Originally Posted by slowandsteady
Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent.
Sophia Loren
US (Italian-born) movie actress (1934 - )
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Calvin Coolidge
30th president of US (1872 - 1933)
It just doesn't work that way in Bike Racing. No one is a professional bike racer with mediocre talent. Take Bob Roll for example. His professional palmares are limited, and he made a career for himself out of hardwork and persistence. But he was also one incredibly gifted bike rider by comparison to even talented amateur riders, and was crushing soles in the Bay area as an amateur.
You just don't get to be a professional bike rider without a gift no matter how much drive or persistence you have. And if you've been doing this a bit, and that gift hasn't shown itself, you need to come to grips with the fact you are not going to be a pro.
99% of the folks that post on BF(myself squarely included) could quit their day job, ride 8 hours a day, hire a coach a trainer, a nutirionist, a massuese, and a sports psychologist; pour their heart and sole into it for years, and never get a Pro contract, even for a Division III domestic team.
I think most everyone would recognize that most of us lack the talent to play in the NFL.However for some reason there's the belief that if we just had the time and the determination we could ride in the Pro Peleton.