Originally Posted by Doge

My concern is USA Network TV. The kind that comes with the "standard package", that is ad supported.
I would like to see USA have more representation in the World Tour. I still like cycling without that, but as a fan boy - I like it more when it is a USA rider.

So to the pay topic / some facts.
In 2015 USA juniors won the UCI Worlds Nations Cup. By UCI's measure, overall USA had the best juniors in the world.
That has never happened.
Here is where things are now - 2 years later.
1 rider is full time development pro. We all know who he is.
2 riders are partially enrolled in college and have pro development contracts. Neither are road racing at the moment and one is taking time off.
1 rider is completely enrolled in college
1 rider hung up the bike.
We have a few others very capable of winning in Europe that didn't really get the same opportunity as juniors. Some that were not winning were given many more opportunities. That's coaching, so you can't always get it right.
Some of these kids are doing some USA devo pro now, but as far as I know supported by parents. They may come out later.

Best USA Soccer kid - Dad moved to Germany with him to finish HS. I expect the team paid for both to do that. Kid at 19 is making $8M/year.

Getting USA's best cycling kids to stay in the sport is clearly difficult, and different.