Different kinds of riders

Conversations with people about cycling are always funny. They generally assume that to be good at cycling you need to have an expensive bike and be fit like a runner. They don't generally realize that it's a completely different discipline of fitness and that there is just as much variety in riders as there is in other types of athletes. Just like runners who compete at different distances are generally built differently, so are cyclists.

Most people think of cyclists as guys like Andy Schleck, Alberto Contador and they all look like this...

Skinny dudes with super legs.

What they don't realize is that there are lots of different types of cyclists and they come in different shapes based on their discipline. Climbers (like the two guys above) are generally not very big. They tend to be short and skinny or tall and really skinny. Sprinters are generally the "big guys" on the road who are more muscular in the upper body. This comes out to being fairly average looking size-wise, but generally with really big legs (like Andre Greipel). And then the time trialists fall somewhere in between.

What most people don't realize is that there are all sorts of different breeds of bicycling too, and with them come a variety like you would find in the amazon jungle. Everything from mountain bikers whose only ride downhill....

(yeah, I think they're crazy too....crazy awesome!)

To track cyclists who try to be the fastest they can be in a mere 0.75 km. I'll leave you with a couple of these guys who look like they would tear your bike apart with their bare hands and force feed it to you if you beat them in a race.

Gregory Bauge (France)

Sir Chris Hoy

I bet no one makes fun of them for wearing spandex.