Originally Posted by
puddinlegs
Sure, they'd hang in a Cat 4/5 with some work. Maybe cat 3 even, but it's extremely* doubtfull they'd ever be paid to ride a bike unless there was an appearance fee involved.
* extremely.
How far would a pro cyclist get in basketball, baseball or football? The results would surely be embarrassing. Why? They're not very good athletes aside from their level of endurance.
It's routine for nfl, mlb and nba players to be decorated athletes in multiple sports, and not rare for these athletes to have opportunities to become a professional in more than one sport.
When's the last time you heard of a pro cyclist having an opportunity to compete in a professional sport outside of a bicycle race? That's right. Never.
Pro cyclists are very narrow specialists. NFL, MLB, and NBA players can and do compete in a wide variety of sports. Cyclists can check off one or a few boxes in which they excel athletically. NFL, MLB, and NBA players can check off many boxes in which they excel athletically: run, jump, throw, hit, take hits, etc etc etc.