of the Under 14s British Youth and Junior League final at Hull on Saturday, with the question “Who won?”

The referee awarded the win to Haydn Rowley of Wednesfield with Pierce Bacon of Ipswich in second. For us, the video is inconclusive, you simply cannot tell from the video footage who wins:

However! Neil Vincent of Kesgrave has sent us some photos including this one of the finish line…

Again, inconclusive! What makes it more difficult to tell is that Haydn’s front wheel is off the ground and it’s unclear who’s back wheel is in front. So, with a little bit of Maths and with the help of the pen tool in photoshop and the fact they’re on the same bike, wheels and tyres, we worked out that Pierce’s back wheel is 20% inside the grids. So, we worked out 20% of the grid on the inside line, meaning we can draw a line across and may get to the bottom of who won…

Nudging the line across the grid to Haydn’s back wheel (taking into account a 4% perspective adjustment), you can see that Haydn is about half a wheel in front, which would also mean he’s pretty much at the finish line or there or thereabouts, if you add on half a wheel to Pierce’s position – although we must bear in mind Haydn’s wheel is in the air losing a few centimetres! All things considered though, in conclusion, we think the referee has got this extremely close call right.

Well done to both riders on a great race!