Originally Posted by Bob Dopolina

I am talking about culture, not race. I think it is very important that we make that distinction.

East Asian cultures, generally, don't place much emphasis on sport. Sure, there are some areas and some sports where this is not the case, but on the whole these are not to a level that creates environments where sport is a legitimate pursuit for children.

We also have to set aside government run sporting programs aimed at Olympic sports. Very few of those sports have professional levels that an athlete can aspire to.

The UCI has been working in Asia for more than a decade. Heck, even tiny Taiwan where I live and have raced for the last 15 years now has three Continental teams. There are teams in Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and several Continental Pro teams in Japan. There are also National teams from almost every country on the continent (I've raced against the Iranian National team, for instance).

There is an entire UCI Asia Tour calendar developed specifically to promote the sport in this part of the world and to give Asian riders access to a much higher level of competition and the opportunity to develop within the cycling culture. I can't stress this enough as there is A LOT more to being a pro than riding your bike. A lot more.

All of this infrastructure has produced pro riders from Asia who are now, a decade or more later, racing in Europe at the Continental Pro level but that final step has only been made by a handful of Asian riders.

Now look at Africa. With the exception of SA, there is only one continental team on the entire continent. There are few races and few national teams. The sport is in its infancy there. Even if it develops there faster than in Asia, which would be remarkable given the economic challenges alone, it will be quite some time before African riders are present in any numbers in the Pro Tour never mind having a significant impact.