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"I didn't have the legs"
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In Kona, you'll hear post race interviews with athlete's saying things like "they were just the better racer".

During a classics bike race, you get "I just didn't have the legs today."


You can argue that some people train for these races similarly as their A race. But in triathlon, you get someone like CA go top 5 four years in a row. Cycling clearly has more variables, but when you have a group of favorites in the front slugging it out attacking each other, it becomes more like a Macca-Raelert duel.


So what's with the "I didn't have the legs today" line? If you're training for a race in both scenarios, and nothing unlucky happens, why do you get the differing responses depending on the sport? Do cyclists just not want to admit someone is better than they are?
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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I've rarely heard Kona athletes say 'they were just the better racer' unless they're talking about someone like Chrissie.
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [superphil] [ In reply to ]
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Craig said it this year about the 3 who beat him.
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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Road cyclists are self absorbed duche bags (in general).

Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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This is just a guess, but I imagine it has to do with the style of racing in IM vs. bike racing.

Bike racers typically attack to drop competitors, and if you can't go with the attacks, you don't have the legs.

Ironman racers typically don't attack each other the same way bike racers do. They set out with their race plans, and do their best to execute. There are a lot of variables to account for, with how your legs are feeling only being one. You can have great legs, but a bad nutrition plan will send you to the med tent. Perhaps this is why "they were just the better racer" describes IM better.

-------------------------------
Ignorance is bliss until they take your bliss away.
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [Duffy] [ In reply to ]
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...and Triathletes aren't?
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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The sentiment is the same, Craig A. may have more class to be willing to tip his hat at someone specifically but you're ignoring the obvious differences between the two sports in your comparison.

The employment demands of the two sports are entirely different. While sponsors may be cool with a triathlete sitting out everything except a couple races a year, in cycling the riders most often race 80+ days a year to fulfill obligations and expectations. Racing this much can make it very hard to predict form and hard to change course if things aren't right where they need to be. Lance Armstrong had a system around him that didn't demand anything of him beside winning 1 particular race every year, and for 7 years he didn't have to say "I just didn't have the legs today." Most other riders (off the top of my head, I can't think of any actually) don't have that kind of luxury and therefore they have less predictability and specific preparation available to nail down a perfect day.
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [Duffy] [ In reply to ]
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Duffy wrote:
Road cyclists are self absorbed duche bags (in general).

So are people who generalize entire groups of other people.
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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Here's my take:

A) you're reading too much literal meaning into a figure of speech that is kind of par for the individual sub-culture of each sport, and

B) I don't quite agree that they're both equivalent "A" races... Nobody's doing IMs every week (or even every day in a stage race) like many of the pro cyclists often are, so you could "not have the legs" today but bounce back and be in the money the next day/weekend (or conversely, you could be in contention for several stages and then feel like crap one random day). For instance, if I'm a spring classics ace, there's Flanders this week, P-R the next, plus L-B-L another week (not to mention MSR if cobbles ain't my bag). I might favor P-R > Flanders > L-B-L, but at least they're all in the same ballpark, whereas for someone like Macca, Kona >>> everything else.
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [NateC] [ In reply to ]
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NateC wrote:
Duffy wrote:
Road cyclists are self absorbed duche bags (in general).

So are people who generalize entire groups of other people.

Right back atchya

Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [NateC] [ In reply to ]
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NateC wrote:
Duffy wrote:
Road cyclists are self absorbed duche bags (in general).

So are people who generalize entire groups of other people.

...and I still don't see anyone disagreeing with that statement.

Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [Duffy] [ In reply to ]
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Because people are tired of the argument and it derails the thread.

My experience is exactly the opposite. I've found much more self centered attitudes and people in triathlon than in road cycling. I don't however choose to write posts that imply I've sampled a large enough cross section to believe that I can stereotype everyone in one group worldwide.
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [NateC] [ In reply to ]
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NateC wrote:
Because people are tired of the argument and it derails the thread.

My experience is exactly the opposite. I've found much more self centered attitudes and people in triathlon than in road cycling. I don't however choose to write posts that imply I've sampled a large enough cross section to believe that I can stereotype everyone in one group worldwide.

I never said anything about triathletes.

Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [Duffy] [ In reply to ]
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Duffy wrote:
NateC wrote:
Duffy wrote:
Road cyclists are self absorbed duche bags (in general).


So are people who generalize entire groups of other people.


...and I still don't see anyone disagreeing with that statement.

There are douche bags in every group of people. I see you're representing quite nicely for that contingent of the triathlete crowd...
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [Duffy] [ In reply to ]
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Duffy wrote:
NateC wrote:
Because people are tired of the argument and it derails the thread.

My experience is exactly the opposite. I've found much more self centered attitudes and people in triathlon than in road cycling. I don't however choose to write posts that imply I've sampled a large enough cross section to believe that I can stereotype everyone in one group worldwide.


I never said anything about triathletes.

Whutever dood. You're a waste of keystrokes and that energy is cutting into my recovery time.
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [Duffy] [ In reply to ]
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Duffy wrote:
Road cyclists are self absorbed duche bags (in general).


awwwww sounds like someone got dropped at the local group ride while getting yelled at for riding on their aerobars . Duffy, just buy some deeper dish wheels and I'm sure you'll be able to keep up
Last edited by: cabdoctor: Aug 30, 11 15:25
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [cabdoctor] [ In reply to ]
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Apparently I'm the only one who understood what the op was getting at.

And I guess guess (some) cyclists are thin skinned as well.

Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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I think it's a colloquial term used in cycling and everything else you wrote is a bunch of overthought gobblygook.

Top cyclists going for the win on any day are pretty equally matched. They also race 100 gazillion times more per year than your typical pro-triathlete (maybe not the ITU guys, but I just don't know) and have good days and bad days.

Not reaching the same conclusion as you strongly suggest: I see these cyclists giving their competition credit where credit is due.

I'm sure T&F, tennis, soccer, football, basketball, etc. all have their ways of saying the same thing

The question of who is right and who is wrong has seemed to me always too small to be worth a moment's thought, while the question of what is right and what is wrong has seemed all-important.

-Albert J. Nock
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [OneGoodLeg] [ In reply to ]
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OneGoodLeg wrote:
Here's my take:

A) you're reading too much literal meaning into a figure of speech that is kind of par for the individual sub-culture of each sport, and

B) I don't quite agree that they're both equivalent "A" races... Nobody's doing IMs every week (or even every day in a stage race) like many of the pro cyclists often are, so you could "not have the legs" today but bounce back and be in the money the next day/weekend (or conversely, you could be in contention for several stages and then feel like crap one random day). For instance, if I'm a spring classics ace, there's Flanders this week, P-R the next, plus L-B-L another week (not to mention MSR if cobbles ain't my bag). I might favor P-R > Flanders > L-B-L, but at least they're all in the same ballpark, whereas for someone like Macca, Kona >>> everything else.

A) Yes
B) Yes
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Re: "I didn't have the legs" [%FTP] [ In reply to ]
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saying "I didn't have the legs today" is essentially saying "I sucked today" (the other guy was better). Sometimes guys will in fact say the latter. Now if you're saying that after every race ... well, then you just basically suck.

On the other hand you have some guys who will say "I had great legs" but then always find a million excuses why they didn't win.
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