Life as a pro cyclist sounds like a dreamβyou get paid to ride your bike! π΄ββοΈπ But itβs not always as glamorous as it seems. Thatβs why Dan Lloyd caught up with the pros at the UAE Tour to ask: Whatβs the bestβand worstβpart of being a professional cyclist?
β±οΈ Timestamps: β±οΈ
00:00 What’s the best (and worst) thing about being a pro cyclist?
00:19 Chatting to the pros π¬
06:23 Takeaways
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44 Comments
What are the best and worst parts of cycling for you? π Let us know!
Best part is the camaraderie when I'm out with "the lads", worst part is when the "the lads" want to go a little bit faster than I do.
Nobody said the worst is the strict diet to get rail thin for racing season.
Thanks Dan and crew, what are the best and worst parts of your job , Dan . What did you most love , and hate being a pro ?
Nice content there Dan, always good to hear from the pro riders.
Love Chavez, always comes up with different answers, usually around gratitude or appreciation for stuff going on in his life
Great video, love to hear the pro cyclists in their own words.
Best part.. Free bike!
travel is over rated
"You spend a lot of time away from your familly…."
"And what's the worst bit?"
1. make too much money, very heavy. 2. travel too much, first class is very lonely. 3. sponsorships send me product, fills my mansion. 4. everyone asks for my autograph, esp. super models. gl getting any real answers
The best part of cycling is being outside and settling into a rhythm. The worst part is finding time to do it when you have a full time job and a family.
Dan back as a pro with London to Manchester???
The worst part of NOT being a pro is having to live in the UK during winter and having only 5 months of good weather, if we are lucky.
Can't really say what's the worst or the best thing of being a professional cyclist. But one thing for sure is that yesterday 's Paris Nice team time trial proved that there's a lot of work to be done. All these cats have ftps vo2s and watts up the yin yang but they don't know how to ride a bike. You got a Tom Pidcock or you get a Mathieu van der Poel and all of a sudden you think they're extraordinary, but the truth is they're just real pros.
Best part: Being outside
Worst part: Weather
Chavez answer is heartwarming
The best part of cycling is freedom, getting to ride anywhere. Since I was a kid, riding a bike has always been freedom for me, and that's what I strive to achieve that feeling riding as an adult. I don't worry about the numbers anymore, it's just about enjoying the ride.
I was an amateur racer in the US for over 25 years, so never got paid to do it, and I paid a small fortune to do it. So that, crashes, and traveling to and from races on the weekends I guess was the worst part. Going out on training rides and doing the actual races was the best part.
Esteban Chavez coming away from this "Ask The Pros" segment seeming like one of the coolest dudes in the peloton.
Definitely crashing in the cold rain is the worse part. I wish it wasnβt a part of the sport but motivates me to train skills that help keep me upright.
I think being a pro cyclist is a very very demadning and difficult job. All these travels mean to be away from friends and family. The training is hard, the races are hard, the competition and the pressure is hard, most have not much money. I've heard that the domestiques make some 40.000 β¬ a year. They suffer the same as the winners but they don't win. And then there are injuries. I firmly believe it's not fun to make this wonderful hobby a profession.
I know this is so off topic, but i would just like to say well done to standing up to that obnoxious little tw@t, H Audits.
Thanks for asking them this sort of question! Really interesting to hear everyone's responses. Also, Ashleigh MP is terrific.
Can't believe nobody mentioned the diet
Jasper talking about crashing? π€¨
Loving the short form questions:)
Best part bike takes you to places you have never been before and riding with friends and belonging to a Eastern Cycling Club . Worst part having a puncher and holding up the group . ( doesnβt happen much ) . π΄π
Best for me is riding and in particular those days when it feels easy no matter the. terrain or which way. the wind blows or how much. The worse is sitting in the house sick with a cold and not being able to ride or when it's storming and not riding. Also the coast of things. I do so miss the days of my relative youth when we had racing club sponsorships.
Best: In good weather and on quiet smooth roads it's the best outdoor activity and keeps you healthy
Worst: Cycling in the UK
I have been a professional cyclist twice, once on a pedal rickshaw bearing tourists and then again as a tour guide on bikes in a major city.
Both jobs were great!
Interesting that no one mentioned winning as the best part! I wonder if due to the brutal and all consuming nature of cycling whether you really have to enjoy it and the lifestyle more than any success, otherwise winning won't be enough to keep you at it.
It seems that pro bike riders have about 40 IQ points on football and basketball players
It requires your focus. Canβt get on the phone, no laptop, no texts. Just ride. Its simplicity is its beauty.
Best part, the amazing feeling of freedom, being outside in nature, I think this is the closest humans can get to the feeling of flying like a bird.
The worst part, there is never enough time to ride as much as I would like
Alison Jackson gets my vote for next GCN presenter!
I"m loving the questions series. It's fun to hear their answers. For me, best: the first pedal stroke of an all-day ride knowing adventure awaits. Worst: getting close-passed by a vehicle or a crash.
Jasper refers to his crashes. The danger he represents to the others in the peloton can't be that much of a bother to him.
Best: Cycling.
Worst: Cycling is unnecessarily expensive, crashes and accidents.
Jasper brings up a good point which can be valid – to a certain point – for all of us: The lifestyle. For me personally this doesn't only mean riding my bike as much and good as I can but also staying healthy to do so: Pay attention to recovery, your nutrition, etc. … hey, this comment almost loops itself to the series of Dan about getting healthier and fitter! ππ
It would be getting some of the best bikes in the world. And knowing if I crashed I wouldnβt be fretting the incoming bill.
No one said winning!?
For moi: … there's a Worst? It's all an experience. Look outward, absorb the world. Even during the mundane there's is something on show π
For me the best part of cycling is the freedom to just take my bike and ride it when and where I want to. Nobody is telling me what to do, I am absolute free to choose where to steer my bike. I just love the long rides on the weekend, out in nature, almost in a meditative mood. And it is good not to be a pro cyclist because I donβt like to ride outside when the weather is bad like rain, storm or snow. The worst is when I crash and cannot ride my bike when ill or injured.