It was sarcasm. He's making a joke about curling. (which I think is awesome)

Yeah, sorry I figured that out right after I posted that. Kind of had an a-ha moment there after the fact!

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Raf
http://www.shutuplegs.org

Anyone that wants to ride a bike in America... pretty much can do just that if they want to if they have the means to buy one. There are some outliers but cycling just isn't that big of a thing and definitely not a thing in urban neighborhoods. I grew up in those sorts of places and when we were a little better off I had a bmx type bike... but it was to ride to places like the baskeball court... team sports were king and who knew people raced on bikes? When I was younger we didn't even have a car and walked everywhere... good times.

The problem is class. It's an expensive sport. I can't see any proof that Cycling has discriminated against anyone. Are there minorities who have been told they are not allowed to race at certain events or made to feel unwelcome when joining a club? If so I am 100% willing to change my opinion. When discrimination doesn't affect you, you are less likely to be aware of it, so feel free to let me know if I am missing something.

I like I am sure most other people here want Cycling/Triathlon to have more Minorities (and Women for that matter) racing. The more it grows, the more races there are, the more Cycling infrastructure there is etc. There's no reason not to want to be as inclusive as possible, but just calling everything racist without backing it up with any meaningful proof, helps nobody.

I understand your post, but l was more posting the linked article, as the rider's perspective (and question) was interesting.

I don't think anyone is blaming today's white people for the sins of people hundreds of years ago.

More accurately, is that white people (at least those in the usa) are profoundly benefiting right now and today from the sins of people hundreds of years ago (and from the sins of people 50 years ago and 25 years ago and 5 years ago).

And THAT is the part that many white people completely fail to comprehend.

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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You're kidding, right?

Did you know that the League of American Wheelmen voted to ban black Americans from their ranks, and that this clause was only officially rescinded in the 1990s?

Read this:
https://ushistoryscene.com/...cle/early-bicycling/

Or, way better, read the fascinating and sobering book, "The World's Fastest Man" and discover that unfortunately racism and cycling have been intertwined since the very beginning.
https://www.npr.org/...e-worlds-fastest-man

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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I had no idea about this (I'm not American, so not sure if this is common knowledge or not in the US).

This makes the original article look pretty amateurish as it was about racism in Cycling, yet had no convincing evidence of this was given.

The article in the OP was simply a very brief interview with the first professional female black cyclist, nothing more than that.

But about racism and cycling, read and learn. Not everything that you will learn will be delightful, but knowledge is power.

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook
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Is Basketball or Football the Blackest sport on earth?

This is a ridiculous.

All of the different types of stores that sell bikes from local bike shops, walmart, play it again sports, goodwill are open to sell to all people. If folks are interested they will ride, if they are not they won’t. No store or race is closed to a particular group of people. If it seems to cost to much... save your money.

I would like a Ferrari and a private jet to fly to a private island I own, but it’s too expensive for me and my socioeconomic condition at this time... Maybe I should protest and complain its unfair and I should get these.

What about professional ping pong.. is that the most racially divided sport?

The article is titled 'Is Cycling the whitest sport on Earth', mentions how there are so few black pro cyclists, talks about BLM, the lack of black board members & how UCI didn't act quick enough to denounce racism, but the article is not about racism? With all of that mentioned I would think it's pretty important to talk about the history of racism in Cycling and why there are so few black riders.

Black players out number any other race in the NBA. We need to look a this lack of diversity in player race in the NBA.

The vast majority of the biggest contracts in the NBA go to Black players, this is unfair.
The biggest shoe contracts go to Black Players, this is unfair.
The Players make more than coaches.

We need more opportunity and for Hispanic players. This is a systemic issue of race favoritism. Something must be done!

Thanks. Actually more than I was expecting. Looks like UCI puts the number of American riders at 20 and directors at two (not a gotcha, just didn't know where to look before). That means the pro peloton is 3.7% American. Hard to argue that we get much say in the direction of the sport at the World Tour level.

The only reason I see that is because the article largely discussed the pro ranks. If we are discussing local riding, then it's a different discussion. Of course, I can't find enough local riders of any race so I'm desperate to get all I can riding so I have some company.

There it is.... I think that DarkSpeedWorks said it best:

However unironically we SHOULD be protesting against the top earners in this nation because they account for the vast majority of the wealth of the entire planet. The average wage or salary for people in the low and lower middle class have not grown proportional to the earnings of top companies. The rich get richer and pay off the government while we are "content" with whatever trickles down. To me the real issue is class, as it feeds the inequalities that we see with races here in the USA

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swim.bike.run.soccer

Come visit asia or africa and you will find that cycling is global and favors no race for transportation, exercise, sport, gambling, and fun. But bicycle racing historically started in Europe and that is where it remains most popular.

