Originally Posted by
tetonrider
i have heard $hit talked about wins and how people upgrade
Gossip and cattiness are manifestations of insecurity. I honestly hear very little of this among racers, except maybe occasionally in jest or teasing a buddy.
I've definitely been in breaks where I could tell my breakmates were assessing my ability to go the distance, but I always assume that is a function of them either not knowing me at all or knowing me too well, not a function of gossip.
Last year I was OTF with a multiple time masters national champ, who kept looking me over like he was valuing livestock he was thinking of buying. He eventually stopped pedaling, we drifted back to the pack, and as soon as I was behind his teammates he attacked again and went on to win solo. We chatted after the race, I'm buddies with his teammates. He had never seen me before (this was a rare RR for me and he never does crits) and he said he always assumes guys are worthless until they prove him wrong.