Possibly you had a weakness there already that just developed?
I know when I started racing the almost universal gear range was using a 52/42 chainset and a 14/21t block. With only five at the back any variation meant either too big a gap between ratios if you fitted a 23t sprocket or having to sacrifice your highest gear. Even on the high mountains the professionals only ever went as low as a 22 or 23t.
Even when six and seven speed blocks came in the extra sprockets were used to fill the gaps rather than expand the range. Most of us from that era are still riding or walking about without problems.
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