Posted By Orange Crush on 07/23/2013 01:11 PM "At 6' and 165#, I often feel like the world's biggest fatass at bike races." - hey those are my specs! Good point. Still, if memory serves back in the 80s most racers were more "regular" looking whereas over time we've had this trend towards the lean extreme. My hypothesis is this. Back in the old days you still had a lot of guys literally grabbed from the street and turned into pro cyclists as support riders, pack filler. It was much easier for a talent to stand out from the pack. These days, even Joe Average cyclist has a history in the sport, a professional training program, etc, etc. It has become a lot harder for the truely talented to escape from the clutches of the peleton. That is perhaps why extreme measures are taken, extreme weight loss, special sauce, etc. etc. And yeah, those legs are scary.