Originally Posted by
ratebeer
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.
Here's where you're wrong:
You can't seem to comprehend the fact that professional bike racers, and also the local P/1/2 guys, race with a purpose in mind. Very often, in a one day race, each individual has a role. In races involving climbing, it is not uncommon to see the teams' domestiques drop out after their job is done for the day. Same with roleurs in a race like Paris-Roubaix.
There is a difference between getting blown out the back because you're weak, and doing the hard work for your team, knocking 20 people off the back yourself, and blowing up as a result. If you can't seem to come to grips with that, you don't understand racing, and never will.
A bunch of mentally weak quitters at Flanders (more than 1/3rd of the field):
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007...07/?id=results
What a bunch of pansies at La Fleche Wallonne (especially Voight, Bettini, and DeVolder):
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007...07/?id=results