Yeah, I remember an interview with Cavendish in his prime and he mentioned doing track racing training improved his sprinting ability quite dramatically, most notably his initial acceleration off the lead-out man's wheel in a sprint to the finish line.

I'd be surprised in a European footballer would jump to cycling, seems if you can make an 'A' level squad in Europe the money would be much better. Not specifically for the money, but the same thing occurs with youngsters in local track & field/athletics here in the USA as local HS football coaches go to spring track meets and recruit the fastest sprinters for their HS football teams.