ramtaajogi

i want to introduce him to campy components. honestly..if that dude was handed a nice bike..im sure he would be a good rider, cuz from what i see he doesnt seem to mind a >20 lb bike.

*edit* hld up..thats junks motorized, look at his "clipon" bars.

Ant

If you HAD to ride a bike to get around because you couldn't afford a car, would you really want to spend an additional 6 hours busting your ass to race it too? Prob. not. And I'm asian so I can speak with some authority. lol

kuan

Just shows your ignorance. EPO is 1/50th the price in Bangkok.

pelotonracer

for the prospect of more money? yep...

PrfectHair4ever

The average person living in Bangkok also has about 1/50th the income as a person living in the western world... that just shows your ignorance

rapidcarbon

+1

rapidcarbon

Can't be more than 75%, because there are 2 teams ride colnago, 1 team ride De Rosa, 2 team ride Pinarello and Opera, 1 team ride Trek, 2 team ride Look and Time. Those bikes are not made in Asia

pelotonracer

Um... yeah they are...

Keith99

Good point. I remember reading once that the result of a small local race may have had a huge, if not the biggest impact on cycling of any race result. Why? Because there was prize money, not much but a little and at that point the guys mother said, well maybe you can make some money at this, where before his parents had started to urge him to quit and start worrying about his future. A few years later in his first TDF an early stage went past his parents store in Belgium.

bellweatherman

You don't see any blacks in cycling either. Cycling is predominantly a white sport. The high cost of racing bikes and racing in general makes access to the sport impossible for most kids. With the unique case here or there, you won't see any inner city kids gravitating to cycling anytime soon.

0810

when i bike, i do occasionally see blacks in tights and jerseys biking on nice road bikes, with road shoes too and cycle comp, there are some out there.

Smoothie104

EPO is made from Chinese Hamster Ovaries, how funny is that!!


and no, im not making this up. google it if you don't believe the smooth

Smoothie104

It's not the high price of equipment, its the high level of suffering that determines one's ability to be a pro.


Also, this rich white yuppie phenomenon of cycling in the US is not how the pro peleton was or is made. European Pro cyclists are a lot like other pro athletes in this country. Leaving school early to make money to support the family. Not the most intellectual sorts, although there will always be some, but they come from blue collar backgrounds, Some never finished highschool, their marketable skill is being able to endure extreme discomfrot for hours on end. It's no wonder the doping is an option.

Virenque said if he didn't make it as a pro, he would have to go back to being an electrician. In the off season, Indurain would work on his fathers farm. Even the early tour riders sought fame and fortune, and a way out of the mines and machine shops they worked in.

Jonathon Vaughters wrote a good article about the shock his U-23 riders face when they get to Europe, In the US, they are used to sunday afternoon crits, 45 minutes plus 3 laps during jazzfest or the seafood festival. The first race of the European Calender that TIAA hits is the Tour of Normandy, A week long stage race in the freezing rain. That seperates the men from the boys very quickly, and some realize that college in southern california might be a better path for them.

So yes, everyone around the world rides bikes, and some have the potential or desire to be a pro. But the history and culture of your region, and most importantly the toughness, or lack thereof, in your character are driving factors as well. The sport is a meatgrinder, remember that.

7rider

If you take a look at the history of the Boston Marathon, you can see that the first winners all came from blue collar backgrounds. The blue collar workers were the only ones with the physical toughness to withstand the rigors of the race. Not until the 60s and 70s did the Boston Marathon see more educated runners win the race. Then Yalie Frank Shorter won the 1972 Olympic marathon, and that let loose the floodgates of the yuppie running boom.

johnny99

Here is a story about the Asian-owned Astana team. They were wrongly kicked out of the Tour de France this year. The team has hired 3 more Asian riders, including their well known star, and will be racing in the HEW Cyclassics in Hamburg this weekend.

https://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/10606.0.html

smellygary

Easy to profile people and assume all black kids are in the inner city. They're all poor. They're only interested in basketball and rap. And no chance to go to school and grow to have a normal life, like yours.
Where ever you are from, stay there. The rest of us are trying to get away from attitudes like that.

miyata610

Koffee,

I don't think it's appropriate for a moderator that censors a thread to the point of deleting it (and then lies about moving it to foo), based only on nationality, to be discussing someones nationality on a road cycling forum.

SaintAndrew

dude everyone's talking about asian people like bruce lee with slanted eyes and yellow skin, not people who just happen to live in asia.

djtrackie

it's a white dominated sport, oppression.

What if there was a Kenyan cycling team?

classic1

Plenty of asians in the pro peleton then

classic1

Ekimov is from up near St Petersburg, up near the Finnish border

SeanKimStyle

I am Korean, Strong Body, good balance, and great endurance. I've only biked for 3 months with my moutain bike over 1100 miles, I can catch up with guys who has been riding long time with road bike on the hill with my no clip on pedals. I am either going to get Lemond Chambery 2006, or Trek 5200, tomorrow. I am going to train hard and hard, because right now biking is my passion. WE'll see how far i go with this biking.

Garfield Cat

A good question, maybe we should direct this question to Shimano.

Garfield Cat

Koreans are very competitive. Look at the short track speed skating and look at the world of women's golf. I wonder if a Tibetan would work well here, with their high altitude living, might be like Armstrong's ability with oxygen.

LoveSupreme

you should ask the guys at R&A who drops the cash money on the most expensive bikes. The best stocked bike shop in the NYC area. Service is another story. Where Brooklyn At?