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What It Takes to Break Into the Pro
Ranks
From a Team Director's Perspective
Words: Kirk Willett 2002-2003 Prime
Alliance Team Director (originally
appeared on
bike.com)
Cycling is divided up into multiple racing
categories that are designed to create a
competitive arena for a wide range of talents,
time commitments and age. There is a home for
just about everyone who enjoys racing a bike.
Professional cycling is quite different though,
as only a select few ever reach that level.
There are a limited number of pro teams making
the competition quite intense for the limited
number of spots. Every year there are dozens of
athletes hoping to get their big “break." One
good thing about racing in the US is that
professional competition is quite accessible
since Category 1 and 2 riders often race against
the pros. To many aspiring riders, how to go
about maximizing your chances of breaking into
the pro ranks is not too clear. Hopefully I can
provide a bit of insight as to what it takes.
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As a team director, I use many markers in
searching out new talent, but there are some
pretty basic guidelines to follow when trying to
get the attention of pro teams. The bottom line
is that you have to be able to show you have the
strength to perform in events that have
professional competition. That doesn’t
necessarily mean beating the pros, since it is
very difficult to beat organized professional
teams, but it does mean consistently performing
at a level where you make hard selections or
place well in your discipline. Getting to that
point is generally a step by step process. The
first task is to know when you (as an
up-and-comer) are physically ready to put
resources towards racing NRC events, second, you
need to be smart in choosing the NRC events that
suit your skills, and finally, you need the
dedication and persistence necessary to show
those skills consistently.
The biggest mistake that I see fresh riders make
is to over-look the initial step of knowing when
it is time to take on a diet full of NRC events.
The first thing any rider needs to do is conquer
the regional level. If you have dreams of
getting paid to race your bike, the first step
is to develop the ability to consistently place
well in regional Pro/1/2 events. It doesn’t mean
that you have to win all the time, especially if
you are not a sprinter, but you do need to be
able to have the skills to place high month in
and month out in a variety of events, and then
excel in your specialty. Generally, if you are
not an impact rider locally and regionally, you
are not ready to make NRC events your focus. You
may need more time to develop. It might be best
to put your efforts towards regional success and
use NRC events your area as training for
regional events. When you start to become an
impact rider, then it is time to look for more.
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The second step towards being considered for
a spot on a pro team is to pick NRC events that
will show-case your abilities. Most professional
teams look to recruit three types of riders:
sprinters, climbers, and all-arounders. If you
are a sprinter, you need to attend events that
generally see professional sprinters win. If you
are a climber, you need to attend events that
have big climber-type selections. If you are an
all-arounder, you need to attend events that
historically have that rider type excel. Alex
Candelario, a neo-pro sprinter/strongman on our
team, is a perfect example of a rider who made
some smart choices when attended NRC events last
year. He knew he was a strong finisher and chose
to attend events that had a high percentage of
sprint finishes. He repeatedly found himself in
the top five and caught people’s attention. He
didn’t win, but he showed he had the ability to
be in the sprinting mix against the top pros. I
immediately thought…great lead-out potential,
great break-away sprinter, and then maybe
developing into a future field sprinter too! In
addition, he also showed work-capacity by
jumping off into hard breaks as well. It was a
really smart move for him to choose events that
suited his talents. Otherwise, he may not have
shown up on the pro team radar quite so
brightly.
Cycling is filled with many ups and downs. Form
often swings radically, especially for
up-and-comers, due to part-time work, horrible
travel hardships, and often very limited support
at events. The final pieces of the puzzle needed
to get onto a professional team are persistence
and dedication, not only month to month, but
even for a couple of years. One good week of
results in races that suit your skills often
will not bring you a contract. You need to show
some consistency to have value to a professional
team. In order to do this, you must be willing
to do the hard training work and be able to
piece together a schedule within your current
team that gives you maximum opportunity to show
your skills. If at first you don’t succeed, try
and try again! You never know when things will
come together and you make strides towards you
goals. Talent is not the only thing that makes a
good pro. It is often work-ethic, dedication,
and a smart plan that really makes the
difference.
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