Pro cycling's problem with expectation vs reality

Cycling is a cruel sport. Most of the time, only winning matters. That might be different things, that could be a stage win, or a GC win, or a result in a minor classification, but it is the winning that counts. Of course, podium finishes do matter, as do significant placings, and UCI points are increasingly important, but it is so often about the win, especially at the highest level of the sport. You will hear the refrain “second place won’t matter to them” when commentators are talking about certain riders, because it’s true.

It is, ostensibly, a team sport, but there remains only one winner. Compare it to other team sports, from football to cricket, and there are so many more opportunities to perform, to show your worth. To the fan, to the scout looking at the stats, to the commentator, only first will do.

Adam Becket

News editor at Cycling Weekly, Adam brings his weekly opinion on the goings on at the upper echelons of our sport. This piece is part of The Leadout, a newsletter series from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. As ever, email adam.becket@futurenet.com - should you wish to add anything, or suggest a topic.

There are not many opportunities to win either, especially in the era of Tadej Pogačar and his super-team, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who have won 90 races this season, with 18 of them going to the world champion. In women’s cycling, wins feel like they’re shared around a bit more, although SD Worx-Protime’s Lorena Wiebes has won 25 times this season, and is arguably the most dominant sprinter of all time.

There are only so many times a rider, even a world-class rider, can win. Pogačar and Wiebes are the exceptions. This is something I think about often when I see people being disappointed in a rider’s performance, or even that rider speaks about their disappointment in themselves. The expectation does not match the reality of racing at elite level.

There are many examples of riders having stunning seasons that simply do not cut through because of a couple of off days, or missed opportunities. Demi Vollering, for example, has had a fantastic first season for FDJ-SUEZ. For the third year in a row, her win tally is in double figures, and she remains the rider to beat, she's now European champion. However, because she missed out again on the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and didn't impact the road race at the World Championships to the extent she could have done, it’s not seen as exceptional.

Marlen Reusser has won more than ever before in her career this year, taking two WorldTour stage race victories, but she was pipped at the Giro d’Italia and was forced out of the Tour de France, so again, the same sheen isn’t there.

In men’s cycling, there is a lot of expectation on the shoulders of Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard, two riders who have excelled at times this year, but because they simply can’t win as much as Tadej Pogačar, they’re seen as disappointing by some.

None of these seasons should be seen as disappointing. I don’t really know what could be done, but it’s almost as if we need to value performances more. Wins are a valuable commodity, and those who do it often deserve praise, but there is more to cycling than the top step.

I think that more empathy is needed when a performance doesn’t go the exact way it is expected to do. When a rider can’t follow Pogačar, or something unexpected happens, like Magdeleine Vallieres’ victory at the World Championships, it should be seen less as a failure on the person who missed out, although that is the easiest road to go down for the journalist and the fan. Perhaps it’s just a stunning performance, not a mishap.

Expectations simply can’t match reality. Only so many people can win, that’s the nature of pro cycling. I will continue to try and celebrate those who succeed even when not winning, and sometimes these are the best stories. Not every rider can win them all.

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