"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - becoming a pro cyclist?

i'm not looking to be a pro cyclist first of all, i'm a triathlete. but i do like to follow pro cycling and may do some road races maybe next year depending on my schedule and if i pick up a new road bike more importantly. but with the tour de france looming i got to wondering how one becomes a pro cyclist? i've read some riders profiles and noticed amateur teams listed on most of them. do these guys basically land a spot on an amateur team and just go from there? thanks for any insight on this.

Vestal? Are you doing any TVC races? You know we have some club members that have gone pro.

i just replied to your other thread actually. i have never done a group ride or race outside of tri's. i definitely want to get into some rides with tvc though. but i took on a short notice tri so i really have to focus my training on that right now.

i didn't know and local people were pro's. i truthfully don't know a whole lot about regular bike racing to begin with. only tri stuff.

Race well, get noticed.

Race very, very well, maybe get noticed if you're lucky.

Fixed.

Race very, very well, get noticed if you're lucky. Stay healthy.

Fixed the fix.

Race well, get noticed.Dope.


Fixed by mentioning that getting a fix is indispensable. :)

I normally don't care when people change what is quoted, and I do it myself all the time. But I take great offence to your alteration of my quote and the implied attribution to me therein and request that you promptly remove it. I know several pros and the suggesstion that doping was required does them a great disservice.

I won't pretend that cycling or any sport is completely clean because it's obviously not but there is no case for declaring that everyone is doing it.

I know several college kids who have gone pro who were simply too poor to afford drugs.

Unless someone was giving them something for free, I simply refuse to believe that they were on the sauce.

I also think that a large majority of the domestic pro scene is drug free.

I normally don't care when people change what is quotes
d, and I do it myself all the time. But I take great offence to your alteration of my quote and the implied attribution to me therein and request that you promptly remove it. I know several pros and the suggesstion that doping was required does them a great disservice.

I won't pretend that cycling or any sport is completely clean because it's obviously not but there is no case for declaring that everyone is doing it.

lighten up Francis
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link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrllCZw8jiM)

lighten up Francis

stfu

If he wants to say he thinks you have to dope then that's his perogative but don't change my quote to say it.

stfu

If he wants to say he thinks you have to dope then that's his perogative but don't change my quote to say it.

I think we're all smart enough around here to figure out that you didn't say it.

:rolleyes:

I think we're all smart enough around here to figure out that you didn't say it.

:rolleyes:

You give people too much credit. And I can complain about it if I damn well want.

Hey look over there ---------------->

You give people too much credit. And I can complain about it if I damn well want.

Damn Umd. You must still be tired from the 200 miler. Go take a nap :D.

Fixed by mentioning that getting a fix is indispensable. :)

wrong forum (http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=217).

I normally don't care when people change what is quoted, and I do it myself all the time. But I take great offence to your alteration of my quote and the implied attribution to me therein and request that you promptly remove it. I know several pros and the suggesstion that doping was required does them a great disservice.

I won't pretend that cycling or any sport is completely clean because it's obviously not but there is no case for declaring that everyone is doing it.

Sorry I offended you. And though I believe there is an epidemic of doping among confirmed pros, I am sure there are plenty of beginning pros that do not dope. Poor choice of words, lamentable attempt at humor on a serious subject. My apologies.

There is very, very little doping in domestic cycling. The furthest it typically goes is Phentermine or other weight loss drugs. A rider making $10-50k/year can't afford to dope.

How to become pro? Win a lot of races, upgrade to cat 1. Get on a good amateur team that can do bigger races like Fitchburg, Nature Valley, Air Force Classic, etc. Do extremely well -- like best amateur rider (non-pro license), etc. Make a lot of friends who are pros. Junior and U23 nationals are a big plus.

Then, look to sign to a smaller pro team. Do really well and you'll eventually get noticed by bigger teams. Even many of the top domestic riders never get the chance to go pro in Europe, and rarely do they get to the top in Europe. Eg, Ivan Dominguez was arguable the best domestic pro sprinter in 2007 and 2008. He went to a ProTour team this year and made it 6 months before they mutually ended their contracts. He couldn't perform. Although good at sprinting after a 90min crit, he couldn't do 90-110+ races -- especially day-after-day.

The other option is to dominate a few European races. That's a quick way to be signed. Then again, a big good luck there.

Sorry I offended you. And though I believe there is an epidemic of doping among confirmed pros, I am sure there are plenty of beginning pros that do not dope. Poor choice of words, lamentable attempt at humor on a serious subject. My apologies.

What is a "confirmed pro"?

What is a "confirmed pro"?


An Episcopalian/Anglican or Catholic bicycle racer who goes through the "Confirmation" process within the church during middle school, then turns pro later on in his/her career.

Duh.

;)

I know several college kids who have gone pro who were simply too poor to afford drugs.

Unless someone was giving them something for free, I simply refuse to believe that they were on the sauce.

I also think that a large majority of the domestic pro scene is drug free.

+1 most likely why some who have the talent are still domestic pro's. Things in the Euro peleton are slowly changing but as of just 2 years ago I'm of the belief that if you didn't dope you didn't make the pro ranks.

Sorry I offended you. And though I believe there is an epidemic of doping among confirmed pros, I am sure there are plenty of beginning pros that do not dope. Poor choice of words, lamentable attempt at humor on a serious subject. My apologies.

Okay you apologized now go fix your post....

An Episcopalian/Anglican or Catholic bicycle racer who goes through the "Confirmation" process within the church during middle school, then turns pro later on in his/her career.

Duh.

;)

:roflmao:

stfu

don't change my quote to say it. Because I will go into a roid rage

:innocent:

To add to the discussion, there are many guys in town who are ex-pros, and still relatively young. Moved up through the ranks quickly, went pro, and for whatever reason didn't do it for more than a few years. These guys don't train much but still do the group rides and can still ride circles around most everyone else, with only the top active racers giving them a run for their money. They have nothing riding on their performance, they are out there for fun, so the chance that they are doping is nil. To me this shows the innate ability of many of these guys, so I would find it very hard to believe that many of them would doping. Again we are talking about your run-of-the-mill domestic pros, not the top-level international pros.

Damn Umd. You must still be tired from the 200 miler. Go take a nap :D.

Yeah I think I was abit cranky yesterday... my mood must fluctuate with my electrolyte balance :p

Ivan Dominguez !

=)