BikerBruce:
You surely must know that in say Apartheid, it was whites & coloureds.
BikerBruce:lets be honest and non racist
dave clark is the best british coloured rider.
roman bhahiti is a ok us sprinter but theyre are very few decent coloured riders.....
Unlike in swimming where the two body types are quite different, I too think it’s mostly a cultural phenomenon.
Well, if you're well informed you shouldn't but let's face it, not everyone is. It's not usually intended to be derogatory.
Plus you're not very well informed. Black people weren't the same as "coloured" under apartheid.
http://worldnews.about.com/od/ad/g/apartheid.htm
And to go further still I was recently told by a black American colleague that "black" is sometimes considered offensive in the US and that "African American" should be used instead.
Ok, how about half caste..... 
That's just deliberately stirring on your part
It's impossible to argue with the statement that professional road cycling, as sanctioned by the UCI (and therefore including the TDF), is predominantly a white, European sport; sure it's not exclusively so but a cursory look at the typical nationalities of the peleton will show this to be more or less true.
Probably it's cultural more than anything else. I really don't buy the bio-mechanical/race correlation, as I can't imagine two more different body types that say an Ethiopian long distance runner and an Afro-Caribbean 100m sprinter.
Perhaps more importantly do we really care or is it really that important. I can see and agree with the strong arguments for diversity in many areas like government, positions of power and influence in large organisations etc, but not so much in sport.
I don't buy into diversity by design, best person for the job is what it should be. White people are not demanding proportional representation in the mens 100m final and can you imagine the outcry if they were....?
You could make a case that people of west African origin 'may' be suited to sprinting but for endurance cycling, endurance AND strength is required and whilst people of east African origin certainly possess the endurance required, their body type means that they are highly unlikely to possess the strength required.
Looking at how White people compete at the higher levels in athletic disciplines, you could quite easily argue a case that they strike a balance between the two and therefore could well be more suited to the demands of endurance cycling...
When are we gonna drop the race thing, it’s oh so boring. We all share the same planet and breathe the same (polluted) air! Let’s all just group hug and eat lentils together!!
But why should we have to, why can't we acknowledge that people and things are different and look at the reason why without it being controversial??
It is a ridiculous situation where just by talking about something like this it can suddenly be racist. It is pathetic. I, and many others like me, are interested why.
And let's be honest, the mens 100m final has dine more than anything else to highlight that there are indeed differences between people. It certainly isn't because White people don't train as hard why we'll never see another White 100m world record holder.
Is the TDF just a white man's sport?
The same could be asked of swimming, why are there so few world class, black swimmers?
The same could be asked of swimming, why are there so few world class, black swimmers?
What about this guy??? 
'Is the TDF just a white man's sport?'
Not at all. Lance has a 'man of colour' polish his Nike's for him.
On a more serious note, Keirin in Japan is as popular over there as Horse-racing is over here.
At the tour there have been a few Latin and South Americans over the years. I can't think of any Asians or Africans though.
Different people are good at different stuff!
i stand to be corrected here, but are Caribbean genes not more commonly suited to fast twitch events? (there was a documentary on TV by Ben Johnson exploring this a while back)
wait until the velodrome opens to the public in London and you'll see some FAST dark riders coming through
We need more rappers on fixies.
Rappers don't kill people, fixies do.
wait until the velodrome opens to the public in London and you'll see some FAST dark riders coming through
I'd like to think so but as I said above, Manchester Velodrome is right in the heart of a predominantly black community and I've seen no black lads riding there at all.
samuri writes:
errrm, there are two black riders in this years tour.Zakayo Ndbri and Mwangi Samwel as far as I know. Both Kenyan.
Dude, your googling skills need work.
D-
The two riders mentioned above. No, they're not riding in the Tour but there's an interesting article written last year which mentions them.
http://vannevar.blogspot.com/2009/07/major-taylor-tour-de-france-racism.html
about half way down the page.
and I've seen no black lads riding there at all.
