I've never been in a race, but insist that my wife and her friend kiss me on the cheek when I get back from a ride. Then I spray a bottle of champagne on the back garden. I'm 42.
hang in there if you aren't < 20. i have a friend who has won/completed multiple iron man races and he started in his 70s. I'm 34 and training to hit professional level conditioning by 36. even though i don't expect to be on a pro team. NEVER GIVE UP if you want to go pro. BE THE FIRST TO DO IT and everyone else will cheer for you
@@haikat4 He was a decent skii jumper but it's a sport that has nothing to do with endurance. It probably helped on a better balance, bike handling skills and lack of fear. Nothing more.
I did my first race at the age of 18 on the track, got disqualified for taking my hands off the handlebars to celebrate as I crossed the line in 1st place...
I'm 24 and just started cycling few weeks ago. I'd still try to chase my (new) dream of becoming a pro but I'll keep my expectations realistic too. I mean cycling is meant to be fun anyway so even if I can't be a pro, I can still enjoy cycling.
I entered my 1st race in 1967. I'm almost 60 now and still thinking about turning pro. :D Nah, I just ride my bike nowadays for the passion of riding, and to stay fit and healthy of course. I can still beat a lot of the kids (anyone 35 and younger is still just a kid) half my age.
I feel like i've wasted so much. I'm 24 now and i've been cycling since 11 years old but never in a club or competitive context. It was always just for fun and relaxation with my dad, training varied from 40km to 100km averaging 26-29kph depending on the weather. I've done multiple ~150km rides every year from the age of 14 and one 235km ride every year from the age of 16. Those included completely flat rides but also things like the Amstel Gold Race tour version and the Sean Kelly Classic in the Ardennes. Since the beginning of this year and for the first time in my cycling life i've had no problems at all to randomly grab my bike and go for a ride, and when that became more of a recognizable pattern I got more serious about training (compared to before at least). Since march this year I've done about 2500 kilometers of training which is more than double what I'd do normally (or shall we say, before). I did an interval training on the bike three weeks ago for the first time ever in 13 years (even though i have done plenty of them running). All this really boosted my confidence to the point of seriously daring to think of even joining a club. Before I just assumed I was way too slow anyway. But alas, it has come too late. If i'd have had this surge of motivation and inspiration 5 years ago I might have had a chance to see if there was any real talent to work with
Turned 16 in December and plan to start racing this summer. I don't know how I'll do. I ran cross country last summer and got into great shape, only to have shoulder surgery. Now I'm almost healed and Ive been trained a lot indoors for the past couple months. Haven't been able to ride too much outside with super cold weather. I've become very determined to train and get better though so hopefully I can make it someday.
Did my first race at 20, 4th Cat only and dropped before half way! After a handful more I got 3rd Cat and now ready for first full season racing! Bring on 1st Cat and more !
I switch from powerlifting to cycling on my 20th b-day buy my first road bike, loss 7kg from 82 to 75, i totally fall in love with cycling, in my first season i have 5000 km yet did my first climbing race finished 36 out of 86, next weekend iam about to do my second race :) i cant wait for my first proper season 2018
Never stop believing or trying. My dream is to make it. Passion for the sport and HARD work can take you where you want. I truly enjoy the burn in my legs and lungs. 24 here, raced last year and looking forward to the start of my racing season this month.
Brendan Canty who is this year riding on the cannon dale drapac team only started riding 4 years ago, he is 25. he just finished the cadel evans tour in 20th, richie porte was 21st, froome was 49th so anything is possible! great to see him mixing it up with the big boys and look forward to seeing how he goes this year
unfortunatelly he was talking about his first PRO race, not first ever race :D check out the wikipedia, btw look on Primož Roglič, i belive he starts at ?22? and 4 years later he won stage at Giro d´Italia :)
If you run a mile or 3k at school, and you beat all the others even though you only play soccer during weekends, or if you are the fastest in your school at a 60m dash without preparing at all, then maybe after a couple of thousand hours you could become a mid to bottom tier pro cyclist.
Possibly, but not even that may be the case. Pure physical strength isn't the only component of road cycling. Takes a lot of experience knowing how to read a road, the other cyclists, and work with your teammates. As I understand, this is largely why you don't see many African (native) riders at the pro tour level, as they have the physical strength but lack the cycling experience to use that to their advantage.
