Originally Posted by roger89
Well, is it a good choise to make; train up in cycling and hope one day I may become a pro?
How much are the pro and "training for pro status" rider's income?
*Topic: career
Pick up a copy of the DVD,"The Hard Road"...while not very well done (it was racer Jamie Paolinetti's first film making effort) it will give you a very realistic look at what you may be seeking. You will see the tension between one rider, and his spouse who is supporting him while he races and trains and makes ten grand a year.
Bob Roll went to Europe on his own, lived in a tent in a campground and had to ride to the races, then ride the race, then ride back to his tent.
It's fun if you are 20 and don't care about a decent life yet...it's not good if you are 30 and still trying to get there. Some guys, like Wayne Stetina were smart. Wayne raced in two Olympics in addition to being one of the best national racers for a number of years. He cultivated good relationships and now runs the US Shimano operations. So, he's still in the bike business.
If you get a chance, pick up a copy of "Lance Armstrong's War" and read the chapter on Floyd Landis. It recounts his exploits wasting local stud racers...if you are wasting local racers, then you might move up to domestic national stuff. Then, maybe five or six top national riders might get to try the big time...
Jonas Carney rode in the World Championships in Hamilton. He got there by riding the US qualifying race. I recall his comment when he was really struggling to keep up with guys like Bettini..."I have no business being here." He did not finish, as I recall. He has been one of the top US national racers. National racing is like Division I basketball. Maybe 15 or so of those guys in the 250 or so Div I schools get to the NBA.
If you are good enough, you will show it right out of the box. Same as any other sport. Lance was a pro triathlete at, what, 14 years old (?) and was regularly beating adults at that age. A friend of mine's son is a golfer...he's 16 and regularly breaks par from the middle men's tees. Goes to the pro tees (7200 yards or so) and shoots par or a bit over...
Where you are from, you might have to go elsewhere to get top competition, since as you have told me before, there is not a lot of racing where you are.