Void

[warrior4life]

I would imagine if the OP is dedicated and fit he'll become a good amateur, I hope the OP isn't too put off. The chances of becoming a professional are minuscule but there's nothing stopping him falling in love with great sport of cycling.

This is actually a great thread and I'd be interested to hear how the OP gets on over the next few months.

Like I say I don't think the OP will achieve the pro level but I could be wrong, good luck to him. I'd be more than happy to eat my words.

 

[ray j willings]

I'm 85k "not much fat" What sport do you think I should take up Jancouver ?

 

[warrior4life]

Re: Re:

I would imagine if the OP is dedicated and fit he'll become a good amateur, I hope the OP isn't too put off. The chances of becoming a professional are minuscule but there's nothing stopping him falling in love with great sport of cycling.

This is actually a great thread and I'd be interested to hear how the OP gets on over the next few months.

Like I say I don't think the OP will achieve the pro level but I could be wrong, good luck to him. I'd be more than happy to eat my words.

The thing is, people here are under the assumption that I was getting into cycling with the dream of becoming a professional, which isn't true.

Don't let this put you off then, just get out there and enjoy riding the bike, do a few races and have fun. Let us know how you get on... Good luck.

 

[Wallace]

Excuse me if I'm posting this in the wrong thread. This is my first post and I wasn't sure if I should put this question in this forum or the general discussion.

But anyway, I was wondering at what age is it too late to start cycling professionally? Is 23 too late?

I used to bike ride a lot when I was younger, but just for fun.

If you had started off saying you love the idea of bike racing and want to know how likely it is that you could become a solid amateur racer, you'd be receiving a lot less snark here. It is sort of disrespectful to the amazing athletes who have devoted their whole lives to bike racing to assume that becoming a professional bike racer is any less difficult than becoming a professional basketball player, football player, etc.

 

[Jancouver]

Re:

I'm 85k "not much fat" What sport do you think I should take up Jancouver ?

Well, let me be honest with you.

You are definitely too heavy for ski jumping.

While UFC and Boxing may be good and lucrative choice, I truly believe the best sport for you is NASCAR!

Let me explain,

Same as cycling, NASCAR is all about your engine and your legs.

Just like on track, you will be riding in circles, wearing a helmet a have a team radio in your ear. Same as in cycling, you will have to carefully select tires and tire pressure for every race.

Heaving good hands is important as steering can be tricky on slippery roads and picking up a good line is important just like in cycling. And the sprint for the finish is also very exciting in NASCAR. You can or lose it all and crashes do happen often.

If you dont have a car, just rent one and all you have to do, is to practice is a left turn. If you dont have access to a motor race track, I would recommend moving to UK as you would be able to make left turns without stopping.

 

[skidmark]

Excuse me if I'm posting this in the wrong thread. This is my first post and I wasn't sure if I should put this question in this forum or the general discussion.

But anyway, I was wondering at what age is it too late to start cycling professionally? Is 23 too late?

I used to bike ride a lot when I was younger, but just for fun.

If you had started off saying you love the idea of bike racing and want to know how likely it is that you could become a solid amateur racer, you'd be receiving a lot less snark here. It is sort of disrespectful to the amazing athletes who have devoted their whole lives to bike racing to assume that becoming a professional bike racer is any less difficult than becoming a professional basketball player, football player, etc.

That's basically what I asked....

There's actually a literal, categorical difference between 'amateur' and 'professional', so no, even in the most basic sense, that is not what you asked. I really appreciated reading your first post because cycling is great and I think it's great if you're sincerely going to see how you can do and give it a go. And if you are sincere, I hope you keep people posted on what/how you're doing. But if you want to have honest, good faith discussions with people, you need to start acknowledging/listening to them when they tell you why what you're saying may be rubbing people the wrong way, instead of just dismissing or insisting that they are wrong.

Anyway, on the original topic, hell yeah, 23 is probably too old, but honestly it's decreasing your chances of being a pro from 1 in 10000 to 1 in a million or something, so who cares? Go for it.

 

[Catwhoorg]

Okay: you insist you're sincere and just asking about your chances as a person who is reasonably fit but has never ridden a bike seriously buying a bike and training with the aim of becoming a professional cyclist. You used to play basketball: suppose someone came up to you and said "I used to run. I've never played the game but I'm going to buy a basketball and a pair of Air Jordan's tomorrow. What do you think my chances are of making it to the pro level?"

If said person was 7 feet tall, actually not bad at all.

 

[Unsytherhino]

I think Phil Gaimons book gives a decent insight of what it takes to make it into the pros, worth a read.

 

[Escarabajo]

So I just read this thread. LOL at the responses.

