It's not what you win, it's who you beat to win it ...

What do eigenvector centrality and Mark Cavendish have in common? 10 years ago I started work in a sport I barely knew. An exciting, fast paced sport filled with awe inspiring human endeavour. Pro Road Cycling has many challenges but for someone coming to it from the outside, learning its complexity and subtlety was as steep a curve as the mountains the riders climb. The higher I climbed, the more I saw and the more I grew to love those complexities. Then someone asked me a stupid question: "Why doesn't Mark Cavendish win the Tour de France?" and all I had was a stupid answer. To all cycling fans, the question is irrelevant - so misplaced and ignorant that they would never ask it or bother to answer it. But when your business is to bring new fans to the sport, that's not good enough.

We looked for ways to celebrate the different skills in the sport - there are many - and to help people understand how different riders (different teams) focus on winning stages and races with them. Then we went deeper and we found eigenvector centrality. Maths can be a beautiful thing but for those of us who can't get much beyond budget spreadsheets, it's beauty often lies when you see it in action. We had found our concept to show who was best not by how many races they won but by who they actually beat. All we had to do now was create a system based on this. It took another 8 years.

Want to know the best climber in the sport at the moment? The best sprinter? Who's crushing the 1 Day Races? Road Code processes all the data and gives you the answers. Disagree? For sure many will, but Road Code Ranking is true to itself: it's not what race you won, it's who you beat - separated out into all the different types of riders the sport has. Beat the best other sprinters in a sprint - you rise. Win a sprint with none of your big rivals in it, congratulations but not so big a deal for your ranking.

Which brings us back to Mr. Cavendish and the answer to that question. If I'd had Road Code Ranking back in 2014 I could have smiled and told the person to sign up for Road Code and all would be made clear. Today I'm smiling.