They’re Setting Their Wheels Spinning : Cycling: Kenny Adams and Jamie Paolinetti team up to take on Tour of the Americas, the first international event of the 1990 bike racing season.

A few years ago, Kenny Adams of San Clemente started trying to support himself by riding his bicycle. Even for professional cycling, a sport with more than its share of inclines, it was an uphill battle.

Jamie Paolinetti, on the other hand, was more of a natural when it came to sports. But after a professional baseball career failed to materialize, Paolinetti of Newport Beach picked up a bike after a surfing session one day and less than a year later, was one of the top amateur riders in Orange County.

Though the two took different paths, Adams and Paolinetti have ended up together on the American Commerce National Bank cycling team in the Tour of the Americas, which starts today in West Palm Beach, Fla.

The Tour of the Americas, the first international event of the 1990 bike racing season, will feature such teams as Banesto of Spain, with Pedro Delgado, the 1988 Tour de France winner, and the 7-Eleven team of the United States. The race will take place over eight days in Florida, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

Sunday at 2 p.m., ESPN will televise highlights of the stages in Florida.

Riding on the three-year-old tour is a breakthrough for the American Commerce Bank team, in its second year in existence. Getting invited means that the team, based in Corona and sponsored by the one-branch Anaheim bank, has been recognized as one of the half-dozen strictly professional teams in the United States.

Until last year, when he signed on with the American Commerce team, Adams, 28, received no such corporate support or attention. In a sport in which teamwork is crucial, Adams lacked a team.

Adams, who ran cross-country at San Clemente High, was one of the top riders on the junior national team when he was younger and after a layoff of three years, he picked up the sport again. As Adams grew more serious about his sport, he realized he would have to seek out the best competition possible if he was to improve.

Adams, who worked for a surfboard accessories manufacturer, decided to participate in as many cycling events as his resources would allow. “You can’t really make it if you are not going to go to the national caliber races,” he said. “And they are all around the country.”

For two years, he depended only on prize money to pay his expenses. He went by air to race in places such as Ireland, Seattle and Kansas City. In 1987, he took a five-week trip through Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and California, racing every week. It was all a part of his plan to win enough to attract attention and latch on with a professional team.

Aside from the obvious financial liabilities, riders without a team rarely have the means to be consistently competitive. They must make do without a crew to repair bikes after mishaps and to provide food along the course.

“I don’t think any one can do that for too long,” Adams said. “There is just too much stress.”

Paolinetti never had such worries.

After playing football and baseball at La Habra High School, Paolinetti, now 26, accepted a partial scholarship to play baseball at UC Riverside. He expected significant playing time after batting over .400 for his undefeated American Legion the summer before.

But Riverside won the NCAA Division II championship his freshman year with Paolinetti on the bench. His playing time didn’t increase during his sophomore season, and when it didn’t appear his junior year would be any better, he transferred to UC Irvine.

Paolinetti, expected to play outfield or third base for the Anteaters, but during the year he was required to sit out, he became interested in surfing and competitive karate.

Upon a friend’s suggestion, he tried cycling and was immediately successful. Within two months of racing, Paolinetti qualified for the national amateur championships in 1986. Though he couldn’t make it to the championships because the local team he was racing for lacked funds and he lacked a reputation, he was convinced his talent was genuine.

“The (qualifying) race was 110 miles long and I never had ridden my bike that far in my life,” Paolinetti said.

He graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in social ecology, but gave up a job as an L.A. County Sheriff to concentrate on cycling, and was hired last season by the American Commerce team.

American Commerce members are paid subsistence-level salaries, allowing them to do nothing but ride during the racing season, February through October.

That gives riders such as Paolinetti and Adams the freedom to ride five to seven hours a day, 400 to 500 miles a week. The riders said total commitment is necessary to be successful at such events as the Tour of the Americas with its $150,000 purse and international competition.

“The sport demands every bit of energy you have,” Paolinetti said. “So any extra energy that you exert other than in training or racing is energy you could have better used in a race.”