how old is too old to train to go pro?
- Thread starter jrtalon
- Start date
Jean-Christophe Péraud turned pro at 32 and was smashing skulls at Paris Nice - he was the guy that set the top time of day on the Col d'eze that only Wiggo and Westra would ultimately beat. He was doing moutain biking for a few years prior to that... He almost nabbed a top ten spot at the Tour de France last year.
There's a few other old farts that have come to the sport and had some sucess but he's the most recent.
There's a few other old farts that have come to the sport and had some sucess but he's the most recent.
I'm sorry but so many of you are simply wrong. Yes OP, it is most certainly possible. There's just no room for discussion beyond this post. This is not a question you should be posting on a forum OP, it's something you should just be going out and trying instead because no offense to the posters above, the ones who never made it due to lack of belief WILL tell you it is impossible. Even if people above are pro, it's an ego trip. You start at 24 and become pro as they've been at it their whole lives and you think you can walk in on their parade? "Hell no!" haha. My education is in exercise science, and with the right mentality and the correct form of individuality, Starting at 24 and becoming pro is very possible. A mix of genetics and mindset is what determines how successful someone is in any sport.
Next time, ask these questions to yourself and not on a public forum because people will always influence you to believe things simply are not possible.
Next time, ask these questions to yourself and not on a public forum because people will always influence you to believe things simply are not possible.
Well ,the original post was posed over 5 yeasr ago so this individual is probably around 30 now and hasn't posted since last May. My opinion is that it is not worth debating at this point, however as I have mentioned before Jean Nuttli came from nothing to be a world class TT specialist at 27.
yea I know it was a long time ago but in general, I was disappointed in a lot of the responses I saw here. I know there are tons of great questions asked on this forum or any forum.. but as far as asking if I personally am physically capable of doing something? I'm not going to ask someone else that question. Well anyways...haha Moving on.
I just came across this thread; one of the many that won't die (sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes it’s not). I think how the original question asked back in 2006 is perceived has more to do with the reader and their experiences and view of amateur cycling than the person who asked it. From my standpoint, the question is naive, true, but endearing for lack of a better word. I don't mean endearing in a demeaning way either, although I understand it might come off that way. The guy had just fallen in love with cycling and was passionate and excited and I think all of us can remember what it was like to have just fallen in love with racing our bike and asked a "dumb" question, bitten off more than we could chew at a race or a ride. Maybe he’s still in love with racing or maybe the love affair is over, or maybe something in between, like he’s still riding but taking a break from racing.
Clearly when it comes to competing some of the more experienced racers commenting on the thread still love racing and are even still “in love†with it after a lifetime, but are very much in a different place emotionally than the original poster back in 2006. They grew up in the sport and honed their killer instincts and fitness before they were even old enough to drive. The poster “didn’t know what he didn’t know†back in 2006, but he knew enough to know he was discovering a passion for something we all discovered for the first time at some point whether it was as a 16 year old phenom or a 50 year old getting pulled from a course. I’ll refrain from tossing in a high school sweetheart or a sex analogy although it’s as tempting as it is easy.
I’m reading his question and the responses on here from an atypical perspective: I'm 37, and a lifelong competitive distance runner with 21 years of experience who has fallen in love with competitive cycling this year. Maybe competitive cyclists consider competitive distance runners as equally misunderstood cousins or half-siblings because there are some physiological similarities and we both inhabit a country that will throw a six figure sum a golfer who places but does not win a tournament or a pitcher with a one in one thousand chance of “making it†while giving a top young rider a $100 gift certificate for a victory. Or, most likely they don’t consider runners at all. I've always ridden bikes and in my twenties did a 1400 mile solo ride around Ireland, through Scotland, down into England and over into France….In the dead of winter. "Thankfully" it was an El Nino year so it was “warmer than normal,†although very wet. For many years in my twenties I owned three bikes at a time....and not a single wheeled vehicle with an engine. I currently put up 80 miles worth of commuting distance and several training rides every week.
