how do u start

To become pro, you pretty much have to prove yourself through the amatuer ranks, starting at category-5 racing up through the cat-3s, then make it to the top-tier cat 1-2-Pro races. There, if you do well, you can petition one of the teams to hire you on as a pro. Can take anywhere from 2-5 years depending upon your commitment and ultimate potential.

You can get your license here: http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=579

Then call around to the local bike-shops to find out which bike-clubs are in your area to join and get riding experience and training. You can join their rides and see which club fits you best. Here's a list:

http://www.vacycling.org/
http://www.raba.org/links.html
http://vabike.org/clubs.htm
http://spokesetc.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=20

VAjr91 said:

i am a 13 year old guy living in northern VA. I am basically just wanting to know how should i start out on my way to become a pro racer. i already have my giant ocr 2 road bike and can already use spd pedals. I just don't know to get licensed and join a team.

i wouldnt worry about joining some big proffesional team right know. have you entered any races unsponsered yet? Did you win? You might be able to join a small team and bring them food and water during races (ehhh wuts the term...owell). That way you could work your way up possibly. But its not like one day you decide to be a pro racer then the next your Lance. If your want to be full on Proffessional cyclist your gonna have to work your ass off. And I dont know of any 13 year old proffessional cyclists but I do know of many that were riding solo or in a club at that age.

Nishiki09 said:

But its not like one day you decide to be a pro racer then the next your Lance. If your want to be full on Proffessional cyclist your gonna have to work your ass off. And I dont know of any 13 year old proffessional cyclists .

well yea i kinda already knew that. I'm not that much of a newb. i do have common sense. thanks though

Sorry, I honestly am a "newb" im only 14 from Fl but all i know is that if i enter a race with all those 20 year olds in the prime of their life im gonig to lose

Hi, I'm 28 and just started road riding . I got myself a Giant OCR3 and have been having a blast!

Yeah, i'd like to start joining races too, and win all of them, but we have got to start somewhere. Have you developed your base level?

That leads me to the next question...how do you know you have developed your base level?

George

VAjr91 said:

i am a 13 year old guy living in northern VA. I am basically just wanting to know how should i start out on my way to become a pro racer. i already have my giant ocr 2 road bike and can already use spd pedals. I just don't know to get licensed and join a team.

I think the best thing you can do for your cycling career, wherever it takes you, is to find a good, fast group of riders to train with. I don't know your part of the country, but there are probably some good racers there. Try to find out where and when they do their training rides and once you get reasonably fit go ride with them. Most guys are pretty open to having someone join them so long as they don't cause crashes. You'll learn more from riding one season with strong racers than you'll learn in five seasons on your own. You'll also get a very good feel for your potential for racing without even entering a race. If you can't stay with them on a training ride, you can't begin to stay with them in a race.

RapDaddyo said:

I think the best thing you can do for your cycling career, wherever it takes you, is to find a good, fast group of riders to train with. I don't know your part of the country, but there are probably some good racers there. Try to find out where and when they do their training rides and once you get reasonably fit go ride with them. Most guys are pretty open to having someone join them so long as they don't cause crashes. You'll learn more from riding one season with strong racers than you'll learn in five seasons on your own. You'll also get a very good feel for your potential for racing without even entering a race. If you can't stay with them on a training ride, you can't begin to stay with them in a race.

Thanks a lot Rapdaddyo!
GEorge