u/Strict-Jeweler-2281

So I was the smart kid, like a lot of us here.

I was always put on a pedestal, everyone expected so much from me all the time and looked at me different when my performance never met that incredibly high standard.

No-one ever told me getting all the answers right on a quiz at 6 years old could do this to you.

Then people use your intelligence to define your whole personality, calling you a know-it-all or nerd, always turning to you to explain the most absurd and impossible things and making fun of you when you can't.

They say it over and over, so you accept it as your personality, and then when you act full of yourself and become what they assumed, they hate you for it.

They even rally against you to knock you off the pedestal they put you on.

Years later, you look in the mirror and want to smash it. You never feel good enough for yourself. Nothing is perfect enough. And no-one lets you forget when you weren't perfect enough for them.

I am doing much better now, but I am saying all of this really fucks you up and for years, you start being depressed because you hate yourself and have an identity crisis because you feel you don't know who you are beyond the smart kid.

I am so happy I am finally out of that academic environment and things have gotten better for me personally. But the scars are still there. They're just not as evident as they once were.

And unfortunately, I don't think I can ever fully heal. Because at a time when I was suppsoed to be happy and carefree, everyone took it away from me.

That's my experience and thanks for reading until the end if you did! 😊 Just want someone who understands.

If it emerges that the signage was removed/not visible, and the road appeared open to due to a lack of police presence, then I have so much sympathy for the poor driver who will have to live with this awful tragedy for the rest of his life. My heart truly feels for him.

However, that the Portuguese police spokesperson to callously state "Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to place a guard officer at all those access points, along all those kilometres - in other words, that is humanly impossible", dismissing the risks which saw a rider killed while allowing the race to continue under the same conditions, makes me incandescent with rage. If that is indeed the case, then the Volta a Portugal should be permanently removed from the calendar and those responsible for the risk assessment (either race organisers or police) should be held criminally liable.

I respect that being a mod is tireless and thankless work, and we appreciate you hosting this community, but increasingly I find that important discussions are deleted without any notice when important and sensitive subjects are being discussed, such as rider safety and the mourning of Fin Tarling's tragic death. It may be the case that another thread exists, but often they are only tangentially related or a completely different conversation. When something as serious and sensitive as a rider passing in a race gets deleted after a few hours, it feels callous. Sometimes it's best to let the conversation continue and let people release their emotions. Just my thoughts, but I think others will resonate with this.

Many thanks.

Terribly sad news from the Peloton Rest in Peace, legend.

This is unbelievably sad news. The relentless hounding by bad-faith actors, far beyond any academic interest, was co-opted by pure racism and identitarian politics. Regardless of the validity of the scrutiny, the unrestrained public mockery that led to this conclusion far exceeded any plagiarism controversy I've ever seen, and became the face of every cynical interest group searching for vindication, far beyond the mental and emotional any person deserves.

RIP.

Let's say World Tour peloton races the track elimination race format on the road with a broom wagon following at 10km behind the time of the leader, until there's one rider left.

Conditions:

- 8 man teams (like the Tour de France). Team tactics permitted.
- The broom wagon sweeps anyone and everyone more than 10km time behind the winner.
- No time limit, we're talking potentially brutal days of racing.
- Rest is allowed. Provided the peloton isn't moving and all resting together, no riders are eliminated.
- Assistance from team cars for nutrition, mechanicals and crashes.

On a hilly or mountainous route, it would be foolish not to bet on Pogi, but what about in a flat race?
I can think of plenty of tough riders from previous eras, like Jens Voigt, Adam Hansen (20 consecutive Grand Tours), George Hincapie (most consecutive Tour de France starts), or perhaps even someone like Lachlan Morton (who circumnavigated Australia in 30 days). But who are the tough guys of today's peloton with unbelievable engines?

It's only ever happened four times, Merckx(who else) at the 1968 Giro and 1969 TDF, Rominger at the 1993 Vuelta and then Jalabert at the Vuelta 2 years later. I honestly think the only thing stopping this happening is his fear of the backlash he may get for it. There's already some who are sick of the dominance and I think swallowing an entire GT like this won't help that. Personally, I'd love to see him go for it and I really think he could do it if he went for it from the start.

Do you think he could do it?

Do you think he will try to do it?

And would you like to see him try?