Originally Posted by
mattm
Btw seems like he would've won it without the throw.. but it can't hurt to try!
Better to play it safe it than to lose to a good throw.
I think he'd have won without the throw based on head/shoulder placement, but that's a static shot. In reality the situation dictates what the rider does, and when it's a big race like that the rider should always throw the bike.
I won a race by half a wheel and if you asked me as soon as I finished if I won I would have told you I had no idea - I thought it was 50-50 that I lost. I can't imagine a tire width margin, I'd have sworn up and down I lost.
Not me but a good example of where head/shoulder placement shows that one rider should have beaten the other to the line, except for bike throw. #248 beats the orange jersey even though orange jersey's body is ahead: