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Is it just a huge coincidence or is cycling really a racist sport?

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Is it just a huge coincidence or is cycling really a racist sport?

Old 07-22-11, 12:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Howzit
You are exactly right. Although I am not black, I am one of few Africans to have gone to race as a pro in Europe after racing in Africa. It is a very challenging thing. For example, when I won the national junior TT, i beat 5 other riders; that was the national turn out for the event for juniors under 18. Going to Europe was like starting over, the level and participation was an eye opener for me.

Within a few years though, there were about 6 of us racing in Europe. The national events back home had grown to groups of around 15 or so. I actually raced in South Africa before Europe, which has normal size pelotons, but that peloton got very familiar very quick.
Cycling has become very popular, but in South Africa remains a predominantly white sport. In other African countries how ever, its mainly black riders.
Believe me, there was nothing about "team sport" when racing in Africa. I had the opportunity of racing in the All Africa Games, The Commonwealth games, and finally the World Championships in Portugal before racing in Europe, and there was nothing 'team sporty' about it. It was, and is, each man for himself.
I would say in another 50 years or so, the Tour will be dominated by black athletes
That's pretty impressive, congrats on your accomplishments. You do know cycling is a team sport, right, so why do you say it's nothing about "team"? I think Lance proved it's a team sport....
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Old 07-22-11, 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Laminarman
That's pretty impressive, congrats on your accomplishments. You do know cycling is a team sport, right, so why do you say it's nothing about "team"? I think Lance proved it's a team sport....
Oh SNAP!
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Old 07-22-11, 01:00 PM
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Originally Posted by tagaproject6
Oh SNAP!
Figured you'd like that
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Old 07-22-11, 03:06 PM
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Originally Posted by ultraman6970
Taga i think i hurt your feelings,
Nah...no problems dude. I have found that idiots lack the capacity to inflict any real hurt on anybody else except themselves. You are what you are and you can't help it. You are shaped by the circumstances around you and I can only imagine the kind of environment you grew up in and I accept that. It is I, that is sorry for you!
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Old 07-22-11, 04:24 PM
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The New Yorkers article is NOT about pro cycling in Rwanda, but some dribble about the redemption of a convicted pedophile. Purely garbage.

Originally Posted by Bacciagalupe
As others have pointed out, there are quite a few South Americans (notably Colombians) in the peloton.

One of the earliest prominent bicycle racers was Major Taylor (https://www.majortaylorassociation.org/who.htm), and there is a cycling club out of New Jersey named after him.

FYI, African nations are just starting to get into cycling, and it's very popular. A recent New Yorker article talked about the state of pro cycling in Rwanda: https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2...act_gourevitch

Although the obstacles facing the African cyclists are daunting, it's apparently a popular sport in much of Africa and the riders are highly motivated. I expect they will eventually break into the elite ranks of cycling.
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Old 07-23-11, 05:33 AM
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Today's (Saturday) Wall Street Journal. Page A14, the Sports section. It's the main article, entitled "The Jackie Robinson of Cycling" about Yohann Gene of Europcar.
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Old 07-23-11, 06:00 AM
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Is the NBA a racist sport? Just wondering how "racist sport" is defined.

Last edited by Skewer; 07-23-11 at 06:07 AM.
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Old 07-23-11, 06:20 AM
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Originally Posted by sykerocker
Today's (Saturday) Wall Street Journal. Page A14, the Sports section. It's the main article, entitled "The Jackie Robinson of Cycling" about Yohann Gene of Europcar.
Link to the WSJ article:
https://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...Tabs%3Darticle
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Old 07-23-11, 08:13 AM
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Originally Posted by dalava
The New Yorkers article is NOT about pro cycling in Rwanda, but some dribble about the redemption of a convicted pedophile. Purely garbage.
The coach's story is only one part of the article, and far from the most important. Most of it is about the riders, the economic conditions they're dealing with, their divided nation, their experiences when they raced in the US, and how they cope (or don't) with the horrific events of the recent past.

By the way, good job on focusing so thoroughly on Jock that you completely ignore all of the other individuals profiled in the article, against a backdrop of the worst genocide in recent history....
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Old 07-23-11, 08:23 AM
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I think you want to be careful with the term. The bias is clearly based on culture, not race. No major American presence in Soccer. We're not barred from the sport. Interest in it is just not culturally pervasive here. If half of Kenya jumped on bikes today, I would expect that we would see an explosion of pro Kenyan cyclists within a year or two. For Kenya, it might be a matter of infrastructure. Pro road cyclists tend to stick to paved roads. Fewer than 8% of Kenyan roads are paved. That's ~11,000 kilometers out of ~161,000. Cycling isn't a sport of colors, it's simply a first world sport.
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Old 07-23-11, 08:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Dean7
Kill this thread. Kill it with fire.
This whole thread is pathetic and should be gone...
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Old 07-23-11, 08:41 AM
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Originally Posted by eddiepliers
This whole thread is pathetic and should be gone...
Censorship has always been an effective tool in the vanquishing of ignorance. [/sarcasm]
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Old 07-23-11, 02:32 PM
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Originally Posted by DiabloScott
The discussion here is about diversity among cyclists in the pro ranks. Friend of mine from Eritrea says his country is crazy for cycling... a remnant left by Italian colonialists and something you might not appreciate just from watching the "Giro d'Eritrea" on TV. While the equipment and the roads suck, the level of athleticism and enthusiasm is as high as it is for any other sport in the country. So bike racing is thriving but the economic opportunity just isn't there to get the coaching and other necessary ingredients to make it pro.

The reverse side of the coin is that at the collegiate level (at least here in California) the ranks are very diverse... but there's lots more money to be made in business and technology so few of the collegiate racers of any ethnicity ever think about trying to go pro.
I'm glad someone mentioned this. Cycling is a big deal in Eritrea. Zersenay Tadese's aspiration as a kid was to be a professional cyclist. He was pretty good at it, but not quite good enough to be near the top. He switched to running and now has the half marathon world record at 58:23 (4:27 per mile).
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Old 07-23-11, 03:57 PM
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Precisely because of the complex and rich backdrop of the story, I had a lot of high hope in reading the article, but alas, the writer made it mostly about Jock. It's a pity, and well below the standard I expected from New Yorker, be honest.

Originally Posted by Bacciagalupe
The coach's story is only one part of the article, and far from the most important. Most of it is about the riders, the economic conditions they're dealing with, their divided nation, their experiences when they raced in the US, and how they cope (or don't) with the horrific events of the recent past.

By the way, good job on focusing so thoroughly on Jock that you completely ignore all of the other individuals profiled in the article, against a backdrop of the worst genocide in recent history....
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Old 07-24-11, 10:00 AM
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Cycle Sport America did an encouraging story of Daniel Teklehaimanot, of Eritrea, a few months back. He's on the Swiss Chervelo club.

In the early post-war period North Africa fielded a national team in the Tour.

As with any sport with a geographic center (western Europe), cultural acclimatization is a problem. For example, I cite the truncated pro careers of US riders Mike Neel, George Mount, and Alexi Grewal. With the growth of teams based outside of western Europe I believe the culture of cycling is broadening.
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Old 07-24-11, 12:11 PM
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Ah, here's the other thread. I should come here more.

Frankly, I find it stunning and deeply disappointing that you can't apparently have a conversation about race in cycling without it devolving into pure idiocy and American stereotyping. The amount of ignorance and stupidity on display in my other thread even within two pages was shocking. How can a (presumably) adult go through life with so little self-reflection as to be completely unaware of his own attitude towards race relations? How do these people get through the day?

Anyways...

I don't understand why it should have anything to do with culture or economy. I understand that it's tough to be a bike racer when your roads aren't paved, and unfortunately a lot of 'black' nations are in this situation.

But, lots of Africans have emigrated to all kinds of places. I wonder if this all has more to do with the tendency of emigrants to absorb new culture selectively. I mean if I went to a new country and already looked and talked differently, maybe I would be much less likely to embrace a sport that also makes you different. Maybe I would want to blend in a little more than lycra and funny helmets allow for.
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Old 07-24-11, 01:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Commodus
But, lots of Africans have emigrated to all kinds of places. I wonder if this all has more to do with the tendency of emigrants to absorb new culture selectively. I mean if I went to a new country and already looked and talked differently, maybe I would be much less likely to embrace a sport that also makes you different. Maybe I would want to blend in a little more than lycra and funny helmets allow for.
This last paragraph reminded me when I was a kid watching the olympics. I was always struck by how the Americans were not of one type/race. All other teams had practically no difference in racial make-up.
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Old 07-24-11, 08:37 PM
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I love how Joey Li, the OP, has put this thread in and left the rest of the forum to create a firestorm of hate in here.. Without another post from Joey Li. Fight-starting bastard.. Stop this thread..
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Old 07-25-11, 07:15 AM
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Originally Posted by eddiepliers
I love how Joey Li, the OP, has put this thread in and left the rest of the forum to create a firestorm of hate in here.. Without another post from Joey Li. Fight-starting bastard.. Stop this thread..
Personally I don't see a reason to get all bent out of shape over this issue -- and no I don't believe cycling is a racist sport.

