Joey Li

Until Lemond all the pros were European. Today its just them and a handful of Americans. Everyone is white. I think there was a Japanese guy on some team but that's it.

Pretty funny when a good amount of long distance runners are black.

Another thing, there are lots of non-white cyclists in my area, but not sure if that's true of most amateur and recreational groups.

Howzit

You need to adjust your television set. You havent seen all the browns from South America?
I am also not sure what you find "funny" about it.

globecanvas

Europcar has Yohann Gene this year, who I think is the first black competitor ever in the Tour de France.

This is obviously a hot button topic, but I doubt there is any sort of racist conspiracy in pro cycling to exclude anyone. All the teams want to do is win.

There was a really excellent article in a recent New Yorker about the Rwanda national cycling team:
https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2...act_gourevitch

DiabloScott

This is because black folks are better at "team sports".

Howzit

Racism means it only aplies to black people to you?
Racism applies to all races, from all races, not just black.
You just revealed what type of mentality you have, and the level of evolution you are at as a person.

B. Carfree

It seems like cycling is more likely to thrive in a region with a well-developed road system where many people have enough disposable income to be able to easily afford quality bikes and where these things have existed for long enough to create a cycling sub-culture. Bing, bing, bing for Europe and South America with the U.S. closely behind. I don't see where race comes into it.

Howzit

I think the OP needs to bookmark this, or better yet, copy and paste it into his/her sig to remind themselves of the facts.
Thanks for writing this so simply, yet so comprehensibly.

lotek 

excuse me? south america?

maybe if you'd have said South Africa I could get it,
but south America has some of the worst roads ever.
Doesn't meet the criteria for disposable income either.

seypat

It is an expensive sport especially at the competitive level for any race of human to get into. Funding is a major issue just like in golf. And in the USA "organized youth cycling" means riding around with your buddies and going somewhere. So unless you have a mentor that is into cycling how are you going to get into it? I'm talking about youths in general not just non whites.

Howzit

True, but it meets the remaining criteria, and hence its second place to Europe.

johnny99

The Tour de France is a European race, so it makes sense for Europeans to be most interested in participating. There are UCI races in other countries. And more than a few world champion bicyclists have been non-European and non-white.

RonH

+1


If you want to see more black riders move to Atlanta. MACC is a great organization. https://www.maccattack.com/

DiabloScott

Dude, you're probably the only person in here who didn't get that was a joke.

This topic has been covered hundreds of times in the five years I've been posting here - I get to poke fun of the OP's banal reiteration of an old topic and your petty "team sports" troll with a single post - PWN!

BTW - Team Radio Shack alone has riders from five different continents - missing is South America... I think they had a Columbian last year though.

Second Mouse

Well played, DS.

Howzit

Your "joke" was not only stupid, but in bad taste. And bad attempt at back peddling. (being a bike forum, pun intended)

DXchulo

Like others are saying, there are a lot of socioeconomic factors driving black people to other sports. If you want to call cycling a racist sport you need to be very careful. Doing so assumes that the sport itself excludes blacks from participating.

Edit: I focused on black people here, but the same goes for other races.

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.

idc

ding ding ding!

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

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.

TommyL

I played ultimate frisbee in college but I don't anymore because it's racist. Everyone who played was a skinny white guy.

hudsonbay

I'm sure the audience watching/following le Tour is vastly white. In US bike racing isn't very interesting to most blacks. Indeed its one of those things that could get a black kid accussed (by other blacks) of acting white.

Howzit

Acting white is one of my pet peeves

tagaproject6

How does one act white?

Howzit

Apparently ride a bicycle!! LOL, jokes.
Although I dont know if BMXs count, lots of BMXs in the hood.

There is a book on this isn't there? You can buy it at Urban Outfitters.