Originally Posted by
sprintf
I didn't say that I wouldn't have done well the second day if I HAD finished the the first race... that's anybody's guess. I was just making the point that a DNF one day doesn't mean you can't do well the next day. Everyone has bad days, regardless of fitness. Cycling is about much more than just being strong.
Not being strong of limb all the time is understandable and forgivable. Being weak mentally, cracking under pressure, and giving into the pleas of the body to stop are gigantic character flaws in an athlete.
When people see bloody riders finishing with broken bones and shredded clothes, they can't help thinking very poorly of some guy who threw down his bike and ran crying to momma just because he got shelled.