Long to be a professional cyclist, but just don’t know where to start? Fortunately, in this age of the internet we have numerous resources at our fingertips like wikiHow. Capable of taking the seemingly impossible and making it doable, wikiHow takes the mysticism out of the world of professional cycling.
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From wikiHow:
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Cycle every day. Training and experience are the foundation of any sport, and for a professional cyclist, this means making lots of miles on the road. On average, you should train at least two hours a day for six days a week if you want to become a professional cyclist. If the weather is too cold to cycle outside, train on a stationary bike in at a gym or at home.
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Do a 60-minute strength-training workout a couple of times a week to build your muscles, specifically your leg and core muscles. *See warning below.
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Join a local cycling club and participate in weekly trainings.
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Find a coach to help you improve your times and technique. Sometimes you can find a good coach through your cycling club, but you can also look through the classifieds in cycling magazines. A good coach can help you break your own time records, build your endurance and speed, and improve your technique when racing against others. An experienced coach can also give you advice about the best nutrition for endurance sports and advise you on the best equipment.
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Enter local races. Performing well at local events will help build your technique, confidence, and reputation. If you’re entering with other members of your local club, be sure to work with them to dominate the racecourse.
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Analyze each race to see what you can improve on in terms of technique, equipment or physical stamina.
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Study professional cyclists to learn how they train and eat, and what their techniques and racing strategies are. You’ll notice patterns in terms of how they approach a race and work with other cyclists in their teams.
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Find a sponsor. Though sponsors usually don’t donate as much cash in the amateur leagues as they do for professional cyclists, having a sponsor can make a difference in covering the costs of equipment, training, and travel.
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Enter in bigger contests as you become better and faster. The more attention you get in amateur contests, the more chance you stand of catching the eye of a scout for a professional team. At the USA Cycling website, you can research events per state and find which you are qualified to enter.
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Try out when a scout for a professional team asks you to compete for a professional team.
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Accept an offer to ride for a professional team.Apparently, it is that simple. However, you should heed their one warning: Steer well away from performance enhancing drugs. Besides the fact that they are illegal and getting caught using them can ruin your career as a professional cyclist, they are also extremely damaging to your health.Ain’t that the truth.
