Sometimes people steal your KOMs because the road improves.
I managed to get a couple of KOM because they were really rough roads that weren't part of a typical course, such as "Perry Roubaix," a stretch of cobblestones down in Greenwich Village. That's still cobbles, but way more people have tried it since, on more suitable bikes, I'm sure. But one that I was particularly proud of was a fairly steep ramp followed by a straight, which no one ever took it fast, because it was so beat up, and it ended at a stoplight after about half a mile anyhow. But one day I got up the ramp pretty quick and figured I shouldn't let up - just keep hammering. When I got home, I was disappointed to see how far down the leaderboard I was on the climbing part, despite the sense that climbing was my strong suit. But realizing that most people wouldn't have kept hammering like I did, I created an extended version of the segment - one continuing to just short of the light at the highway. Sure enough, KOM! And it was reasonably populated, too (currently 1800 attempts)
Unfortunately, some time later the same year, some guy handily took it away from me.
Although I didn't know him, I did send him a message to ask if they had repaved the road, and sure enough, he said they had.
Recently, they repaved the lower portion, too, so I keep falling down the leaderboard.
Another interesting thing about this segment is that the bottom of the hill is at a stoplight, so it's best if one can start on the opposite side and time the light, but the most common courses in the area turn onto it instead. Interestingly, I got the KOM on the extended segment after making that slow turn, but my best times on the climbing portion alone have been when I've made the light heading straight onto it.
Originally Posted by
DrIsotope
Using the phone app for recording activities is basically e-doping. The GPS polling rate slash gross inaccuracies at speed will have phone app users taking KOMs at 2-3mph less than other efforts.
Could you elaborate on this?