Originally Posted by skinny

Hmmm, his engine isn't big enough?

Bettini probably races more races during the year than 90% of the pros. During his prime, he was one of the top five road sprinters in the world. He can climb quite well thank you, but doesn't do well in high mountains. That could be said of many top riders though. He's certainly as good in the mountains as Zabel or Freire, two of the better climbing sprinters. Riders who aren't in contention in the Grand Tours will often ride the time trials at "85%" to conserve energy for later stages. So it is not surprising that he doesn't show well in time trials or concentrate on them.

He's won the Points Competition in the Giro, twice. The World Cup, the Olympic Road Race, and more classics than I care to recount. 62 victories as a pro. I'd say his engine is pretty big.