So basically what I got from reading this:

- The OP has confusion because there is similitude between being a pro and being and amateur or just being a club rider. There is lack of knowledge on the sport. Still wants to be a pro. Strange.
- Has no bike yet and wants to be a pro. Weird, very weird. Why does he want to be a pro out of a blue? Why cycling? There has to be some honest explanation from him if expects other people to be honest with him. Usually people are related to a sport for a reason or several reasons. At least there must be a story.

My answer:

- Unless he is a freak of nature he is already too late for being a pro. Remember that is not just VO2 max but skills on a bike. Soler started late and he is now retired for his lack of skills unfortunately.
- For being an amateur or just occasional or local competition, he is still on time. But he needs to get on a bike, ride many miles in order to see if he even like it.

I'll suggest the OP to buy the bike without any pressure whatsoever and see if he enjoys it and see if he has the talent. Even if you don't make it to the pros you'll enjoy destroying those club riders if you have the talent.

 

[jens_attacks]

Team sky just announced that they signed markene for two years, will lead the team at the vuelta!!

 

[Singer01]

Good luck to the OP, I hope he enjoys cycling at least and finds a sport that betters his life.

Realistically the chances are slim.

I live in the UK, its like me saying I'm going to start training to join the NBA, I enjoyed playing basketball as kid.
I'm going to start training next week and buy a ball and some shoes.
Is my goal realistic? I'm also 23. 6'3 and 180lbs with background in cycling.

except it isn't like that at all is it? because the technical skills involved in basketball are about a million times more complicated.
if there was any sport i think someone could take up late in life relying on good genetics i'd probably pick cycling or running.

 

[Arnout]

Good luck to the OP, I hope he enjoys cycling at least and finds a sport that betters his life.

Realistically the chances are slim.

I live in the UK, its like me saying I'm going to start training to join the NBA, I enjoyed playing basketball as kid.
I'm going to start training next week and buy a ball and some shoes.
Is my goal realistic? I'm also 23. 6'3 and 180lbs with background in cycling.

except it isn't like that at all is it? because the technical skills involved in basketball are about a million times more complicated.
if there was any sport i think someone could take up late in life relying on good genetics i'd probably pick cycling or running.

It takes 5-10 years before your body is fully adjusted to the sport of cycling though.

 

[Singer01]

Good luck to the OP, I hope he enjoys cycling at least and finds a sport that betters his life.

Realistically the chances are slim.

I live in the UK, its like me saying I'm going to start training to join the NBA, I enjoyed playing basketball as kid.
I'm going to start training next week and buy a ball and some shoes.
Is my goal realistic? I'm also 23. 6'3 and 180lbs with background in cycling.

except it isn't like that at all is it? because the technical skills involved in basketball are about a million times more complicated.
if there was any sport i think someone could take up late in life relying on good genetics i'd probably pick cycling or running.

It takes 5-10 years before your body is fully adjusted to the sport of cycling though.

not saying its likely, just more likely that someone could succeed as the technical side of cycling is of less importance, look at froome, he looks like a pepperami dry humping his bike.

 

[Jancouver]

Re:

I'm just going to enjoy riding. No expectations. No dreams. Just fun.

Did you get a bike already? If not, this bike is on sale at Walmart. It may be a good starter bike for a newbie rider. Perfect for cruising around and even hauling cargo etc

 

[alspacka]

Cancellera's put his old bike up for sale.

 

[King Boonen]

Cancellera's put his old bike up for sale.

Has he left the motor in it?

I might be interested then!

 

[Singer01]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/get-inspired/31487186

there you go, live your dream.

 

[huge]

Re:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/get-inspired/31487186

there you go, live your dream.

Gaby is an amazing athlete. But she is an exception, a case in a million.

First of all there is far far less competition in women cycling. So the way up to pro cycling is much easier (easier, not easy!!). That said, either you are an undiscovered exceptional natural talent (as she obviously is) or you don't stand a chance.

If you are a talent, things should improve pretty fast! And when I say fast, I mean really fast.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re: Re:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/get-inspired/31487186

there you go, live your dream.

Gaby is an amazing athlete. But she is an exception, a case in a million.

First of all there is far far less competition in women cycling. So the way up to pro cycling is much easier (easier, not easy!!). That said, either you are an undiscovered exceptional natural talent (as she obviously is) or you don't stand a chance.

If you are a talent, things should improve pretty fast! And when I say fast, I mean really fast.

+1.

If you are a huge natural talent your friends in your first groupd rides will let you now quickly. It is easy to see.

 

[Irondan]

This thread was moved from the PRR forum.

Dan