It boggles the mind to realize that on the last day of a three-week race, a lead of less than one minute in overall time (for the whole three weeks) is considered "insurmountable"--unless, of course, you're Greg Lemond or Tadej Podacar.
The one explanation I can come up with is from my own (admittedly) very limited experience with racing: It's a lot harder to make up time than to lose it. Really, it doesn't take much to give up a minute or more to an opponent: a flat tire or other malfunction, a slip or fall, a miscalculation of an opponent's move--or simply a wrong turn.
At least, those are the things we hear about in race reports. I wonder whether riders have lost races due to events that would be inconsequential in daily life.
Specifically, I'm thinking of "nature calling." If we're not racing, we stop when we find a place to "let go." But I suppose that's not possible in a race.
Or if you're being pursued by cops.
On Saturday night, a 38-year-old man was riding light-less on a Yakima, Washington street. A constable pulled up toward him, intending to talk to him about the dangers of what he was doing. But when the officer turned on his bright lights, the man took off.
After making a few turns, he ditched his bike and backpack and started running down a driveway. He tripped on a low fence. The officer threatened to use his Taser on him if he tried to continue his flight.
Then, according to the officer, the man put his hands up and exclaimed, "I just need to poop."
Later, when the police searched the bag the man tossed, the found three cell phones, brass knuckles, a pill cutter, $240 in counterfeit currency, more than 100 blue oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl, nine suboxone strips, two pipes, a scale, knives and some suspicious checks.
Oh, and the police discovered the guy had felony warrants for a Department of Corrections violation, possession of heroin and identity theft.
This leads me to wonder: What if he'd just "held it" a little longer--and stayed on his bike?
The one explanation I can come up with is from my own (admittedly) very limited experience with racing: It's a lot harder to make up time than to lose it. Really, it doesn't take much to give up a minute or more to an opponent: a flat tire or other malfunction, a slip or fall, a miscalculation of an opponent's move--or simply a wrong turn.
At least, those are the things we hear about in race reports. I wonder whether riders have lost races due to events that would be inconsequential in daily life.
Specifically, I'm thinking of "nature calling." If we're not racing, we stop when we find a place to "let go." But I suppose that's not possible in a race.
Or if you're being pursued by cops.
On Saturday night, a 38-year-old man was riding light-less on a Yakima, Washington street. A constable pulled up toward him, intending to talk to him about the dangers of what he was doing. But when the officer turned on his bright lights, the man took off.
After making a few turns, he ditched his bike and backpack and started running down a driveway. He tripped on a low fence. The officer threatened to use his Taser on him if he tried to continue his flight.
Then, according to the officer, the man put his hands up and exclaimed, "I just need to poop."
Later, when the police searched the bag the man tossed, the found three cell phones, brass knuckles, a pill cutter, $240 in counterfeit currency, more than 100 blue oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl, nine suboxone strips, two pipes, a scale, knives and some suspicious checks.
Oh, and the police discovered the guy had felony warrants for a Department of Corrections violation, possession of heroin and identity theft.
This leads me to wonder: What if he'd just "held it" a little longer--and stayed on his bike?
