Microsoft's Copilot chatbot promises more than just guidance from a language model by connecting to the Bing search engine: the answer also provides links to current websites. We wanted to test whether the chatbots could give us ideas for events by asking a specific question. TOUR asked which cycle races for amateur cyclists are organised in major European cities.
The answer:
Here are some cycling races in major European cities that are suitable for amateur cyclists:
Ötztal Cycle Marathon (Austria): This race has a 40-year tradition and is affectionately known as the "Ötzi". It offers an alpine route via Kühtai, Brenner, the Jaufen Pass and the 28.7 kilometre ascent to the Timmelsjoch1.
Tour de Suisse Challenge (Switzerland): This race offers a professional racing atmosphere. Participants can complete the first four stages or the entire tour (eight stages over 1300 kilometres)1.
Ride Across Algarve (Portugal): This race offers four stages that are open to all amateur cyclists. Every day, riders have to cover between 90 and 120 kilometres and demonstrate their climbing skills over 1000 metres of altitude1.
Tour de Yorkshire Ride (England): This race offers maximum variety and takes place in the English county of Yorkshire1.
Unfortunately, I could only find four races. There are many other races in Europe, but the information can vary depending on the year and the event. It's always a good idea to check the event websites or contact the local cycling organisations for the latest information. Have fun cycling!
TOUR Conclusion: The answer is sobering. Cyclassics Hamburg, Velothon Berlin, Ride London come to mind straight away and were not mentioned. Instead, random events are listed that neither fit the question nor follow any recognisable system. It seems difficult to use AI when it comes to racing bikes, at least when it comes to events.
Then we'll try to reformulate it a little.
The second answer:
**Here are ten exciting bike races for amateur cyclists in major European cities:**
1. **Gipfel Granfondo** (4 August 2024, Aargau, Switzerland): This all-rounder race leads through the picturesque Aargau region and offers breathtaking views.
2nd **Wörthersee Gravel Race** (Austria): Part of the UCI Gravel World Series, this race in Velden am Wörthersee offers the opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Gravel World Championships.
3rd **Everyman Race in Flanders** (Belgium): Experience the spring classics in the footsteps of the pros and ride over the "holy ground" in Flanders.
4th **Gravel events in Germany**: From races to relaxed rides, there are more and more events for gravel bikers in Germany.
5 **Bike Marathons and Gran Fondos** (Europe): Some of the most beautiful bike marathons and everyman races lead over the spectacular mountains and Alpine passes of the Tour de France.
6th **24-hour race for racing cyclists**: An exciting experience where you race for 24 hours straight, either as a soloist or in a team.
7th **Cycling monuments for amateur cyclists**: Explore "holy ground" at the five cycling monuments such as Milan-Sanremo, Flanders and Roubaix.
8 **The most beautiful Alpine marathons**: Set yourself a monument at the toughest and most legendary marathons in the mountains.
9 **Road bike marathons over 300 kilometres**: From Mallorca 312 to L'Etape Denmark - an overview of long cycling marathons and everyman races.
10th **L'Etape du Tour 2024**: This legendary race follows the original route of the 20th Tour stage from Nice to the Col de la Couillole.
So, grab your bike and experience the fascination of cycling in Europe!
Racing bike AI: better in English?
TOUR conclusion: That was wrong again. It is always said that chatbots provide better answers when they can access English-language data. We therefore ask the question again in English.
The answer:
Here are some cycling races in European cities that are suitable for amateurs:
Mallorca 312 (Spain): This closed road sportive has quickly established itself as one of the most popular European sportives. The long route takes a mammoth tour around the north-west of the island, with an elevation gain of around 5,000 metres1.
Haute Route (France and Switzerland): This is a week-long stage race that takes place in the French and Swiss Alps, starting from Geneva and finishing in Nice. It's one of the most prestigious amateur cycling races in the world, with over 2,000 riders taking part each year2.
Iron Horse Bicycle Classic (United States): Known for its tough course, which includes a 4,000-foot climb up Highway 550 to the top of Molas Pass2.
L'Etape du Tour (France): Each year, the Tour de France hosts L'Étape du Tour. It provides amateur riders the opportunity to experience a stage of the Tour de France and feel like a professional cyclist2.