It would be quite an experience, for sure, to be paid to race, but no matter our age, we can be paid to ride, as it were. Every day I commute, for example, saves me--or pays me--at least a few bucks, if only from not paying for gas. And I am car-free in this season of my life, so cycling saves me a lot more than that--and my insurance company even has me on a low-cost non-owner's policy so that when I do get another car, I'll get my previous rate. But in the bigger picture, cycling pays me well in terms of health and I am especially thankful for that. I grew up riding and racing but, arg, got away from it for a couple of decades of my adulthood--not entirely but mostly--and I got fat. But that is all over now because I got back on my bike and I got back out there. And I still salivate at the road ahead, even on the coldest days of winter, when I just sort of grimace until I warm up and then I reach for a big gear and ride like a professional.
Didn't even have a road bike until I was 22..... I am 27 in a month but I believe if I train consistently 60 miles a day 5 days a week I would become pro for sure if I wanted to...
I raced a little bit when I was 16 and 17, did well and got an offer to join the U-23 team and also to train with the USPS team, but couldn't afford to do either. I'm now 30 with 10 years off the bike, and looking to get back into racing, I'll be 31 this coming season. I don't have any expectation to become a pro rider, but I do expect to be able to achieve high rankings at the national level in some categories of events within a few years.
I'm 19 now. I just had desire to be a pro cyclist for 1month. I'm in a university too. Do you think I can train to be pro and graduate from university at the same time ?
Was not watching the video but just listening to it, and suddenly heard a strong austrian accent. So hard to overhear it. but props to all of them starting this early. Soon 18 here and maybe starting this year properly because i graduate in june
I think the main thing is having the fitness.... learning to ride is easy. It's the fitness and determination to do long rides fast that makes you a pro.
I agree on fitness but experience is very important for road cycling. You may be able to get away with time trialing or track cycling with limited experience and still do well, but road cycling takes a lot of experience in terms of positioning and strategy. There's very few riders out there who have the kind of sheer brute power to wipe the floor everytime.
i know a man who started in his like 30-40 and now is kind of professional he goes out a lot i see him riding a roadbike tons and he is freaking fast gotta admit we go out on our mtbs when he goes out
Todd Herriott turned pro at 32 with HealthNet in US (If remember correctly was competitive amateur as teen or early 20 with decade off) and Ludo Dierckxsens didn't turn pro until he was 30.
I'm 16 at the moment. Dreaming about racing. Can't afford a roadbike=(. I think I have enough money to buy a used one at next fall/autumn. Still have hope =)
16 years old and doing mostly casual riding to burn calories and train my legs, maybe it’s a good time to specialise in cycling and train more seriously, but i would really need some good equipment…
What if you're 25 years old & you've only done two crit races? Would I still have a chance of becomming a pro or should I just forfit & give up my dream, now?
At 13 I was jumping my bike like Evel Knievel. When I could no longer convince any of my friends to lay down on the street so I could jump over them I started racing crits.
I'm 14 now, turning 15 in a couple of weeks, should I quit soccer and start cycling? Because I like it a lot and I've been training for some climbing in Italy and Austria, done Sella Ronda in Italy and now a mountain near Innsbruck of which I don't remember the name.
So it looks like the oldest confirmed racer is jay robert thomsom From when they first started racing at the age of 20 and having turned pro at 22. We know froome also turned pro at 22 but he was racing from the age of 13.
All I am hearing is how old some racers first competed, not really advice on if there is still hope for someone like me, in all honesty, for someone like me who entered his first race at 29 and finished 33rd out of 50 racers, it seems like there is really no hope for someone like me who had a pipe dream, won't kill my love for cycling though
Does become a professional cyclist (from zero to hero) in one year is possible? For example, I'm 19 y old, I started cycling on begging of July 2020. How good I must be in July 2021 to become a professional cyclist? I think that W/kg FTP is a good determinant? How many W/kg 20min I need to be like novice in professional? 5? 5,5? 6? Minimum value
I was 24 when I realized my pro-dreams were dashed when I as a mid-pack Cat 2 mountain biker was getting smoked by 16, 17, 18, year olds already racing Cat 1. LOL.
