{"id":2461,"date":"2021-02-22T10:47:17","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T10:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/ie\/?p=2461"},"modified":"2021-02-22T10:47:17","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T10:47:17","slug":"andy-schleck-how-to-help-your-kid-become-a-pro-cyclist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/ie\/2021\/02\/22\/andy-schleck-how-to-help-your-kid-become-a-pro-cyclist\/","title":{"rendered":"Andy Schleck: How to Help Your Kid Become a Pro Cyclist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you want to know how the Tour de France winner Andy Schleck inspires his kids to enjoy sports? We talked to him about the topic of introducing kids to professional sports and what he has to say about the role of a parent in raising an aspiring cycling pro. He told us at what age should you introduce a coach, start competing, when to get a carbon bike, and much more.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are talking about kids under the age of 10, I would be very careful. One day, they want to be an astronaut, then it\u2019s a garbage man, doctor, policeman, pro soccer player and, sometimes, a pro cyclist too. I think it\u2019s really important not to put too much pressure on your kids when they are at a very young age,\u201d Andy starts when asked about helping a kid becoming a pro.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s not enough money in the world to make you win the Tour de France<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cFirst, you have to realize that cycling is an extremely intense and tough sport. If you don\u2019t have the inner motivation or you lose passion for the sport, you simply can\u2019t succeed in it professionally. There\u2019s not enough money in the world to pay someone to train hard enough to win the Tour. It\u2019s simply too tough and too much of a whole-person commitment to do just for money. There needs to be passion,\u201d said Andy to illustrate that putting too much pressure on a young mind and body is not a good recipe for a professional cycling success in the future.<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/a>
With the US Secretary of State John Kerry before taking a bycicle ride in Luxembourg. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Make it all about passion first<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cNobody wants to be a pro cyclist just to take part. Everyone who has the ambition to become a professional athlete wants to be the best. And doing that takes all you have. You only have a limited window of time, maybe 10 to 15 years, to take all of this pressure and pain to be really up there at the top. So, if you are young, it really needs to be about passion and fun only. Only at the age of about 16 to 18, you can start focusing on becoming a pro. If you wake up at 15, thinking, \u2018I want to win the Tour de France because I will be able to make a million per year,\u2019 I can guarantee you will not succeed with that motivation,\u201d Andy explains why the passion for cycling should be at the core of your efforts when helping as a parent.<\/p>\n

How did Andy get his kids excited about sport?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cI have two kids. So, how do I excite them to love cycling? I simply don\u2019t. I think kids either like something or they don\u2019t. Kids like to follow in their parent\u2019s footsteps and I did that too. My dad was a pro cyclist. I lived cycling my whole life. I went with my parents to the Tour de France to watch it live when Marco Pantani and Jan Ullrich were competing. But I don\u2019t think it was my parents that got me excited. I got excited myself because I enjoyed the competition. My dad was never yelling at me from the roadside, he was always cheering and giving me positive feedback,\u201d Andy answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that if you want to do something as a parent, then you can explain, encourage, and try to show the beauty of the sport to your kids rather than focusing on making them race and win,\u201d Andy summed it up.<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/a>
Explain, encourage, and try to show the beauty of the sport to your kids. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Are Andy Schleck\u2019s kids going to become pro cyclists?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cMy kids are 3,5 years and 6,5 years old. So, the younger one is just running around the house the whole day,\u201d Andy laughs. \u201cMy older kid plays soccer. He loves to do that because he is with his friends. He rides his bike with me too sometimes. We do like 25-30km loops and we stop for a picnic in between. We have fun. I think my older kid is exposed to a lot of people around me talking about my career and stuff. So, I don\u2019t want to add more on top of that. I really hope he chooses his own way and, so far, I think he does,\u201d Andy says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I ask him, \u2018what do you want to do?\u2019, he says, \u2018I want to play for Barcelona one day.\u2019 If I ask him whether he wants to win the Champions League or the Tour de France, he says \u2013 no, no daddy, I want to win the Champions League,\u201d Andy laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I feel very lucky that he loves sports because I feel it\u2019s really important that kids do sports. School is not everything. Physical activity was a big part of my education and I feel it should be a part of everyone\u2019s too. It helps you stay healthy and you can learn a lot about yourself in sport,\u201d Andy says.<\/p>\n

Keeping it fun doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t do it seriously<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Andy stresses that kids should be left to choose which sport they enjoy and parents are there to support them and make sure that the passion for the sport grows. But in his mind, you can both have fun and take the sport seriously.<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/a>
Andy in action during during the Fleche Wallonne. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When to get a coach and join a cycling club?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When asked when to get a cycling coach, for example, he answered: \u201cYou can have a coach at 12 years old if you want. A coach can give you tips and guide you. It can\u2019t do any harm unless the coach is asking too much from your kid. But only at around 15 to 18 years old, it becomes important to have a good coach if you have aspirations to become a pro.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andy also recommended joining a cycling club: \u201cThe earlier you can join the better. You have teammates that can become friends, you can share your passion, and being a part of a club simply doubles the joy you get out of cycling.\u201d<\/p>\n

When to start racing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cIf you see a race and it seems fun, then sign up and do it. No matter what age your kid is. But don\u2019t make it an obsession to win. It can be helpful to get experience from racing at a young age. You learn how to handle your bike and how to behave in a peloton. You learn how it feels to ride with a certain amount of pressure. And you know what it means to start and finish a race. You get the satisfaction from finishing a race well. But it only starts becoming important at around 15 or 16 years old. Even then, you have to be careful,\u201d Andy warns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen young cyclists winning every race at the Junior World Cup and by the time they are 20 years old, you don\u2019t see them anymore. And that\u2019s probably because they were under too much pressure too early. So, I think you should get serious between 15 and 16 years old but do it properly without too much pressure,\u201d Andy advises.<\/p>\n

How important is equipment?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cIn my whole life, I haven\u2019t heard of a single example of someone not succeeding in becoming a pro cyclist because the dad couldn\u2019t afford carbon wheels,\u201d Andy laughs. \u201cEquipment is not even secondary. It\u2019s far down the road in priorities. Giving mental and emotional support is the biggest tool you have as a parent. Talent can come later. I became a pro cyclist at 19 years old. Jens Voigt became a pro at 27 or 28. And I don\u2019t believe that you are born with talent. I think talent grows out of passion and interest in something,\u201d Andy continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you see that your kid truly loves cycling and is developing a passion for it, simply be a supporter. Try to provide some structure with a good coach if you can but the mental support is most important. Of course, the kid needs a bike. But it doesn\u2019t need Di2 shifting. If your kid won\u2019t succeed with a steel frame, having a carbon frame won\u2019t help either. If your kid is good enough where high-level equipment would make a difference, you can be sure that sponsors will pay for it then,\u201d Andy closes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you want to know how the Tour de France winner Andy Schleck inspires his kids to enjoy sports? 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