My cousin was a CAT1 and he didn't make dick. Just got free bikes and ****. I was talking to him about it a couple weeks ago, and he said that in a lot of cases, it's an attrition game. Lot's of people have the talent, but very few of them have the resources that it takes to allow them to fully dedicate themselves to the sport for the lenght of time it takes to "make it". He and his buddy who was also a pro were talking about how many guys they knew that were finally forced to get full time jobs to support themselves in addition to racing, and whose racing then suffered. I think it's a lot like car racing in that respect...not necessarily the talent, but how well you play the politics game, and how deep your (or if you're incredibly luck, your sponsor's) pockets are. He tried and semi-suceeded for a good number of years before he finally had to throw in the towel on that dream.