10,000 hours is only 5 years of full-time work. There are many fields where that amount of work gets you to the entry level but not the "expert" level unless you have rare genetic gifts. Sports are not different in this regard. In sports, a big difference is the aging process. That means that you need to put those 5 years of total dedication in while you are still quite young. I would think that if Cadel Evans had been a beer-swilling couch potato until this year, putting 10,000 hours in at this point might make him a pretty good local racer but not a TDF winner.