When I was a kid, I wanted to be a world champion bike racer. I also wanted to be a commercial airline pilot, and I quite fancied giving professional wrestling a go, too. As I got older, I soon forgot about aeroplanes and wrestling rings, but I didn?t forget about motorbikes. Before long, though, it became clear I was never going to be a world champion. But did it really matter" Because you don?t have to be a bike racing world champion to have really made it in the sport, do you"  Or do you"

There are a lot of people who you?d definitely say have ?made it? in bike racing, that haven?t necessarily won a world championship. There are people racing in international championships, all over the world, that are yet to be (and perhaps never will be) champions, but they might be able to win the odd race. And if they can, they?re probably coined up reasonably generously by a sponsor, a manufacturer or a team.
And surely these people have made it" Regardless of success, if you?re being paid to do something you love, earning money racing bikes, you?ve not just made it in bike racing; you?ve made it in life!

But there are some lads earning a wage racing bikes at national level, too. So have they ?made it?" I think so, yes. In fact, I think every person that?s capable of racing a bike at national level has made it, whether they?re earning money from it or remortgaging their house to pay for it (although I wouldn?t recommend that).

It doesn?t mat...