I don't know what country you live in but here in the states, the average adult male is 5'9" and 200 lbs with a 40 in. waist. The average female is 5'3" 171 lbs, with a 39" waist. Quite the contrast compared to the ideal 36/24/26! The average adult BMI is 29 and climbing (the average american is getting shorter and fatter over time), while a healthy BMI is 19 to 25. Americans are by CDC definition, extremely obese on average. That's half of all americans. Half.
From that perspective, a very upright riding position makes more sense. A rider with a 40"+ waistline is simply not going to be comfortable bending forward at the waist for any extended period of time. I know many adults who can't touch their toes. Some can't even SEE their toes.
We're just in a state right now where the majority of americans are so fat and inactive that a bicycle for athletic riding is inconceivable. What I see in your post is an inversion of the normal perspective. It's almost as if you are ridiculing fit, thin people and are posing obesity as the new norm. In fact, I'm certain of it. This is not a healthy perspective.
Sport and competitive road riding are popular in all corners of the world. There are enthusiast riders all over the world: East Asia, South Asia, North America, Northern Europe, the UK etc. There is definitely a market for sport/racing road bikes. A sport bike with assist is very helpful when climbing for example. Anyone who has ridden a giant road e for example, or a cannondale road ebike marvels at how quickly these bicycles climb.
I ride a road bike and the speed is awesome. I'm much faster on a road bike with drop bars than I am on a city bike with flat bars. Even with it's longish 165 mm head tube, I can get pretty aero in the compact drops.
All of which is to say: don't knock it till you try it. Road bike riding is a lot of fun. On certain sections I can drop radrovers trudging along on throttle with their top speed of 20 mph. Road bikes are very light, very aero, with very light wheels designed for speed, speed and more speed! They also handle more quickly. Not to mention the ease and pride of carrying a super light weight bike which can weigh under 14 lbs in the highest end configurations. It's even possible to build 10 lbs road bikes, rideable 10 lbs road bikes.
A bit about terminology: those "curly" bars are referred to as drop bars. The "clip ons" are probably clip on aero bars. Those were popularized by Greg Lemond who won the 1989 TdF (tour de france) using clip on aerobars for the first time in a TdF time trial. Lemond won the 1989 Tdf by a shockingly slim EIGHT SECONDS in a 2,000+ mile race! The most exciting finish in TdF history, that's for sure!
It's kinda sad to see the tradition and passion of road racing and sport riding disrespected in such a flippant fashion. As excited as I am about the growth of the ebike market, the sudden flood of riders with little to no knowledge of actual, non-motorized riding is quite sad. Ebike riders may not see much value in road bikes, but I say it is thrilling to see the fittest endurance athletes on the planet drop the hammer and average THIRTY FOUR FRIGGIN MILES PER HOUR under the power of their own legs, heart and lungs alone. See Lemond 1989. TdF. Guess which guy is Lemond (the winner). And guess which one is Laurent Fignon, runner up in 1989. Hint: the winner wears a yellow jersey.
https://rouleur.cc/editorial/lemond-tour-de-france/
A pro rider can put out a staggering 1,400 watts peak during sprints. Which dwarfs the pitiful 500-750 watt peak output of a typical e-bike. A pro rider can AVERAGE 450 watts for 45 minutes at a time. This is nearly DOUBLE the nominal output of a typical mid drive motor such as a class 1 bosch system.
The top road racers in summary are just as powerful over long stretches and far more powerful during sprints than the power output any class3 ebike can attain. Oh, and pro riders don't need to be plugged in after 20 miles.
So show some respect.
And as far as criticizing the efficiency or efficacy of road bike riding as a form of exercise compared to mountain biking or upright ebiking for lack of a better term, forget it. You might as well give up on bicycling altogether to pursue other forms of exercise. Road riding burns a lot more calories than riding an ebike. Second, bicycling in general is not a weight bearing form of exercise. Weight resistance or weight bearing exercise is required to build or even maintain bone strength and muscle mass, and cycling doesn't do that. In this regard, you need to walk, run, lift weights, do pullups, situps pushups, play basketball, ultimate frisbee or otherwise do something besides sit on your bum. And that's exactly what you are doing when you ride a bike. You sit. And you spin your legs really fast. Or slowly in some instances. Let's not pretend as if bicycling in any form is an ideal form of exercise. It builds endurance and promotes muscle tone but doesn't build bone strength or muscle mass (track cyclists being an exception). To the contrary, the most successful racers are unusually thin and excess muscle mass harms performance.
I'll add that your claim that mountain bike racers have more "balance" or symmetry to their physiques is baseless. As a matter of fact, many riders race both mountain and road bikes, and/or gravel bikes. There is a great deal of overlap. And in all instances, (track cycling being one exception), additional weight either in the form of fat or muscle detracts from a bicycle racer's performance.
Your attacks and criticisms of the sport of cycling are unwarranted and totally baseless.