Introduce an optional Team Avatar Mode where two or more friends can “combine forces” and race as a single entry in events.
In this mode:
Power and weight are averaged across all riders in the team
Category enforcement is based on the averaged values
Points and results are shared between team members
One rider controls steering
Events can opt in or exclude this mode if they want
This would be a really nice way for people of mixed abilities to race together (clubmates, partners, new riders, returners) without breaking existing categories. It keeps normal racing untouched, but opens up more social and inclusive event formats.
It could also enable fun new event types (paired races, mentor/rookie rides, team TTs), while still being easy for organisers to control.
Thanks Paul, I’d already seen that feature request, and whilst it is similar there is a significant enough difference between adding up weights and powers and averaging them.
Both have their merits, but think it’s reasonable to treat them separately.
They should be implemented in exactly the same way, and since it hasn’t happened since 2018 odds are pretty high that we never see it regardless of how it would be set up.
That’s fair, I agree the underlying mechanics could end up looking pretty similar.
My thinking is that similar implementation doesn’t always mean the same feature or outcome. Adding power/weight together versus averaging them leads to quite different behaviour around categories and who the mode is actually aimed at.
Just because the tandem idea didn’t go anywhere doesn’t necessarily mean other variants won’t either - sometimes it’s more about the use case and framing than the physics itself. Either way, I think it’s still worth capturing the idea.