Today's Tour racers as complete athletes

[michel700c]

It seems like when I first started watching the Tour, you'd see a racer crash, maybe even break his bike in two, then jump on a spare and chase back on. Perhaps a little bloodied but still in the race. Back in the day when some looked like they had beer bellies.

You'd watch it on TV and think there's no way you could get up from a crash like that, but those guys did.

Have today's top pros honed their bodies to such a narrow point, that they break too easily in a crash?

 

[will10]

Pointless thread is pointless.

It's July.

 

[Parrulo]

Pointless thread is pointless.

It's July.

quoted for truth

besides hoogie, boonen and horner want a word with the thread starter that thinks current cyclists aren't tough like they used to be

 

[The Hitch]

THis on the day Hoogie did a front angle double summersault 30 feet into the air then a further 360 with a pike twist from the air onto a barbed wire then got up and rode to the end.

Horner finished a stage quite well despite thinking he was Alice in Wonderland chasing a rabbit, and Vino- the hardest man in the peloton walked (admitedly with help) to the ambulance despite having a broken leg.

Last year Tyler Farrar rode the cobbled stage with a broken wrist and lived to podium several stages. Hamilton, admitedly a few years ago now finished the Giro 2nd with a broken neck, and this year 150 guys,... well... finished the Giro

If you expect riders to continue with any of these injuries then those Tours you watched where the "play the Tour" option in your PCM video game.

 

[HL2037]

Have today's top pros honed their bodies to such a narrow point, that they break too easily in a crash?

Osteoporosis might be a factor.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

this thread is in the wrong forum.

I like to think there are positive to a seeminly 'human' peloton.

As special as hamiliton taking 4th place after cracking a collarbone in stage 1 was, these super human efforts are double edged.

 

[Michael Brown]

Have today's top pros honed their bodies to such a narrow point, that they break too easily in a crash?

No, they have not.

 

[hrotha]

I think you guys are misunderstanding this thread. It's not about riders not being tough anymore, it's about their bodies being more fragile, even if their mental toughness and ability to withstand pain remains as impressive as ever. Back in the day, if you broke your leg, you were out no matter how tough you were, but the OP suggests they were less likely to suffer a serious injury from an equivalent crash back then.

 

[Parrulo]

I think you guys are misunderstanding this thread. It's not about riders not being tough anymore, it's about their bodies being more fragile, even if their mental toughness and ability to withstand pain remains as impressive as ever.

i got that but its still pointless to argue that.

riders crash at bigger speeds now then they did at the 70's mostly because of much better equipment and roads. and i would say that due to a better diet their bones should prolly be a bit stronger. about them being too slim. well not every single rider in the peloton is bradley wiggins so i think the thread starter is generalizing a bit.

 

[Ragerod]

A confusing OP. On the one hand you've asked if they are as tough as they used to be and on the other you've asked whether their bodies are as durable.

They are as tough as ever but speeds have increased whilst safety hasn't. It doesn't matter how big your belly is or your muscles are, if you collide with a tree you'll be fortunate to only break a femur.

 

[montagna lunga]

who's arguing....they're all crash test dummies it seems...I've seen more carnage on the telly this season than I think I'd seen in the previous TEN years combined.

 

[ProfTournesol]

great minds think alike it seems. I've had the same thought without realising that there was an existing thread.
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?p=594677&posted=1#post594677