But, I've been competing off and on as a distance runner since 16 (with a few years off from competition here and there when I was either suffering from an injury or burnout or both). Not quite sure why it never occurred to me to compete in cycling or even keep up with what was going on in pro cycling beyond Armstrong, Hincapie, and Contador until two years ago. I’ve always admired the sport for the same reasons I admired distance running: it was about endurance, mental toughness, more often than not riding away from some personal pain, and more importantly doing it for the pure love of it, even if no one was watching and you never made a dime.
I was (and am) a pretty good distance runner. This may or may not mean anything to anyone on this thread but my PRs (personal records) for running are good and very respectable, but not great. I've ran all 10 of my marathons in the 2:40s or 2:50s. My slowest marathon is faster than Armstrong's slowest and my PR is a faster than his (but I would consider our marathon times as comparable as they can be). I put up these times between the ages of 22-36 and for the most part have only lost my speed on the 5k and under distances. Same for 10ks: good times, but not great and even in my mid to late 30s I'm a consistent 36 or 37 min 10k guy and if I don’t place very high overall, on an off day, I’ll place high in my age group. I've lined up with 8500 other runners and come in 20th and I've lined up with 200 guys and won or “podiumed†(if we had podiums that is) as often as I’ve gone out too fast and hard and crashed and burned. The few Olympic distance triathlons I’ve done, I’ve beat several pro triathletes on the run (never mind that they hammered me in the water and on the bike). I personally consider distance running and cycling to be cousins, especially in the US.
What makes me say cousins? Some of my observations: Runners and cyclists share a common language in some ways: slow twitch, masters, lactic acid, hill repeats, taper, ice baths, the masses even laugh at both of us for our choice in attire (Shorty shorts as I call them or a skin suits/spandex are a sure fire way to get honked at while running or riding down an isolated country road)....but in some ways we are very different. For example competitive cycling is cost prohibitive to some and most certainly more dangerous. However, in my opinion, the biggest difference is that runners choose to measure race results in totally different ways: it kills me to check on road race results and merely see the place someone finished (with the exception of TTs which help to ease this runners anxiety). Why do I care so much about the clock? Because I might want to ride the race route and speculate on how I might measure up or scope out how good the competition traditionally is at an event so I can set realistic goals or maybe even kill some pre-race butterflies. As I know from distance running, sometimes a 5th place is awesome and other times, it was a "bad day at the office.†I can easily wrap my little runner’s mind around a 34:17 10k on a flat course with mild weather conditions but a 12th out of fifty competitors, even in the same category, can mean vastly different things. Also, if I have a time on the Chicago Marathon course during the same race, and therefore the same race conditions, I can compare myself to the best in the world. True, I can compare my wattage numbers to Tom Boonen’s or chug up Alp D’Huez but that’s only one part of the equation, albeit an important one. In running there’s a saying that “the clock doesn’t lie.â€
Fortunately true beginners can start off in cat 5 for many reasons and equally fortunate for me, I have a few advantages from the typical category 5 rider in his mid 30s: my body fat and weight are good (7% BF, 5’10, 155lb but will compete closer to 150lb), and luckily my VOMax/cardio conditioning are very good. I know my lactic acid threshold is very much above average and my core strength, although needs a little improvement, is solid. I know I have many of the biomarkers it takes to be a decent cyclist while knowing I lack many others. I also have the discipline to train rain or shine, at 5am if need be before I have to run off to work and I only partner with women who understand (or at least tolerate) that I’ll be gone for a few hours on Sundays morning and having a relationship with me means waking up early on the occasional weekend and standing in the rain listening to cowbells. I know how and when to recover, rest and taper and I honest to god enjoy “suffering,†whether it’s a workout designed to build speed or powering up a hill over and over again.
