The stereotype remains to this day of the brawny rugby player who is tough as nails, while the spandex covered spindly cyclist is some sort of wimp. The sports are of course entirely different from each other, but in rugby, when I player is hurt and bleeding, he leaves the field. In cycling, he is expected to get back on his bike and finish the race.
It was Martin Dugard who articulated just how incredibly dangeorus cycling is, and how tough the sport is for the top athletes. He compared the accident rate to NASCAR, a US event popularly believed to be 'dangerous'. I'm fuzzy on the stats, but Dugard mentioned the phenomenally high attrition rate in professional cycling season, and the horrific injuries cyclists commonly suffer from: torn retinaes, punctured lungs, cracked craniums, and the cyclists' staple: the broken collar bone.
Obviously it's fair to say that rugby players are tough; they must be. In the World Cup Match against Fiji those high tackles on Schalk Burger were very dangerous. But I'd like to remind the masses that cyclists aren't to be sniffed at. They also put themselves right on the line when they get onto the road.
Meanwhile, Water Polo must rate as the toughest sport of all. It basically amounts to bliksemming each other whilst drowning.
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