Originally Posted by base2

It's the fall out from Lance. Also guilt from fitness culture, bad lifestyle choices, general dissatisfaction from consumerism & a lack of sense of community. But also Lance. Cycling used to be cool, for a while. But now it's just a bunch of rich elitist drug-addled poseur-wannabes bent on chasing the dragon of superiority. This image in drivers minds is how Lance actually hurt cycling for the rest of us. It's also the disconnect that must be bridged if cycling is to grow & be accepted as a normal activity.

We know better, But drivers would rather be secure in their prejudice.

I had one driver make a Lance reference to me at a stoplight. I asked: "Why is it always that guy? Why not Froome or Cavendish?" The driver had nuthin' He just wanted a chance to flex his meager ego.

The tattooed tanktop rider isn't perceived to be jockeying for social superiority. They are lower in status & they know it. So there is no conflict for the obviously superior drivers to react against.

If you come from a position of privlege, equality can feel like oppression. The Lance image encroaches on their automobile derived superiority, so they react to maintain their status.

It really is that simple.