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When it comes to pro cycling.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...our/index.html
A bit blasé though... It's not true that European cyclists leave school at 13-14. It's not even possible. In Belgium you are obliged to go to school till you're 18...
Of course I open the link to the article and the first thing I see is a picture of Lance. :rolleyes:
Yee gods, really, there are some pro cycling fans in the US who don't consider it to be All About Lance, honest! :p Well, there's me at least
Well, I have seen both sides of this. My exchange student, Richard, from Berlin was on 2 European teams. He most certainly did not quit school at 13; he spent one semester of HS here in gr. 11 and then went on to complete his 13 years of education to qualify for college, even though he did not go right away. He had to take exams that I don't think most college students in the US would like! When his team folded 2 years ago, he was recruited and rode for the US Rite-Aid team. He lived like a pauper to do it, just to ride. Not exactly like winter training in warm climates, paid for by the team. During this time he started an on line degree program. Finally,when the season was over last September, he went back to Germany to start an on line cycling consulting business with friends and continue his studies. He couldn't take it anymore and said all of the teams folding is directly related to the doping scandals.He didn't ride for 5 months. He was recruited by a state college in Colorado and will be starting in a few weeks, with a free ride... tuition, living expenses, etc. All they want is for him to ride for their team. Now, he is really smart and blew the ACT and TOEFEL tests away with his scores. Plus, he is quite Americanized after living with us and visiting us every year since 2003.
However, his friend, who we have met, did stop high school at 15. He was on the "commercial" track and became a salesperson for a company at 16, while racing. The college accepted him, too, and how, I don't know. He's not dumb, but his English is not that good, while Richard is bilingual in every sense. We shall see...
The comment about cycling providing an escape from high school for geeky middle class boys in the US was true for my son. He was very popular, but "different." He always had a great disdain for the jocks and one of his happiest days was when his anatomy teacher did a VO2 max test in the fitness center at school, with the jocks watching, after school. He was every bit as good of a rider as Richard, but he knew it would be too hard to be a pro from the US.
If the sports media stopped presenting cycling in the US as just the "Tour," people might understand it better. There's a whole lot of racing going on here in New England and I am sure that it's the same in other places.