Actually 'the first time racing' is not the same as 'the first time training consistently'. You could be riding bicycles hard since you were like 5 years old, and never raced until like 30, doesn't necessarily mean you're bad or slow. In the other hand, one can also race when he/she were 7 years old without 'real training', doesn't mean that person is more talented.
i'm 19 and got into cycling about a year ago at 18, i have difficulty deciphering what i have to do to begin entering races do you have/can you make a video to help? also is there a path you can reccomend maybe not specific steps to take and things to do for training but maybe a general guideline?
I'm 3 years old, so I'll be starting my professional career next year.
Good luck, dude. It's never too late to start. Don't give up.
I've never been in a race, but insist that my wife and her friend kiss me on the cheek when I get back from a ride. Then I spray a bottle of champagne on the back garden. I'm 42.
A damn sound plan if you ask me.
I'm going to see if I can get my wife and one of her hot friends to buy in on this.
got a good laugh out of this.
This was more demotivating than motivating...
yeah dude same haha
Hahaha so true. Everybody was really or still quite young and finished either first or at least top ten :D
Kippcom not alaphilippe and he’s one of the best now
sure it was :(
hang in there if you aren't < 20. i have a friend who has won/completed multiple iron man races and he started in his 70s. I'm 34 and training to hit professional level conditioning by 36. even though i don't expect to be on a pro team. NEVER GIVE UP if you want to go pro. BE THE FIRST TO DO IT and everyone else will cheer for you
Are you professional level now?
Yes update pls
update pls
Bro update us
Primoz Roglic started cycling at 22, 6 years later finished 4th in the tour de France. Nothing more to say.
Dante Intx agree
I reckon he was an impressive athlete of other discipline already
@@haikat4 He was a decent skii jumper but it's a sport that has nothing to do with endurance. It probably helped on a better balance, bike handling skills and lack of fear. Nothing more.
I’m 22, wish me luck
@@paddywiggle goodluck
I'm 49, so maybe next year . .
My father in law started at age of 60 and on his first race he came 3rd on a mountain bike(slick tyres though) against road bikes :P
I'm 43, short, and 20 pounds overweight(for cycling anyways), I think I still have a chance.
Despite a broken back, I can still do 50-55miles/day, I just don't have the time though.
I'm 51 and maybe if I get a TT bike, I thinks crits could do more damage than good.. LOL..
Get a good physio team to fix that back Paul Fodz!
I did my first race at the age of 18 on the track, got disqualified for taking my hands off the handlebars to celebrate as I crossed the line in 1st place...
Matt Blackett fucking sucks lmao
I'm 18 and I just did my first Cat 4 race 2 weeks ago. Came 12th out of 52, trained for another week and raced again on Saturday. Came 6th.
FourV3 if math tells us anything youll be first next time
We'll soon see. Racing again on Saturday...
Didn't go so well lol. Came 11th. Won a tenner on the prime lap though!
hiiii FourV3 !! so bro what's the improvement?
How do you average 30 mph for 20 miles wow
I'm 24 and just started cycling few weeks ago. I'd still try to chase my (new) dream of becoming a pro but I'll keep my expectations realistic too. I mean cycling is meant to be fun anyway so even if I can't be a pro, I can still enjoy cycling.
I entered my 1st race in 1967. I'm almost 60 now and still thinking about turning pro. :D Nah, I just ride my bike nowadays for the passion of riding, and to stay fit and healthy of course. I can still beat a lot of the kids (anyone 35 and younger is still just a kid) half my age.
H
Wayne Richter Amazing
Then I’m a baby
Erviti was talking about his first ever race...AS A PRO! at the age of 20 in Mallorca's Challenge
Yeah I looked him up on wikipedia and said he did the
Vuelta a Navarra in 2004.
Whatever. It's not like there's a way back in time so better make the best of your situation.
I feel like i've wasted so much. I'm 24 now and i've been cycling since 11 years old but never in a club or competitive context. It was always just for fun and relaxation with my dad, training varied from 40km to 100km averaging 26-29kph depending on the weather.
I've done multiple ~150km rides every year from the age of 14 and one 235km ride every year from the age of 16. Those included completely flat rides but also things like the Amstel Gold Race tour version and the Sean Kelly Classic in the Ardennes.
