Sprinters have it much harder, says McEwen

The former King of the Mountains winner Robert Millar was once asked what made a good climber. Was it the ability to suffer less in the mountains? No, he replied, the suffering is the same, but the climbers just do it faster.

Robbie McEwen disagrees, though. When asked by Cyclingnews this morning who had it harder, the sprinters in the peloton or the climbers, he had no doubts about who hurt the most.

"I think being a sprinter is worse, because when you're a climber and when you have an off day, you still make it to the time limit," he stated. "No problems. But if you're a sprinter and you have an off day, you're in huge trouble. We're riding full gas every day. There's no such day as an easy day in the bunch. You always have to force yourself, even on the flatter stages and the time trials to stay inside the time limit."