However, some people are getting "bent", but maybe it's a good thing. Anything that shows people's real colors I'm for. Yes it can be ugly, but no reason to shy away from. Racism is one of those things that irks me too, but would rather see it addressed than left smouldering, especially in a community that I consider myself apart of.
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Old 07-25-11, 10:16 AM
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A lack of cultural diversity does not necessarily = racism.
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Old 07-25-11, 10:21 AM
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Originally Posted by eddiepliers
I love how Joey Li, the OP, has put this thread in and left the rest of the forum to create a firestorm of hate in here.. Without another post from Joey Li. Fight-starting bastard.. Stop this thread..
who cares?
there's too much threadlockin by mods as it is...
I don;t read hate, it all depends on the color of the glasses you are wearin...
as with all things BF, everyone has an opinion...
mine
if you can create lamentation on a tempo ride or a serious hard hill, you'll prolly find a scrum of director sportifs on your doorstep
how one gets there is their problem (or their nation's ...)
Pro racing is 'pro', which does define it's focus for athletes.
cycling used to be the way out for many underprivileged kids in the Euro zone. Back when you could give a kid a bike, a little support in parts and tires and start them rollin. I'm sure some of that still happens on the Continent. It's happened a few times in the US, that I know if.
Kissena used to have a good Dev. program. I know T-Town had a good one. I think the Mid-West Tracks had them. many Local Clubs where I home-based BITD always looked for enthusiastic youth to ensnare into the web of cycling.

It's a highly developed sport, as are many others. Fitting those requirements is beyond the means of many. That's ok.
There are sports with much simpler economic development ramps - soccer, baseball, even tennis. They all show the multicultural possibilities when economics can be tamed. And the smart money goes into those areas.

Everytime cycling shows a little bit of that, it's exciting. But it can't be expected to show the broad range of the soccer WC - just not gonna happen.

it's all good

don;t worry
be happy

Last edited by cyclezen; 07-25-11 at 10:24 AM.
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Old 07-25-11, 10:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Skewer
Is the NBA a racist sport? Just wondering how "racist sport" is defined.
I'd say it would be where race influences decisions in a manner not conducive to teh normal goal of the sport.

Generally in today's world that would NOT show up as total exclusion. It would be in terms like no black quarterbacks.

In cycling it would show up as black riders never ending up as the one the team explicitly supported.

I'm betting sooner or later we will see claims of racism based on this. Why? Because the vast majority of riders spend at least a couple of years as a support rider when they might do well as a supported rider. Look at the leadout train for Cavendish, at least one rider who could be a sprinter, and Andre Greipel never enve got A TDF place until he change teams. No one is saying thsi is a British conspiricy. Both Lemond and Ulrich could have won the Year before their first TDF wins, but they did not because they were not the team leaders. And look at what it tool for Indurain to get his chance as team leader.

Unless the first top level Black rider is a Merckx, Hinault or Coppi there are going to be claims odf racism, the only question is in which direction.
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Old 07-25-11, 11:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Howzit
You are exactly right. Although I am not black, I am one of few Africans to have gone to race as a pro in Europe after racing in Africa. It is a very challenging thing. For example, when I won the national junior TT, i beat 5 other riders; that was the national turn out for the event for juniors under 18. Going to Europe was like starting over, the level and participation was an eye opener for me.

Within a few years though, there were about 6 of us racing in Europe. The national events back home had grown to groups of around 15 or so. I actually raced in South Africa before Europe, which has normal size pelotons, but that peloton got very familiar very quick.
Cycling has become very popular, but in South Africa remains a predominantly white sport. In other African countries how ever, its mainly black riders.
Believe me, there was nothing about "team sport" when racing in Africa. I had the opportunity of racing in the All Africa Games, The Commonwealth games, and finally the World Championships in Portugal before racing in Europe, and there was nothing 'team sporty' about it. It was, and is, each man for himself.
I would say in another 50 years or so, the Tour will be dominated by black athletes

Based on your posts I am calling BS on you being/or having been a pro.
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