In an earlier post, I wrote about one of the great paradoxes of sports: Some countries, particularly in Europe, that are cycling hotbeds are also powerhouses in what they call "football" or Americans call "soccer". Yet one never sees anyone who competes--at least at a high level--in both sports. That is all the more perplexing when one realizes that the skills and training for both sports are, in some many ways, similar.
In that post from a year and half ago, I posited that some of the reasons why the twain rarely, if ever, meet between the worlds of cycling and football because their seasons are more or less concurrent, both sports require intensive training to the exclusion of almost everything else (at least, if one wants to compete at an elite level) and that cyclists, even when they ride for teams, are competing mainly for individual honors while football is all about the team.
Peter Sagan of Slovakia is one of cycling's great young talents: Just a few weeks ago, the 25-year-old won the men's road race of the UCI championships. He has also won the points classification of the Tour de France and other races, and has a number of stage victories. Not many people would be surprised, I think, if he wins the Tour--or the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana or other major multi-stage races over the next few years.
More surprising might be a switch to a professional football career. Or would it?
In that post from a year and half ago, I posited that some of the reasons why the twain rarely, if ever, meet between the worlds of cycling and football because their seasons are more or less concurrent, both sports require intensive training to the exclusion of almost everything else (at least, if one wants to compete at an elite level) and that cyclists, even when they ride for teams, are competing mainly for individual honors while football is all about the team.
Peter Sagan of Slovakia is one of cycling's great young talents: Just a few weeks ago, the 25-year-old won the men's road race of the UCI championships. He has also won the points classification of the Tour de France and other races, and has a number of stage victories. Not many people would be surprised, I think, if he wins the Tour--or the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana or other major multi-stage races over the next few years.
More surprising might be a switch to a professional football career. Or would it?
