any ‘accessibility issues’ are an illusion.
But they’re not. Compare cycle sport to athletics. Whilst cycling is undoubtedly more expensive, pursuing athletics as a sport is still relatively quite costly, yet there is far more representative participation in the clubs.
Cycling used to be a very working class activity, but it’s recently become “the new golf” so it doesn’t seem that way.
The growth of the MAMIL-influence in road cycling, and the stormtrooper long travel gnarpoonists in MTB haven’t helped either, as it’s seen more and more that to just go out and ride a bike, you have to have all the right gear. Just pootling along the lanes of a weekend? Well, you’ll be needing some crabon fribe and Assos before you’re even out of the shed.
Yes, marketing does seem to have a large part to play in this. And the marketing doesn’t seem to be particularly aimed at women and young people either. A visit to a bike shop is interesting; the vast majority of customers are white men, and even in ethnically diverse areas, it’s vary rare to see non-white staff working there. And often, the ‘womens’ section is almost an afterthought, a grudging admission that they’d better provide ‘something for the ladies’. Yet go to a sports shop selling athletics gear, and the clothing sections are far more equally provided.
who won the tdf this year?
A white man from a wealthy family who’s been afforded the best in equipment and training facilities.