But I have as many advantages as disadvantages from the typical beginner category 5 riders. The biggest one is currently I’m lacking the pure power in my quads you experienced riders have that I’ll need to put up massive watts (thank god though I’m not trying to propel a 180lb body with my current engine). Biomechanically speaking, runners get most of their power from their hams (bicep femoris) and very little from our quads. Also, I’ll state the obvious: watching races live and on TV, whether Paris Roubaix or my local cat 4/5 race isn’t even close to the same as experiencing how race tactics feel unfolding around you. I know at this time I would get my ass handed to me if I tried to stay with the leaders for an entire race, even during a 4/5. Also, like most of you probably already know, not all category 5 road racers are created equal: several of the guys currently killing the field during 4/5 races here are category 3 mountain bikers or CX with 5+ years of experience, who like me, decided this is the year to hear the call of the skinny tire. I’ll try and remind myself I’m not competing against them, but merely myself.
My first road race will be in approximately two weeks and my only two goals are (in order of importance) enjoy the feeling of being passionate and a little naive about something in the same way the original poster in this thread was back in 2006, which I haven’t felt in a year and a half as a runner, AND inconspicuously finish in the middle of the field.
This post is getting into different territory so maybe I’ll start a new thread if there isn’t something specifically for people converting from another sport to cycling.
Clearly when it comes to competing some of the more experienced racers commenting on the thread still love racing and are even still “in love†with it after a lifetime, but are very much in a different place emotionally than the original poster back in 2006. They grew up in the sport and honed their killer instincts and fitness before they were even old enough to drive. The poster “didn’t know what he didn’t know†back in 2006, but he knew enough to know he was discovering a passion for something we all discovered for the first time at some point whether it was as a 16 year old phenom or a 50 year old getting pulled from a course. I’ll refrain from tossing in a high school sweetheart or a sex analogy although it’s as tempting as it is easy.
I’m reading his question and the responses on here from an atypical perspective: I'm 37, and a lifelong competitive distance runner with 21 years of experience who has fallen in love with competitive cycling this year. Maybe competitive cyclists consider competitive distance runners as equally misunderstood cousins or half-siblings because there are some physiological similarities and we both inhabit a country that will throw a six figure sum a golfer who places but does not win a tournament or a pitcher with a one in one thousand chance of “making it†while giving a top young rider a $100 gift certificate for a victory. Or, most likely they don’t consider runners at all. I've always ridden bikes and in my twenties did a 1400 mile solo ride around Ireland, through Scotland, down into England and over into France….In the dead of winter. "Thankfully" it was an El Nino year so it was “warmer than normal,†although very wet. For many years in my twenties I owned three bikes at a time....and not a single wheeled vehicle with an engine. I currently put up 80 miles worth of commuting distance and several training rides every week.
But, I've been competing off and on as a distance runner since 16 (with a few years off from competition here and there when I was either suffering from an injury or burnout or both). Not quite sure why it never occurred to me to compete in cycling or even keep up with what was going on in pro cycling beyond Armstrong, Hincapie, and Contador until two years ago. I’ve always admired the sport for the same reasons I admired distance running: it was about endurance, mental toughness, more often than not riding away from some personal pain, and more importantly doing it for the pure love of it, even if no one was watching and you never made a dime.
I was (and am) a pretty good distance runner. This may or may not mean anything to anyone on this thread but my PRs (personal records) for running are good and very respectable, but not great. I've ran all 10 of my marathons in the 2:40s or 2:50s. My slowest marathon is faster than Armstrong's slowest and my PR is a faster than his (but I would consider our marathon times as comparable as they can be). I put up these times between the ages of 22-36 and for the most part have only lost my speed on the 5k and under distances. Same for 10ks: good times, but not great and even in my mid to late 30s I'm a consistent 36 or 37 min 10k guy and if I don’t place very high overall, on an off day, I’ll place high in my age group. I've lined up with 8500 other runners and come in 20th and I've lined up with 200 guys and won or “podiumed†(if we had podiums that is) as often as I’ve gone out too fast and hard and crashed and burned. The few Olympic distance triathlons I’ve done, I’ve beat several pro triathletes on the run (never mind that they hammered me in the water and on the bike). I personally consider distance running and cycling to be cousins, especially in the US.
