Road Cycling - Too late for competitive cycling?

I am considering a switch from running (for 3 years) to cycling, and have several questions:

1. With running, one gets a pretty good idea after a few races about their potential. Obvously, one impoves over time, but in most cases that improvement is about 20-25%. Is it a similar case with cycling? How long does it take to know if you can be any good at cycling?.

2. I am age 23. Is it too late for me to hope to compete at the higher levels of the sport? Have there been any cyclists who began at my age and went on to become pro?

I love cycling as a hobby, but I realize that racing would involve serious injury risk and a large time commitment. In order for me to put in 4-5 hours a day on the bike, I would need to know that I have some chance of becomming successful.

Lance had cancer until he was 25. And IMO i dont think its ever to old to start racing. Also, how high a level do you want to reach? i know that i cant wait to start racing and i put in a max of 12 hours a week (although i do work full time).

Tyler Hamilton started after college somewhere, most guys look 30+

Biking, like skiing, is not just about conditioning and physical capability, it's also about talent and not least bravery. Some folks got it and some ain't.

Bikerchas55,

That's why I'm hoping that within my first few races I will know my level of talent, bravery, and inherent physical capability, so I can decide if it is worth putting in the extra time to develop the conditioning.

Top runners run about 2 hours/day, max, usually split up into two runs, which is feasible even around the time constraints of work, school, etc. Cyclists put in 4-6 hours, all at once, which would require much more sacrifice in the other aspects of life. To me, the sacrifices would only be worth it if indeed one has a chance of making a living out of it.

Try and find a club in your area the has open crits. That way you can buy a one day license, and try your luck. There is a big difference between racing and making a living at it.

If you approach it from that angle then no, you won't be able to make a living at it. To answer your 2nd question, I believe Hamilton was roughly your age (give or take) when he went pro, so no it's not to late. Look at some of the guys in the TdF, some of them are in their middle 30's, sure they don't really have a chance of winning, but they are riding fairly competitivly. But do you truly love riding enough to make the sacrifices to go Pro? Would you put up with living in a crappy hotel for most of the year while you tour around Europe making sub-standard wages? Do you love the bike enough to want to be on it for 6-8-10hrs a day, 5-6-7 days a week?

If you've been running for 3 years and immediatly hop on a bike and thinking you are going to be competitive against people who have been riding for a number of years you are going to be disappointed in the results. Pro's usually do what, 2-3 years of conditioning just to build a base before they start getting into the REAL guts of training to get them to the pro level. So what you do today may or may not mean anything in regards to long term goals.

Andrew

Never too old to start racing. I'm 28 and will start racing next year.

Tyler Hamilton raced for the University of Colorado after career ending ski race injury that forced him onto the bike for rehab. He, like almost every other top pro, was an elite athlete already by that point.

If you think you are going to start riding at 23 and end up in the Tour de France ... probably a .0001% liklihood. Being in shape and racing cat-1, maybe Division 3 pro in the US? That's certainly doable.

I have to agree with Ajay and Vadimivitch.

Cycling is a completely different beast than running, and it's not something where you will see your talent immediately. You need to pay your dues, make a lot of mistakes, and learn a lot of lessons before you'll start succeeding at a higher level.

Not to burst dreams, but it's probably too late for any euro-pro possibilities. You can probably mannage to get into division III -- but no, that's not a reasonable living.

Thanks, everyone. I guess I'll keep cycling just because I love it, and leave the racing to the youngsters.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/faces/dalessio.jpg

D'Alessio, 83, a retired tool and die maker who is battling lung cancer, won a gold medal in the 20K road race (80-84 age group) and silver medals in the 40K road race and 5K time trials at the 2003 National Senior Games, in Hampton Roads, Va.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/faces/

By the way....

First of all.. my prayers go out to him that he beats the Lung Cancer.

But I also hope for myself that I can look that young at 83!!!!

cAPS

I was just reading an article about Chris McCormack the Aussie tri-athlete. He went from being just a runner to world champion tri-athlete in 18 months, so anything is possible. At 23 you are several years behind other cyclists that have already made cycling their career but it is definitely possible if you are lucky enough to have the genetics that enable you to compete at the highest level of cycling. Go to a club and try a few races, if you are winning after a few months then there may be potential there, otherwise welcome to the club. The club that most of us belong to is the " What if I had discovered cycling earlier club......"

CHEERS.

Mark

Mark,

This is a frustrating club to be in. Ever since I was little, I loved to ride bikes, and remember thinking it was pretty cool when I saw some of the cycling coverage during the 1992 Olympics, but where I lived, competitive cycling was pretty much unheard of, especially for youngsters. Now I have moved to the Bay Area, where there is a huge cycling culture, and even the high schools have cycling teams! I'm pretty sure I would have gotten into racing as a teenager had I grown up here.

there is a big difference between training miles and race miles. there are such little nuances of racing that is hard to learn unless you go out on a super competitive club ride.
i see guys 50+ years old dusting people 1/2 their age. there is no pretending out there. there are usually a few 'moments of truth' you encounter in a race that is hard to measure on a training ride.

i am 38 and just getting the racing bug. i just saw some amazing racing this past weekend in arlington hts, IL ( www.arlingtonbikerace.com ) were i saw cat5/citizen race, cat 4, cat 3, 40+ (masters) and cat1's and pro race. saw kenny labbe and ventura from USPS race. until the pro's went, do you know who the fastest and most skilled riders were? the 40+ group. their handling was superior and they had the most amt of race miles in their legs.

you gotta be in it to win it!!!

RiPHRaPH,

I just can't believe you didn't invite me along!

We should definitely hook up for the races in Downers Grove (aka- corn country to me ;) ) on the 16th and 17th...

If you start racing, I'll come and cheer you on for sure!

Koffee