It just has to do with how we name things in physics.
Work is a measurement of force and motion in a straight line while torque is the measurement of force around a point of rotation. Work also requires that the mass is actually moving while torque only requires that a force is being applied perpendicular to a point of rotation.
If for some odd reason you had a bike in which the pedals only moved up and down and not around a point of rotation then you could measure work rather than torque.
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