Since the beginning of this year and for the first time in my cycling life i've had no problems at all to randomly grab my bike and go for a ride, and when that became more of a recognizable pattern I got more serious about training (compared to before at least). Since march this year I've done about 2500 kilometers of training which is more than double what I'd do normally (or shall we say, before). I did an interval training on the bike three weeks ago for the first time ever in 13 years (even though i have done plenty of them running). All this really boosted my confidence to the point of seriously daring to think of even joining a club. Before I just assumed I was way too slow anyway. But alas, it has come too late. If i'd have had this surge of motivation and inspiration 5 years ago I might have had a chance to see if there was any real talent to work with
Well I'm fucked
Im 32, i have my 1st race in 3 weeks. I feel younger now than i have in the last 10 years as ive just shifted 4 stone of blubber 👊🏽😎
Anthony Hill how’d u do???
Just this year, as I turn 54, am have adjusted my career goals. I now aim to be a pro bike... mechanic. Trade in the suit for my wrenches in 4 years.
Jesus hahah
I'm about to do my first race in a few weeks, i'm 20 :)
narutoqweavatar good luck pls tell me your results :D
narutoqweavatar I'm 19. Hoping to do the same with my college team. First ever!
narutoqweavatar safe riding, hope you win 24 here!
My first race will be with my college team too :)
Good Luck..!!
Turned 16 in December and plan to start racing this summer. I don't know how I'll do. I ran cross country last summer and got into great shape, only to have shoulder surgery. Now I'm almost healed and Ive been trained a lot indoors for the past couple months. Haven't been able to ride too much outside with super cold weather. I've become very determined to train and get better though so hopefully I can make it someday.
Did my first race at 20, 4th Cat only and dropped before half way! After a handful more I got 3rd Cat and now ready for first full season racing! Bring on 1st Cat and more !
I switch from powerlifting to cycling on my 20th b-day buy my first road bike, loss 7kg from 82 to 75, i totally fall in love with cycling, in my first season i have 5000 km yet did my first climbing race finished 36 out of 86, next weekend iam about to do my second race :) i cant wait for my first proper season 2018
Fack my first race was when i was 17 or 18 im 22 now and racing among pros in the cat 1 2 in USA cant wait sing that amazing contract letter ...
renato muu what about your ftp statistics now?
Yeah, FTP would be interesting...
When you first started actually training, what was your average speed and how old were you
Update pls, what are you doing now
How did you do?
2005 was actually Imanol Erviti's neo pro season. He was talking about his first race as a pro. And he wasn't 20, he was 21.
Never stop believing or trying. My dream is to make it. Passion for the sport and HARD work can take you where you want. I truly enjoy the burn in my legs and lungs. 24 here, raced last year and looking forward to the start of my racing season this month.
Brendan Canty who is this year riding on the cannon dale drapac team only started riding 4 years ago, he is 25. he just finished the cadel evans tour in 20th, richie porte was 21st, froome was 49th so anything is possible! great to see him mixing it up with the big boys and look forward to seeing how he goes this year
The more cycling videos I watch I get less motivated to start, 23 with an injured knee yet I thought I had a chance lmao
Imanol Erviti- Thank you for giving us all a little hope
unfortunatelly he was talking about his first PRO race, not first ever race :D check out the wikipedia, btw look on Primož Roglič, i belive he starts at ?22? and 4 years later he won stage at Giro d´Italia :)
Good news: 14
Bad news: first official race 36/42 and lapped by group😭
Oscar Laight You will gain more experience, don't rush it, you still have a lot of time
Better than me, I've only done one race and got unceremoniously lapped last year (I was 15) never found out where I came..
Joe Irving I got lapped as well...
oh yeah oops 😂 googled and it turns out I didn't come last, only third to last
Good news: Have a training peak at the age of 18.
I was just born yesterday. My first pro race was today, I finished first.
If you run a mile or 3k at school, and you beat all the others even though you only play soccer during weekends, or if you are the fastest in your school at a 60m dash without preparing at all, then maybe after a couple of thousand hours you could become a mid to bottom tier pro cyclist.
Possibly, but not even that may be the case. Pure physical strength isn't the only component of road cycling. Takes a lot of experience knowing how to read a road, the other cyclists, and work with your teammates. As I understand, this is largely why you don't see many African (native) riders at the pro tour level, as they have the physical strength but lack the cycling experience to use that to their advantage.
