Bueller?
Bueller?
Bueller?

Of course, he also flunked a whiz quiz ... .

You've used the word "to" incorrectly here.

Since several people have noted it, but not explained it, I will. It's "I know that's too old to be" etc. Here's a link that explains the difference between "to" and "too". Since you've made the mistake twice (in the name and title of the post) I thought I'd risk being the dick and point it out to you. I'm not doing it for any reason than for your education so you can avoid doing it again in the future. The English language can be confusing -- I write for a living and make mistakes all the time. But I do appreciate when people point them out to me.

You must be very popular at parties.

Yeah, sorry for politely pointing out what he did wrong instead of making fun of the OP as other posters did. And I am fun at parties, by the way. Thanks for asking.

Smart people are welcome to my parties anytime. Mouthbreathers, not so much.

Svein Tuft didn't turn pro til his mid-late 20s. He was at provincial (or state) level at 23. He was the oldest "rookie" in the Tour last year.

He just won the TT and Road championships in Canada at 37.

He, also, put a dog in a trailer and pulled him some insane amount of miles to a training camp.
Too lazy to find a link...

S

Yeah,

He rode from BC to the training camp in the southern US somewhere.

He was a young pro but dropped out IIRC. This is a guy who had experience and talent and mega, mega miles. Certainly not some guy who decided to ride a bike. Even his dad was an Olympic level rider...

Not your average bear.

This.

There's no reason that someone with the right genetics, drive, coaching, and funds couldn't ride at a Pro level with a few years of intense effort.

Problem is that given the structure of Pro cycling, if you don't already have some pretty good results by your early 20's no one is going to give you the chance.

The majority of riders for Continental Teams (formerly Division 3, the entry level to pro cycling) have to have a racing age of 28 or under. So no one's going to take on a 25 year old amatuer as a development project, when they'll be too old to be of value by the time they develop into a good rider.

how about this..see if you can make it to Cat 4 before the end of year then come back and ask your question again.

FTFY. Guys that get Pro contracts often move through Cats very quickly. I would have said Cat 1, but I'm giving OP credit for half the year being gone.

Not every pro made Cat 1 in a year, but if you're hoping to go Pro, starting racing in your mid 20's its going to take some rapid impressive results.

So, OP next 5 weekends, 2 races a weekend; Cat 4 by August; First weekend in August, 2 road races with fields over 50 and you're a 3 (may take you two weekends if you're limited to crits, or smaller field sizes). Mid August, find a weekend stage race, win each stge and GC, and you're a 2.

So Cat 2 by Labor Day is doable, and if you're not a 2 by then, or well on your way, don't go to Europe.

Nate English. Started racing bikes after he graduated from Cal (Go Bears!). Rode off the front and nearly lapped the field in his first Cat 5 race (Cherry Pie). I know, I was in that race. By the end of that season, he was a Cat 1. Had some more results, including the record for the Mt. Diablo Challenge, and got a pro contract soon thereafter. Raced a couple of seasons with Kenda-5 Hour Energy.

You can compete at a high level as an amateur if you put in hard work and dedication.

To be a professional in any sport requires you to have an extraordinary amount of talent. Sure, hard work can make up for some of it, but hard work will only take you so far. There are plenty of hardworking athletes who are forced to give up on their dream of continuing (or even having) a professional career.

If you start in your mid-twenties, even if you were really talented, you would still have a lot of catching up to do and just a few years to do it in. In short, if you have some kind of prodigy level talent, you could do it. But for us normal folk it is a dream within a dream.

with or without doping?

I haven't heard that one in a while. I even forget which thread I became infamous in.