BS!...it is not a one in a million chance. You can become faster and stronger than 90% of all cyclists in the USA just by being consistent, training hard, and never quitting. Good genetics might move you even further up into the top 5%. Most young racers lose interest, quit, or have too many other interests outside of cycling and racing. Fred Rodriguez, currently racing in Europe, said that the guys that made it to pro level with him were not necessarily the most gifted, but were simply the ones that never quit. Guys like Bobby Julich, Fred Rodriguez, George Hincapie, etc..never wanted to do anything else but race their bikes. Guys like Chris Horner never quit. They were the first ones to arrive for the club rides on Tues and Thurs nites. They were the ones that drove 4-6 hours on Sat and Sun. morning...week after week... to get to the all the races in their region. These are the guys that did 250+ mile weeks in the saddle...week after week, year after year..and loved every minute of it. Next thing you know they are moving up the USCF categories and getting noticed both regionally and nationally. Next thing you know these guys are getting spots on domestic teams and doing the bigger domestic races like Philly, Redlands, and Trenton among others. They do this for several years while making very little money....and never complaining. Then one day they start getting major results. Teams like U.S. Postal and CSC come calling. Finally all the hard work starts to pay dividends. Like when Horner won that big stage in the Tour DuPont many years ago. That stage earned him a spot in Europe. He was working as a bike mechanic and riding for the lowly Nutrifig-Colorado Cyclist team. He was able to quit his job and race and train full time after winning that stage in DuPont(I think it was '95??). Bobby Julich had raced domestically for several years when his contract was not renewed by his team. He could have easily quit, but Bobby decided to go out and race as a free agent. He maxed out his credit cards so that he could travel to all the important races. He had no sponsors or support...but he found a way to keep racing. He literally spent his life's savings. Well, Bobby got signed to a team the following year...and a few years later he was racing in the Tour de France....and eventually got on the podium in 1998.
Then you have the genetic freaks like Lance Armstrong. These are guys that win the World's at age 21. Guys like Jan Ullrich who wins the Tour de France at age 23. Guys like Greg Lemond or Indurain. You don't necessarily have to be one of these genetic freaks to be a successful pro. Just ask guys like Julich, Rodriguez, and Horner.