Dude, your googling skills need work.
I think he mean 'seen' as in 'witnessed with my eyes unenhanced by the internet'...
Black men can't cycle (or swim...)
Bet Sir Chris Hoy wished that was true when Grégory Baugé knocked him out of the sprint at this years track champs..on his way to the gold - awesome rider..
as for the OP it is all cultural... nothing more.
simonfbarnes writes:
I think he mean 'seen' as in 'witnessed with my eyes unenhanced by the internet'...
And you get a D- for comprehension.
I do so tire of the racism card being played every time someone mentions race or colour. We've such paranoia instilled in us now that it makes it a bloody minefield, and causes more problems than it solves. when people use words like "black" and "coloured" because as they're trying to use politically correct terms and still get pulled up on it for being racist there's no hope. It's not like the OP was sitting there going "I love cycling, there's no bloody nig-nogs" now, is it? Funny how no-one ever objects to being called "white." Funny also how it's the caucasians taking offence on behalf of everyone else.
There's no racism in this file as far as I can see, but there's quite a few people who perhaps need to stop reading the Daily Mail.
Racism is a horrible thing. People have been persecuted, enslaved, raped, beaten and murdered over the years because of racism. Please have a long hard think before you start accusing people of being racist for pointing out that different people prefer different sports.
</soapbox>
crazy-legs writes:
The two riders mentioned above. No, they're not riding in the Tour but there's an interesting article written last year which mentions them.
The Count of Monte Cristo is riding in this year's Tour either, but there's an excellent novel by Alexandre Dumas that describes his vengeful adventures in 19th century France...
Can anybody else add to the list of people who aren't riding in this year's Tour de France?
Hey, I only made it clear that they weren't riding because someone earlier posted that they were. I was correcting erroneous information. You on the other hand are sounding like a prat...
And you get a D- for comprehension.
no, for speed reading actually 
You lot are funny sometimes. Only sometimes though.
It's not like the OP was sitting there going "I love cycling, there's no bloody nig-nogs" now, is it?
I think the OP could confirm that that would be startlingly unlikely not to mention being a self-contradicting statement...
Yes yes I can confirm, startlingly unlikely.
crazy-legs writes:
I was correcting erroneous information. You on the other hand are sounding like a prat...
I remember reading an article about one of the first black African pros to join a European Pro Tour Team, he was a lad from Kenya I think and rode for Barlow World.
Might be the same guy mentioned above.
As for le Tour being racist, WTF, other than Tiger and erm Tiger I can't think of any high level black golfers, anyone else? OK maybe not a good example as Golf isn't even a sport 
No black darts throwers either, or bowling (in a crown green/indoor style) all these racist sports, heavens above!!
I was thinking about this a while back - you really don't see many black or Asian people riding mountain bikes or indeed any kind of bikes in this country, full stop. Other than kids and the occasional commuter in London.
I accept that there might be a bike/walk = poor/lacking in status hangover from people's country of origin in the developing world, and that kids are likely to favour the cricket/football/athletics their parents encourage them towards, but surely this would apply more to older immigrants? We must be two or three generations down the line from that attitude, amongst people from the subcontinent or the West Indies, so why does cycling seem such a predominantly white pursuit?
Perhaps as white people just aren't cool, we think it's acceptable to go out for the day wearing tight multi-coloured lycra
But then again
It must be something else 
Silly thread.
P.S I'm friends and sometimes train with a top UK cyclist..who happens to be of mixed race.
steve_b77 writes:
I remember reading an article about one of the first black African pros to join a European Pro Tour Team, he was a lad from Kenya I think and rode for Barlow World.
You're not thinking of Chris Froome? Kenyan born and began his career racing as a Kenyan, he now has a British passport and racing license.
He's a paleface.
All this thread was missing was "Some of my best friends..." Bingo!
This topic has been closed to new replies.
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