Originally Posted by
Doge
You are mixing areas - society and rule/sports and cheating vs just how the sport is done. Many sports (esp the euro ones) existed before the rules. It is the wording of the rules that is a bit off. Cheating of course, exists. But many times something is against the written rules, done all the time by all/most the participants and well, that is how the sport is. If the authorities want it changed, they will start penalizing it. If they don't they are essentially saying it is OK. If someone just went by what the rules say (and as I mentioned, most pros don't read rule books) then they would be at a big disadvantage. I put the rule interpretations and enforcement on the authorities, not the participants. I actually am more bothered by the existence of rules no one knows about or wants to enforce. Cheaters exists as do crooks and criminals.
Sports and society are interconnected. Sports mirror real life. That is a good discussion for another thread, but we are straying off topic. Here is something that never gets discussed in these weight threads. The overall weight of the rider is a lot more important than the bike weight or the total weight. If you are out of the saddle, dancing on the pedals, you have to lift that body up with every pedal stroke. Think about that. Whether the rider is on a 10lb bike or or one that weighs 40lbs they have to press the body weight upwards. Losing 15lbs from the gut vs 3 from the bike will really help with the climbing. Not that important on flat land.