Maratona dles Dolomites (Italy): It's one of Italy's most important gran fondo events, and is open to riders of all levels, hosting as many as 9,000 participants each year2.
These races offer a variety of challenges, from high mountain passes to long distance endurance rides. They are perfect for amateur cyclists looking to test their skills and endurance. Remember to check the specific details and dates for each race as they can vary each year. Happy cycling!
TOUR Conclusion: Obviously the chatbot doesn't know what a city is and counts the USA as Europe. A rookie mistake for a language model.
New attempt with LibreChat
Racing Bike AI: We ask the question of LibreChat, which is based on the same language model. Is there a comparable result?
The answer:
1st London to Brighton Bike Ride - London, England
2nd Velothon - Berlin, Germany
3rd Vätternrundan - Motala, Sweden
4th L'Etape du Tour - France
5th RideLondon - London, England
6th Gran Fondo Milano - Milan, Italy
7th Tannheimer Tal Cycle Marathon - Tannheim, Austria
8th Mallorca 312 - Mallorca, Spain
9th Maratona dles Dolomites - Alta Badia, Italy
10th Gran Fondo Roma - Rome, Italy
TOUR conclusion: The answer is not correct, but at least there are a few big city races in the colourful bouquet of events. In a school report, this would probably still be an "unsatisfactory".
Every student deserves a second chance. That's why we emphasise that we really only want events in large cities:
The answer:
Velothon - Berlin, Germany
Ride London Surrey - London, England
Gran Fondo Milano - Milan, Italy
Gran Fondo Roma - Rome, Italy
Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 - London, England
Barcelona Bicicleta - Barcelona, Spain
La Fête du Vélo - Paris, France
Bike the City - Hamburg, Germany
Ado Bike Ride - The Hague, Netherlands
Night Ride - Budapest, Hungary.
TOUR Conclusion: Much better, but we have never heard of "Bike the City - Hamburg" heard. Have we overlooked the rival event to the Cyclassics for years? Is racing bike AI giving us new ideas? Let's ask when "Bike the City - Hamburg" will take place in 2024?
Answer:
"I'm sorry, I can't find the exact dates for "Bike the City - Hamburg 2024". Events like this usually announce details and dates in the near future, usually a year or a few months in advance. Please keep an eye on the official website or relevant local news sources for up-to-date information."
TOUR conclusion: We're not surprised, because even Google can't find this big city race. The "Night Ride - Budapest" is not a competition, but a weekly training meeting. The cycling festival "La Fête du Vélo - Paris" last took place several years ago and was not a cycling race either. And it gets even better: we found no further information about the "Ado Bike Ride - The Hague" and "Barcelona Bicicleta - Barcelona". Presumably the chatbot made them up. Hallucinating is when the language model invents things. But let's ask the chatbot why it does this:
Answer:
Language models such as OpenAI's GPT-3 generate text based on predicted probabilities with which they follow words. They are based on a huge amount of text data that they have seen during their training phase. However, sometimes this can cause them to "hallucinate" or invent information that is not true or not present in the data provided.
There may be several reasons for this:
1. limitations in training: During training, a model cannot learn information that is not available in the training data. Therefore, if a specific request is made that the model does not learn from its training data, it tries to "guess" or "invent" an answer.
2. lack of context: Without the ability to fully understand actual context or remember previous interactions, the model can sometimes make mistakes or invent details.
3. speed and efficiency: models try to answer as quickly as possible and often select the most likely words or phrases, regardless of whether they fit the context exactly.
It is important to emphasise that although AI models have remarkable capabilities, they still have a very limited understanding of the world and are far from possessing human-like understanding or consciousness.
TOUR conclusion: Thank you for this honest explanation. There is still a lot of rubbish data hidden in the plausible-sounding answers. We have already noticed an improvement in test questions compared to GPT3.5 and GPT4. We are therefore curious to see how well the next version works. Using AI for racing bikes only makes sense with control. It is interesting to see how the AI imagines racing cyclists. The picture gallery at the beginning gives a first impression. Beards seem to be widespread and cyclists often ride off into the sunset. We are glad that there are still professional photographers at TOUR - but we will also be taking a closer look at the AI photos soon.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
