- While the vast majority of pro cyclists
will have had their sporting backgrounds solely in cycling,
there are a select few individuals out there
who are so unbelievably talented
that they've actually excelled in multiple sports
throughout their career, including cycling.
Here are five riders who have done just that.
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The meteoric rise of Primoz Roglic to the pinnacle
of pro cycling is far from typical.
As a teenager, the Slovenian took up
the popular national pastime of ski jumping
and became Junior World Champion
at the tender age of just 16 years old.
However, a terrifying crash stalled his career a year later,
and although he came away from that crash
relatively unscathed, he was never really able to
return to the top level and instead made the switch
to cycling and du-athalon in 2013,
joining up with the Adria Mobil team.
He quickly showed immense promise with podium finishes
at the Tour of Croatia and the Tour d'Azerbaïdjan,
which in turn led to him earning a place at the World Tour
with Team LottoNL-Jumbo.
And he's not stopped winning since.
With stage wins in the Giro d'Italia
and the Tour de France already in the bag,
as well as a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships,
Roglic's move to cycling
looks like a very shrewd decision indeed.
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Once regarded as arguably
the best middle distance runner in Canada,
Michael Woods was destined for big things.
Earning a Top 50 ranking in the 1500 metres
at just 19 years of age.
However, a mix of poor diet and over training led to a
number of stress factors,
which ultimately led to him giving up running altogether.
However, it was during long stints of rehab,
from those injuries, that he found cycling.
He'd borrow his dad's bike
as a means of keeping fit and eventually,
with some encouragement from friends and family,
he took the decision to become a pro cyclist
in the year of 2013.
Which, incidentally, is the same year as Primoz Roglic.
Entering the sport later than most, it was a race against
time for Woods as he fought to take his chances
both in Europe and on the US continental circuit.
A strong overall showing at the 2015 Tour of Utah,
eventually peaked the interest of Jonathan Voris
and the Cannondale squad, in which became a world Tourneur
at the age of 29.
He's reinforced his climbing credentials since then
with top 10 GC finishes at the Vuelta Espana
and the Tour Down Under
so we should expect more great things
in the future from Rusty Woods.
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A medalist in both the winter and the summer Olympics,
Clara Hughes, had the innate ability
to switch between sports almost at will.
She took up speed skating and cycling in her late teens
and she excelled in both sports
in a career which spands over 20 years.
The Canadian focused predominately on cycling in the 90s
and along with a staggering 18 national titles,
she also won bronze medals in both the women's' time trial
and the women's road race
at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
In the 2000s, she made the switch back over to the ice
and went on to win four winter Olympic medals
in long track speed skating in that decade
including Olympic Gold at the Turin Olympics in 2006.
In the twilight of her career, she made one last appearance
at the summer Olympics of 2012, finishing a respectable
5th place in the time trial.
A truly incredible all around athlete.
Rebecca Romero is part of a very exclusive club.
She's only the second woman in history to have won
summer Olympic medals in two different disciplines
and even more incredibly,
she did it in the space of just four years.
She started out her career as a rower
where she took silver in the quadruple sculls
at the 2004 games in Athens.
However, persistent back pain
forced her to focus on cycling instead
and incredibly within two years of her
taking up track racing she was already winning gold medals.
In 2008, she won both the individual pursuit
and the team pursuit at the world championships
and followed that up a few months later with Olympic gold
at the 2008 Olympics, again in the individual pursuit.
Also looking to make the switch from boats to bikes
is Hamish Bond, the New Zealander has been breaking records
on the water for a number of years now,
imassing eight world titles and two Olympic golds
at the coxless pairs in London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Somewhat surprisingly thought, in November of 2016
he made the decision to break up the most successful
rowing partnership in New Zealand's history,
and instead switch his focus to time trialling on the road.
But he was clearly a man with a plan,
just two months later he took a bronze medal
at the 2017 New Zealand's Nationals
and followed that up with another podium spot
at the Oceaners Championships.
For the longterm,
the 31 year old has set some pretty big targets
with an eye on qualification
for the commonwealth games in 2018 and ultimately
the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
We are sure there are plenty more super talented,
multi-sport cyclists out there.
You can let us know which ones you think we missed
down in the comments.
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