tetonrider

i think he's probably the only one who could say what they mean to him, but i'm not sure that he is the one who could say, objectively, which one is most difficult for a few reasons:
a) he might have many jerseys or have participated in a bunch of events, but he hasn't done them all.
b) i don't think ANYONE could really make a definitive statement on difficulty. competition varies from year to year, as do courses and even weather conditions. a person who doesn't handle extreme heat as well as another could have a different impression.

what is "hard"? is it suffering like a dog for hours in a break harder than a sprinter using as little energy as possible until the final 150m or using every tactical trick in the book to keep from getting dropped from the lead group? the answer given probably depends on a rider's physiology.

it's subjective and highly personal.


has anyone said which is more important? i saw a comment from @Doge that the pro HC -- raced as a RR not an ITT -- was not as worthy as the pro RR, but other than @nslckevin's comment i didn't notice anyone else comment either way. i might have missed it.



i respect the training and efforts.

there are some categories and events that draw 1 or 2 participants.

i didn't see that point made. i might have missed it.

the money grab is knowing that people want to chase the jerseys; therefore, the events as a whole tend to draw higher numbers across all categories collectively, and there is no prize money.

it's not about jersey *sales*.

a months-old post was resurrected, but i'm guessing it was about some amateur doper who won a national championship, and someone commented on how silly that is.