7 Years Of Brutal Lessons As A Pro Cyclist In 7 Minutes

Becoming a professional cyclist takes a lot of time, effort, and falls (literally and figuratively)!
Being an ex-pro himself, Conor explains some of the brutal lessons he learnt over his 7 year pro career!

00:00 Pro advice from an ex-pro
00:27 There are no shortcuts!
01:02 You can’t do it on your own
01:27 Take the right advice
02:11 The one who goes furthest, jumps the most!
02:49 Pride comes before a fall
03:31 Who can rest and eat the best
03:55 It’s not all about the bike
04:39 Other people are also struggling
05:14 Your body just doesn’t fancy it
06:05 You can always give more than you think
06:53 Things rarely go to plan

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What do you think was the most important lesson? 📝

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🎵 Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound 🎵
A New Girlfriend (Instrumental Version) - Blacktop Banks
Diggin' the Drama - The New Fools
Doing the Twist - OTE
Fleamarket Boss - Harry Edvino
Outlaw Funk - OTE
Papa Funk - spring gang
Play That Funk - Gerhard Feng
Ready to Go Big - The New Fools
Rose Colored Glasses - TAGE
Sokoto - El Flaco Collective
Trapped - Ruiqi Zhao
Trembling Heart - J.F. Gloss
Untold Secrets - Ryan James Carr
Winning Hand - Ealot
You're Still There (Instrumental Version) - Vincent Vega

#gcn #cycling #roadcycling #roadbike #bike #bikes #bikelife #procyclist #advice #cyclingsport #expro #lesson #top10

📸 Photos - © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Sirotti Images

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[gcn]

What do you think was the most important lesson? 📝

[Radingtonbear]

Most important lesson, I’m not a pro, and I’m not paid to ride. So ride what I want, when I want, and where I want. I win each time I enjoy riding a bike. And it’s really rare that I loose

[neildmoss]

Don’t fettle with the bike less than a week (or two) out from your big target event. Get the new chain on, new tyres fitted, torque all those bolts, and give the bike a proper shakedown. Have confidence that you and your equipment are ready to go and you will save so much nervous energy. Do not be fiddling with an allen key 30 minutes before the start.

[YelCan]

Well done. Solid. Concise. Meaningful. Applicable. Not brutal.

[cWayne]

It’s good to see/hear that every one on a bike can struggle and suffer setbacks, both physical and mental. All too often we land up in negative comparison. Thanks for the vulnerability in sharing Conor, much appreciated.

[SFSomega]

The more time you spend riding your bike(s) the more comfortable you will feel doing it.
Back side hurts less, you get used to getting into those sporty aero positions and it all will come together. And because you feel more comfortable you will have more fun.
So the more you ride, the better you will feel on your bike.
Btw, nice nose dive Conor ;D

[NehpetsG]

That was a dive that Jurgen Klinsmann would have been proud of 👏

[biggertree]

As a non-sponsored, non-pro cyclist, it's bloody expensive.

[roblipton]

the first lesson is the most important, by far, it's a tremendously boring, simple activity, lots and lots of miles. When I was racing "seriously" I was considered a slacker by my team because I was "only" riding 300 miles a week or so, this is brutal and success is mostly about this and your natural "motor" relative to others who train as much. The other thing is injury/death, the more you're on your bike the higher your chances of horrible injuries, particularly in race situations. It's a merciless activity, many people get chronic injuries from this, it doesn't help that most of the riders aren't that interesting and are engaged in a tremendously hard, repetitive/boring, activity and are okay with road rash, head injuries (concussion, coma, skull fractures) long term back and knee issues, broken collarbones, ribs, punctured lungs, career ending femur fractures (Froome, Beloki, etc). It's hilarious to see all the attention to bike costs, development, with all the $10, 000 dollar bikes ridden by people who are as close to the level of serious amatuer and pro racing as a child riding a tricycle. I know this is true of most such sports, but cycling for more than an hour a two a day max, why? Sorry for the mellow harshing, but people who know, know.

[ancientrouleur]

This is actually legit and good advice all around- all of these bits of experience are absolutely spot on. . I was never a pro but raced p/1/2 in the states some years ago and am trying to make a comeback after +20y off the bike so all these topics go through my mind on at least a weekly basis. If any of this is new to anyone watching, go through this video several times and really listen to ingest and understand the implications. One of the best advice videos GCN has put out. Well done.

[siyz]

Hi GCN team. Thanks for the insight Conor. As a mid 40s amateur MTB rider & part time racer, l can't believe after 5 years of pretty consistent riding/training how far my fitness level has moves up the scale. Then you start racing and realise how far you still need to go. Then you realise how much harder the gains get as you move up the FTP scale. After all this my biggest deamon is weight control. When l started out I weighed about 100kg. I lost about 3 kg over 2 years of just riding with mates 2-3 times a week. Then I started to focus on the food and increased the training amount (bought an indoor smart bike) raised my FTP considerably, but my hunger levels went up accordingly. Got bigger, stronger and heavier but stayed about 96/97 kg. Then really, really focused on nutrition, calorie counting, stopped drinking alcohol, cut back on sugar & carbs, upped training to 4 & 5 days a week. Got down to 94kg. Only had to think about toast & spreads for breakfast and got back up to and reside at about 97kg. I have over 300W FTP, but when you race 60 & 70 kg guys, on hills, you always get smoked. It's one of the reasons I miss motocross racing. It was all about the skill and overall fitnes not the lightest guy that wins.. Si, Christchurch, NZ.

I just missed a KOM on a 7 min climbing segment by ONE SECOND on my fourth attempt to get it a few days ago... so thanks for this one :'D

[Luca-rfdz]

3:59 as they said in top gun 2:

It's not the plane. It's the pilot.

[emilvaradi]

Extremely appreciate your briefness vs all the verbosity that floods You Tube and the internet.
Very much needed since many authors just steal our precious TIME!

[morosis]

Your comment about getting angry and getting in a break reminded me of this one (not just for cycling):

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

[maribee]

Wow, perfect timing t see this, after a failed training day yesterday, I so did not fell like going out. Good tips advice, even to the last words, I actually did call my son to come and pick me up yesterday for first time ever. Took a good rest day today, Ill be back on it now, big events at the end of the month. Thanks for all that

[cristianditommaso]

Few minutes ago I subscribed to GCN as supporter. So many years I'm watching your videos and the GCN Italia videos.

[jaydibernardo]

One of the better videos you blokes have put together in quite some time. Cheerio!

[williamforbes]

i really enjoyed that a guy not covering his ears in a onesie and a flatsail shaped bike with some visual reference assuring me to keep calm and train on. banger!

[MonoderHungerForest]

Lovely, down to earth and motivating lesson on the subject. Missing all the "best version of yourself" selfhelp nonsense. That's the way! 👍