Talk about nit-picking a thread to death
that cycling doesn't require an inordinate amount of skill development in order to be pretty good at it.
I agree with the OP's point. At the extreme end - I was doing practice races with Cat A/B track cyclists who had years of experience compared to my 6 weeks of training. Similarly I was doing training crits with Cat 1/2/3 as a newly licensed 5. I'm not an especially fit or smart rider but the skills required to sit in the pack or ride in a group are much less than to be comparably good at many other sports. No way am I playing practice matches with a high level amateur tennis player on 6 weeks of training, or lasting more than the first round with a high level amateur wrestler or combat sport practitioner. But most people spend a few hours learning the ropes before they're proficient enough to ride in a B/C competitive group ride. The skills are much easier than the fitness aspect, for road riding.