Being a professional cyclist is the dream of many lovers of this highly sacrificed sport, however, only a few manage to fulfill the dream of being a professional cyclist.
A professional cyclist is a person who has cycling not only as a hobby, but as a way to earn a living. Although a cyclist does not earn much money compared to soccer players, it is true that the older ones can achieve a fairly comfortable life thanks to cycling.
First of all I must tell you that there are two types of professional cycling, road cycling and track cycling, two very similar sports but different from each other.
A professional road cyclist is the classic that we all know, that is, the one who travels kilometers around the world with a peloton and runs the Tour de France, is a priori the one who gives the most money. On the other hand, track cycling is cycling done indoors, on an oval track in which speed and power prevail over resistance.
Although track cycling is an Olympic sport and there has been some celebrity, it is clear that it does not have the fame or repercussion of lifelong road cycling, with celebrities such as Contour, Armstrong and Miguel Indurating who are known to all of us.
Being a professional cyclist is very demanding and requires a lot of effort, which means that you must have the courage to take the step and sacrifice many things if you want to make a living from this.
I am going to teach you all the steps to follow to be a professional cyclist. Although reading this article does not guarantee success, it will serve as a small road map with all the instructions you must follow to achieve your goal.
What do you need to be a professional cyclist?
- A bicycle.
- Safety equipment for riding a bicycle.
- Age between 10 and 30 years.
- Eager to learn.
- A minimum of ability as an athlete.
Instructions to be a professional cyclist
- Train and polish your technique:
Many people believe that being a professional cyclist is something easy, like going to buy bread every day. I am sorry to tell you that if you are one of those who thinks like this, you can close the article right now, since it is a difficult task, possible yes, but difficult. The first thing you should do is determine if you are under 30 years old, since if you pass that age it is almost impossible. If you are still young, you should start practicing on your own, with your bicycle making routes in less and less time, timing the time it takes and training to see if you can improve your marks. This is the longest stage but also the most necessary, since it will allow you to get the necessary technique to start. - Start from the bottom:
Before going through professionalism you have to go through amateur cycling, that is, you have to sign up for a local or regional cycling event on your own. Search the internet for the tests closest to your town and sign up. Here you can see if you really have the material to be a cyclist or if you need to practice a little more. Here you will compete with real people and you will see if you can be at their level. Once you start winning competitions at the local level, go raising the level of demand to tests of another level, such as national amateur tests. Winning these races means that your level is very high and that you may be able to go pro. - Talk to a team:
If you are able to win amateur events at a national level, you have probably already caught the attention of a professional team. If not, try to contact them through their phone, tell your story, and offer to join the team. IF you get signed by a professional team, congratulations, you are now officially a professional cyclist. That if, this is far from it, the last step you must take to reach the elite, you still have one thing to do. - Give everything:
You have already achieved your goal and you already earn some money for competing, you already have a team that is behind you, that pays you for the equipment to run and the bicycles and that trains and accompanies you. But this is only the beginning since, as in football; there are many professionals but few players in the elite. To put the comparison with football, a second division footballer is a professional but is little more than a mileurista, unlike an elite player who earns millions of euros. A cyclist does not usually earn millions of euros, but there is a huge difference between the accountant’s salary and yours. Therefore, you must start trying to climb and earn the position. One last thing, if you manage to reach the top, remember me and say that at least I told you how to do it.
Tips for being a professional cyclist
- Do not fall into doping: In professional sports many people dope, something that also happens in cycling. If you find yourself in such a decision, it is better to finish a little worse in the classification but not cross that line, since they can expel you and what is worse, it can bring you serious health problems.