Next year will be my first, 39 then in April 2018
But I feel 16, lol
It would be quite an experience, for sure, to be paid to race, but no matter our age, we can be paid to ride, as it were. Every day I commute, for example, saves me--or pays me--at least a few bucks, if only from not paying for gas. And I am car-free in this season of my life, so cycling saves me a lot more than that--and my insurance company even has me on a low-cost non-owner's policy so that when I do get another car, I'll get my previous rate. But in the bigger picture, cycling pays me well in terms of health and I am especially thankful for that. I grew up riding and racing but, arg, got away from it for a couple of decades of my adulthood--not entirely but mostly--and I got fat. But that is all over now because I got back on my bike and I got back out there. And I still salivate at the road ahead, even on the coldest days of winter, when I just sort of grimace until I warm up and then I reach for a big gear and ride like a professional.
This shows you don't need to be amazing at the age of 15 :P
SwedishHouseFifa there's still hope for Jesper
true he needs to eat proper and start riding again!
SwedishHouseFifa #JesperTDFwinner2019
Didn't even have a road bike until I was 22..... I am 27 in a month but I believe if I train consistently 60 miles a day 5 days a week I would become pro for sure if I wanted to...
Kouzina Kitchenware 24 here and I'm on it man just got my first road bike at the age of 22-23
I raced a little bit when I was 16 and 17, did well and got an offer to join the U-23 team and also to train with the USPS team, but couldn't afford to do either. I'm now 30 with 10 years off the bike, and looking to get back into racing, I'll be 31 this coming season. I don't have any expectation to become a pro rider, but I do expect to be able to achieve high rankings at the national level in some categories of events within a few years.
I’m 23 and I love cycling but I can’t afford a good road bike. I believe I can still do it
I'm 19 now. I just had desire to be a pro cyclist for 1month. I'm in a university too. Do you think I can train to be pro and graduate from university at the same time ?
okay, so I'm 18, and had injuries and ilnesses all over the place the last 2 years, so their is still hope that I can become pro :p I like it :)
"Results?"
"Yep."
Great italian Dan 😂👍
im 27 and ill be joining my first official race (cat 5 crit) next week.
love this kind of video
I have made my decision: I'll turn professional when I retire and my aim will be a Tour victory and the cover of AARP magazine.
4:04 best guy
This gives me some hope
Was not watching the video but just listening to it, and suddenly heard a strong austrian accent. So hard to overhear it. but props to all of them starting this early. Soon 18 here and maybe starting this year properly because i graduate in june
Thanks a lot Dan. I wanted to ask the exact same question. I know that Chris Froome went to his first organised race at 13 and won.
Best kit spotted at 4:20 :P How cool is that color combination, especially with those glasses; also, matches that skin-tone very well
The only thing I will remember from this clip are Blythe's sunglasses, how cool can one man be!
I just started cycling seriously a year ago and I'm now going to be 27, this video is not the motivation I was looking for 😂
Probably the best Ask the Pros episode ever!
Roglic and Dumoulin started really late too (20s).
They should make a 30 and above Tour de France. Anyone above 30 can race.
I'm 34 and love cycling. Maybe I'll find a race when I'm in Thailand.
Adam Blythe Is bloody cool man!
I think the main thing is having the fitness.... learning to ride is easy. It's the fitness and determination to do long rides fast that makes you a pro.
I agree on fitness but experience is very important for road cycling. You may be able to get away with time trialing or track cycling with limited experience and still do well, but road cycling takes a lot of experience in terms of positioning and strategy. There's very few riders out there who have the kind of sheer brute power to wipe the floor everytime.
Like these interviews. Keep it up.
i was surprised when he said 18, 19,20, that probably is true for world tour (next level) but not lower tiers
i know a man who started in his like 30-40 and now is kind of professional he goes out a lot i see him riding a roadbike tons and he is freaking fast gotta admit we go out on our mtbs when he goes out
Could you do an episode or a bit on the different languages you picked upon had to learn while racing to survive in the peloton?
Dan Lloyd throwing in some Italian swag. Not bad Dan, not bad.
Julian the Best!!
I started when I was 6 it was a mtb race in the gravel car lot of the big race and I was first mtb rules but road biking is so much fun to
Todd Herriott turned pro at 32 with HealthNet in US (If remember correctly was competitive amateur as teen or early 20 with decade off) and Ludo Dierckxsens didn't turn pro until he was 30.
"Then everyone passed me and that sucks".. LOL, LOL... He learned something that day, probably more than if he had won..