What makes me say cousins? Some of my observations: Runners and cyclists share a common language in some ways: slow twitch, masters, lactic acid, hill repeats, taper, ice baths, the masses even laugh at both of us for our choice in attire (Shorty shorts as I call them or a skin suits/spandex are a sure fire way to get honked at while running or riding down an isolated country road)....but in some ways we are very different. For example competitive cycling is cost prohibitive to some and most certainly more dangerous. However, in my opinion, the biggest difference is that runners choose to measure race results in totally different ways: it kills me to check on road race results and merely see the place someone finished (with the exception of TTs which help to ease this runners anxiety). Why do I care so much about the clock? Because I might want to ride the race route and speculate on how I might measure up or scope out how good the competition traditionally is at an event so I can set realistic goals or maybe even kill some pre-race butterflies. As I know from distance running, sometimes a 5th place is awesome and other times, it was a "bad day at the office.†I can easily wrap my little runner’s mind around a 34:17 10k on a flat course with mild weather conditions but a 12th out of fifty competitors, even in the same category, can mean vastly different things. Also, if I have a time on the Chicago Marathon course during the same race, and therefore the same race conditions, I can compare myself to the best in the world. True, I can compare my wattage numbers to Tom Boonen’s or chug up Alp D’Huez but that’s only one part of the equation, albeit an important one. In running there’s a saying that “the clock doesn’t lie.â€
Fortunately true beginners can start off in cat 5 for many reasons and equally fortunate for me, I have a few advantages from the typical category 5 rider in his mid 30s: my body fat and weight are good (7% BF, 5’10, 155lb but will compete closer to 150lb), and luckily my VOMax/cardio conditioning are very good. I know my lactic acid threshold is very much above average and my core strength, although needs a little improvement, is solid. I know I have many of the biomarkers it takes to be a decent cyclist while knowing I lack many others. I also have the discipline to train rain or shine, at 5am if need be before I have to run off to work and I only partner with women who understand (or at least tolerate) that I’ll be gone for a few hours on Sundays morning and having a relationship with me means waking up early on the occasional weekend and standing in the rain listening to cowbells. I know how and when to recover, rest and taper and I honest to god enjoy “suffering,†whether it’s a workout designed to build speed or powering up a hill over and over again.
But I have as many advantages as disadvantages from the typical beginner category 5 riders. The biggest one is currently I’m lacking the pure power in my quads you experienced riders have that I’ll need to put up massive watts (thank god though I’m not trying to propel a 180lb body with my current engine). Biomechanically speaking, runners get most of their power from their hams (bicep femoris) and very little from our quads. Also, I’ll state the obvious: watching races live and on TV, whether Paris Roubaix or my local cat 4/5 race isn’t even close to the same as experiencing how race tactics feel unfolding around you. I know at this time I would get my ass handed to me if I tried to stay with the leaders for an entire race, even during a 4/5. Also, like most of you probably already know, not all category 5 road racers are created equal: several of the guys currently killing the field during 4/5 races here are category 3 mountain bikers or CX with 5+ years of experience, who like me, decided this is the year to hear the call of the skinny tire. I’ll try and remind myself I’m not competing against them, but merely myself.
My first road race will be in approximately two weeks and my only two goals are (in order of importance) enjoy the feeling of being passionate and a little naive about something in the same way the original poster in this thread was back in 2006, which I haven’t felt in a year and a half as a runner, AND inconspicuously finish in the middle of the field.
This post is getting into different territory so maybe I’ll start a new thread if there isn’t something specifically for people converting from another sport to cycling.
