Is 22 years old too late to become a professional cyclist

Absolutely possible but you better be pretty talented and maybe willing to dope. Check out Primoz Roglic who only took up cycling in 2012 at 22 after a ski jumping career and has now won multiple grand tours.

Multiple second-rate tours. Roglic can't stay on his bike, and all signs are he's without a team in a few days here.

OP: Get a cyclocross/gravel bike, and race this fall in your city or wherever near has cyclocross races.

What category are you currently. Do you race in any crits in your area? If so, how do you do in them?

I didn’t start riding/racing seriously until I was about 23. I took it up more seriously because I was always pretty good at beating just about anyone on my bike from the time I was a little kid and I had an injury that kept me from running seriously. I was pretty successful, especially in local crits, because I am naturally gifted as a sprinter. That said, I never thought about quitting my day job to be a professional. Every now and then I can get lucky and beat a pro but that is a rare occurrence. Even if I were to quit my job and train full-time I don’t think I could be a professional with enough success to support myself let alone my family.

I’m not saying that it can’t be done. Michael Woods, a former runner at Michigan, successfully became a professional rider later due to injuries from running. He has raced in the Tour de France and still rides professionally. He is definitely an exception, though.

an australian cyclist started in her late twenties after killing someone with her car

this year in the tour de france femmes she almost killed a cyclist

believe in your dreams

How fearless are you? Becoming a fit cyclist is relatively easy. Learning how to handle a bike, riding in the peloton, and descending at highway speeds on two contact patches the size of a quarter is the tricky part. Crashes? It’s never a question of “if”. The question is always “when”.

Don't quit yer day job until you've won lotsa big races.

Are you suggesting that Roglic's career isn't very good?