Basically, if you ain't ripping the legs off local elites and 1st cats on youth/junior gears at 16/17 it doesn't matter how hard you work for the next 5 years, you ain't going World Tour.
(late starters can adjust the timeline accordingly)
During the Tour a couple of years ago the GCN guys were talking about this. How basically every single person you see on a bike there, even the one currently getting shot out the back of the peloton was winning races against teenagers when they were 8 and likewise against adults then they were 15.
Basically, if you ain't ripping the legs off local elites and 1st cats on youth/junior gears at 16/17 it doesn't matter how hard you work for the next 5 years, you ain't going World Tour.
(late starters can adjust the timeline accordingly)