I'm a white guy living in Taiwan. I can assure you that cycling is not very white here.

Anwer to the question "Is Cycling the Whitest Sport on Earth?" is: Yes. Well, in places where mostly white people live. Like in europe where i live.

I imagine something similar for african and asian countries. Traveling in china i encountered the national chinese basketball team. They were all really tall chinese guys. Go figure :) I guess in the US where population is much more diverse this is different and more of an issue is made out of this. I can understand that.

What I do see here aswell is that people with a non-european background are more drawn to other sports. These are not nessecarily cheaper sports though, i think it might be more a culture thing.

What i don't get though is that people on here keep saying that cycling and triathlon are expensive. Is it really that expensive for you guys? In my tri club i train with people from all walks of life. My tri club subscription (12€/month) includes access to a running track and 3 pools, cycling and open water swimming and together with my license it's cheaper then the subscription to a gym (€45/month) that i had before. It's also cheaper then most team sports. And there are plenty reasonably priced new or used road bikes available.

Exactly, damn near every one in asia owns a bike and uses it daily for much more than sport. Bikes are critical means of transportation here and ebikes are trucks for the elderly. The idea that the major stage races are all in European mountainous countries says little about where the rubber actually meets the road in the cycling world.

If the track sprinters want to earn big money they go racing in Japan with the Asians.

.

Yep.same in Thailand..Here is an video from 2015 where the then Prince of Thailand (now King) leads 90,000 cyclists for a ride in Bangkok for the annual Bike for Dad Day. That day over half a million cyclists rode in different cities and towns to honour the King. One of the current Princesses is a cyclist and triathlete and is the Patron of the UCI Tour of Thailand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoVfdfoEqGE

The official music video for the Bike for Dad Day. Gotta love Thailand!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeQY8jVMRD4

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Here is the ad for the new Gran Fondo in Vietnam...Not much whiteness going on there either..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDnm-0kLdCI
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A history of the Malaysian National Cycling Federation..

"Cycling is now considered one of the core sports in Malaysia"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_dkVr3nuNY
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..and as the original article that started this thread was written by a woman of African heritage...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKmzGGZ5XE4


Now please someone tell me how cycling is the whitest sport on earth!

Seriously...this is what can be frustrating...it’s the broad painting with a brush that reeks of hypocrisy...

I am white, neither of my parents went to college. There was no land, real estate owned, passed down...no lessons of saving money, etc...my dad worked as much as possible growing up...took all the overtime he could get...just to give us a better opportunity than he had...I have done the same for my family...

Please give me some specifics of the profound benefits I received from the sins of whomever...

Sure.

Tell me more about you and your parents. What was their nationality(s), where were they from and where were your grandparents from? Where did you all live, what kind of housing and location? What did your parents and grandparents do for a living exactly? With no lessons passed on, were your parents really bad parents, or what are you implying with that? Anybody attend college? Where and what degree(s)? Where exactly do you live now? What is your job?

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Yup, lot of typical privileged tone deaf replies I would expect: “the ratio is such so leadership naturally follows”.

Here’s what you do:
- get diverse leadership
-allow that diverse leadership to drive the existing high school MTB programs into lower income neighborhood schools of color
-expand that program to maybe include road or cross
-get in talks with HBC’s to follow the leadership of St Augs in Raleigh

How pitiful that even after that announcement I only saw one or two local clubs post up info about that St Augs effort despite it being across the street. But the Lance 30:30 interview made the rounds!

Local clubs should have been reaching out for support! I’d love to invite that team to some of our team hammer rides or other rides. Expand community.

In the US, if you're not a white man or woman and have dark skin, most of us don't feel we have the same privileges on the road, and feel less safe than cycling in many other countries. I believe this keeps many minorities away from this sport even when we have economic access. Police likely won't be on our side for most things, so we literally have higher risk while out on the road which is worse than just being out jogging.

I shared a story about riding my race equipped Cervelo P3 with Bonetrager wheels in Walmer a township outside of Port Elizabeth South Africa. I felt completely safe, safer than many places in the US. My white South African friends thought I was crazy, but it was the opposite scenario going through Walmer in South Africa than a mainly white populated suburb in the US.

So its situational for sure and depends on where you are riding. If you are a white cyclist in India or Nigeria, you're going to stick out too the question is if your difference gets in the way or real or perceived safety doing the sport and that becoming a barrier to doing it.

Even when South Africa had apartheid there would of been white people who struggled. But it would still be absolutely true that white people had privilege. There will be more than one unfairness and inequality in a society and we should recognise and address them all. Talking about one doesn't mean we don't care about others.

The language is challenging but I'd urge anyone not to be defensive and to listen. The thing about privilege is that it may be something you take for granted when you have it.