Training doesnt make perfection....... the perfect training makes perfection !
I'm 16 at the moment. Dreaming about racing. Can't afford a roadbike=(. I think I have enough money to buy a used one at next fall/autumn. Still have hope =)
16 years old and doing mostly casual riding to burn calories and train my legs, maybe it’s a good time to specialise in cycling and train more seriously, but i would really need some good equipment…
What if you're 25 years old & you've only done two crit races? Would I still have a chance of becomming a pro or should I just forfit & give up my dream, now?
Dan has some Spanish skills. Well done mate!
More Bob Jungels interviews #prettyplease
The English subtitles are epic here.
Svein Tuft started racing at 22.
At 13 I was jumping my bike like Evel Knievel. When I could no longer convince any of my friends to lay down on the street so I could jump over them I started racing crits.
Nice video.
Adam Blythe's sunglasses. Where do I get a pair? The cool mother...
does the arm of Dans glasses incorporate a bottle opener (see 3.55)?
I'm 14 now, turning 15 in a couple of weeks, should I quit soccer and start cycling? Because I like it a lot and I've been training for some climbing in Italy and Austria, done Sella Ronda in Italy and now a mountain near Innsbruck of which I don't remember the name.
When is your first race
18..
Quite a little bit late.
- im 32, didnt have any race. 😢
So it looks like the oldest confirmed racer is jay robert thomsom From when they first started racing at the age of 20 and having turned pro at 22. We know froome also turned pro at 22 but he was racing from the age of 13.
bakue mollema started at 18 or 19 :O !
lloyd speaks Italian like he was born there!!!
I'm 14 and im getting my first road bike now (caad12) is it too late to start racing?
Henry Steinmann nope
Henry Steinmann perfect time to start
Too late, better consider retiring.
Yes, definitely too late mate
It's not late at all!
All I am hearing is how old some racers first competed, not really advice on if there is still hope for someone like me, in all honesty, for someone like me who entered his first race at 29 and finished 33rd out of 50 racers, it seems like there is really no hope for someone like me who had a pipe dream, won't kill my love for cycling though
I turn 58 this year, but still feel like a kid on my bike. I would like to just qualify for a race.
yep I am totally boned 33 just really got into it as a sport.
Does become a professional cyclist (from zero to hero) in one year is possible? For example, I'm 19 y old, I started cycling on begging of July 2020. How good I must be in July 2021 to become a professional cyclist? I think that W/kg FTP is a good determinant? How many W/kg 20min I need to be like novice in professional? 5? 5,5? 6? Minimum value
I was 24 when I realized my pro-dreams were dashed when I as a mid-pack Cat 2 mountain biker was getting smoked by 16, 17, 18, year olds already racing Cat 1. LOL.
@4.55 Bloke in lavender shirt in the background - what make are the aero handlebars in your hand? #gcn
First triathlon at 32, finished 30th of 200 in age group. 54 now so maybe I can get started next year???
Am I the only one noticed the R8 police car at 3:13 lol
Nope
Dan went from milk white to Lobster red during the tour of Dubai!
I was 7 and I have never won a race and that was a good few years ago 😭
Markel was great.
I'm 26 & just did my first fixed gear crit this past weekend & got dropped 11mins in (out of 40min + 3 laps). Lmao. Just doing it for fun tho.
Actually 'the first time racing' is not the same as 'the first time training consistently'. You could be riding bicycles hard since you were like 5 years old, and never raced until like 30, doesn't necessarily mean you're bad or slow.
In the other hand, one can also race when he/she were 7 years old without 'real training', doesn't mean that person is more talented.
I was 7. I won the slow bicycle race at primary school
i'm 19 and got into cycling about a year ago at 18, i have difficulty deciphering what i have to do to begin entering races do you have/can you make a video to help? also is there a path you can reccomend maybe not specific steps to take and things to do for training but maybe a general guideline?
hey im 19 now and just started cycling... how's your journey so far?
my first race ever it will be on 25/3/2017 after 3 days
and i am 28 years old ^_^
can i be pro ????
I would say it is never to late to start or give up on a dream. I'm 50.
So there's no age limit correct? I hear a lot of riders dont compete in there 40s because of family.
Dan Goes Italian...Smart !
I'll be 41 at my first race later this year...maybe a bit too late to get a pro-contract!