The thing of course is that the top pros might well have ridden bikes hand-made by someone with no connection with the factory, but the lesser pros, semi-pros and amateurs would have ridden stock bikes. And out of this lot of riders came some very creditable performances, and some of the riders became extremely successful, whereas British riders, on their finely crafted machines did, with few exceptions, come nowhere. Bicycles such as the PX10 have an excellent racing pedigree and are like the bikes ridden by the top pros, even if not exactly the same.
To each his/her own, I guess
Hugh Thornton
Cheshire, England