Do pros really like cycling?

[gavroche]

I am just wondering as I was reading that Jacques Anquetil, 1st 5 times winners of the TDF only cycled because it made him a lot of money. As soon as he retired, he rode his bike into his swimming pool and never rode again after that. He said: " I suffered too much on a bike so never again."
I also watched an interview of Bernard Hinault, 10 years after his retirement and he said he only rode 1000 kms in the last 10 years. So all this makes me wonder, do pros only do it for the money?

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Im sure they start out cyling for fun, then the fun is sucked out when its all about the money. Imagine being in pain training that hard for so long...

 

[Rob3rt]

I am just wondering as I was reading that Jacques Anquetil, 1st 5 times winners of the TDF only cycled because it made him a lot of money. As soon as he retired, he rode his bike into his swimming pool and never rode again after that. He said: " I suffered too much on a bike so never again."
I also watched an interview of Bernard Hinault, 10 years after his retirement and he said he only rode 1000 kms in the last 10 years. So all this makes me wonder, do pros only do it for the money?

Some probably do, others not. I know of a few pro's who are friends of friends, they seem to love it all the same!

 

[alecstilleyedye]

sean kelly "certainly" still rides, as does chris boardman. wiggins will probably still be riding the club 10 when he's 75...

 

[tyred]

I have always found that if you take anything very seriously, it loses it's enjoyment value. I would imagine that would be increased ten fold if you add the stresses of always trying to be at your top level, always trying to please sponsors, etc.

So probably not. When they retire from serious competition, they can be like the rest of us again.

 

[Dusty Bin]

Do pro footballers enjoy playing football?

 

[alecstilleyedye]

Do pro footballers enjoy playing football?

yes, it's known that footballers suffer a feeling of loss when they retire, if they don't stay in the game as a coach/manager/pundit.

given the amount the top players earn, if they hated it they could probably retire after a season...

 

[Dusty Bin]

It was more of a rhetorical question really. A good number of retired cycling pros remain in the sport as DS, industry reps, etc. A quick scan of the current DSs will probably show that most are recent ex-riders.

There will always be a few who are disaffected by their involvement in any sport - but the likes of Anquetil, etc are a minority IMO...

 

[ShipHill]

I watched a documentary some years back about a gentleman named Ron Jeremy. I'm not going to explain what sort of films he made. Google him if you can't guess.

Anyway he seemed a nice enough guy but his job bored him at times and he never found love.

 

[Poacher]

Miguel Indurain threw his bikes away when he stopped competing.
He doesn't drive, so now he's just walking Indurain.






I'll get me coat.

 

[ColinJ]

Ex German sprinter Marcel Wüst had to retire after losing sight in one eye due to a terrible crash. He led rides on several of the training camps I did on the Costa Blanca and it was obvious that he still absolutely loved riding his bike. (I say 'his' - he was often testing bikes for cycling mags such as ProCycling.)

 

[Accy cyclist]

Ex German sprinter Marcel Wüst had to retire after losing sight in one eye due to a terrible crash. He led rides on several of the training camps I did on the Costa Blanca and it was obvious that he still absolutely loved riding his bike. (I say 'his' - he was often testing bikes for cycling mags such as ProCycling.)

A serious question here Colin. Why couldn't he continue as a pro cyclist? Was it for safety/insurance reasons such as losing the other eye,or that he simply couldn't perform the same as he did before? I lost sight in my right eye 15 months ago and i've had to slow down and not take risks. Maybe i've answered my own question?

 

[screenman]

I am not a pro but I cannot say I enjoy every ride, but what I do enjoy is the feeling of satisfaction afterwards.

 

[LarryDuff]

In all professional sports there will be some who do it for the love of the sport and the fact they get paid for it is a bonus and there will be those for whom it is just a job with the same feelings for that job as us ordinary people have.

 

[ColinJ]

A serious question here Colin. Why couldn't he continue as a pro cyclist? Was it for safety/insurance reasons such as losing the other eye,or that he simply couldn't perform the same as he did before? I lost sight in my right eye 15 months ago and i've had to slow down and not take risks. Maybe i've answered my own question?

Imagine riding in a bunch of 200+ pro cyclists doing pro speeds - you really need your peripheral vision!

He was ok doing amateur speeds in our more spread-out group of about 20 riders but he said that he would not have been safe riding in the peloton.

PS My brother-in-law lost an eye in an accident when he was a child so he has had a glass eye the whole time that I have known him. He was giving me some really funny looks on Boxing Day. I didn't like to say anything. Then he looked in the mirror and noticed that he had put the eye in upside down! (I had always assumed that they were spherical, so there wouldn't be an 'up' or a 'down'.)