Inclusion, a work not yet in progress
Every year an uncountable amount of riders have to leave the sport, sometimes even before they couldn't show their full potential. A big group of riders doesn't get a chance to compete in the sport on an international level, another group who could jump over that bar already has to drop out after only a few years despite performing better then others who can stay sometimes for about 10 years longer in the sport. What are the causes of these events and what are the solutions? Through this article we run through the issues that many cyclists are facing and which factors have an impact on the possibilities of a rider's carreer.
Practical obstacles
The first hinderniss for many riders who want to race at the global level is to actually get there. We all remember the story of 4 Eritrean cyclists who were denied a visa because they wanted to race at the Worldchampionships at Scotland. If even for the Worldchampionships riders don't get a visa to do their job, then I don't have to explain you further, how hard it is for other races. This issue is not only limited to Eritreans. Many riders from former Soviet countries face the same issue. Same for many other nations in Africa and South America. As long as we can't get riders from all over the world to competitive races, who are often in Europe, a lot of riders will miss out to reach the top level. Most European nations have an open door policy towards illegal migration, so allowing people to come to do their job as an athlete should be possible too. That would offer more possibilities for people with good aims.
Passport matters more then results
Every year we see riders with decent results in pro races who don't get a contract anymore for the season after and often have to drop back to the continental level, club level or even have to retire. Very often, these riders are coming from countries where there is no professional team. A famous example is Mihkel Raïm. The Estonian rider won UCI races for 5 years in a row, but had to drop back from the World Tour level to the continental level because he couldn't find a team anymore while other riders who never won anything could keep competing in the biggest races. A lack of a big team at home had very likely an impact. Would a French, Italian or Belgian rider with same results have the same outcome? In the 2010s, teams from Central & Eastern Europe were common in cycling, but they disapearred over the years. The result is that we see a big drop of Central & Eastern European riders who can live from the sport. They have no environment anymore where they can develop for years like riders from the more traditional cycling countries can do. They instantly have to be exceptional like Pogacar or Sagan. Would Hungarian rider Atilla Valter still be a pro today if he didn't receive a chance at CCC? Fortunatly many Polish women have an opportunity to develop for years at the Mat Atom team. Would strong pros like Agnieszka Skalniak & Dominika Wlodarczyk have been able to make the step up to the World Tour if they didn't receive a chance to develop in these years before?
Clicks & connections
Sometimes when you struggle through cyclists profiles you can spot riders who didn't finish half of their races but they already proudly announced their contract for next season on their pretty social media pages. Then you see riders with decent results, but with way less following who have to beg on their social media to receive a new contract. If social media popularity (often based more on looks or personality) matters more to get a chance in a pro team then sportive results, then the sports is not inclusive towards a big group of talented cyclists who drop out of the sport early. There have been riders in the peloton who were more in the newspapers with their pretty social media posts, then with their race results. Riders should be based on their legs, not on their pretty faces, also by sponsors or sports directors.
Lack of vision
The international cycling federation (UCI) sees the globalization of the sport as key priority for a few decades already. But for that they often set the wrong priorities. Instead of looking towards countries with a potential amount of talented cyclists like Colombia, the USA, Canada or Rwanda, they prefer to put their eyes on countries like China or the UAE where there is barely potential. The thousands of potential cyclists in Colombia almost never have a chance to see their idols in real life. That makes that people can be feeling left out from the global stage and and lose interest in the sport or choose for another sport. Should we really prioritize countries who barely deliverd competitive cyclists over nations where enthusiasm for the sport already has showed so much potential despite almost no efforts by the established cycling world?
The financial barrier
In Belgium, France, Italy even junior riders often have bikes that costs multiple thousands euros. A price that is already high for many Europeans, even more for many Africans. While Europe has many countries with a big domestic high level calendar, Africa has only a few races of an international competitive level. This means that African cyclists have to make a lot of travel costs with a small financial reward. Traveling to Europe to race in even bigger races is almost completely a science-fiction for many of them. As long as there isn't more investment in African cycling, many talent will never be able to show their potential. The UCI could at least try to negotiate investment plans with African governments & private companies where the sport is popular. Every African cyclist or race organization that we can keep or bring in the sport will have a positive impact on African cycling. Same for other countries in the global south where cycling is popular.
Cultural issues
Getting girls into sports remains still a big challenge in certain countries. In countries with low women's rights we often see a lack of girls in sports in general. But still in Europe we also see mixed results of girls into sports. Belgium is a dominant country in men's cycling for decades, but they could only win 1 world title in the women's category in the last 50 years and only 2 riders could win a monument in cycling since they came on the calendar in the early 2000s. The question is why such a cycling passionated cycling country could only deliver few women who could win a World Cup or World Tour race? On the other hand we see hopeful signs in Uzbekistan. Tashkent City Team will be the first female country from a Central Asian Muslim majority country that will take part in the Tour de France. It shows that steps can be taken with good will and in countries where there is already some amount of cycling or sports culture. It's important already at a young age to girls that sports are not only something for boys, but girls can also shine in it. Countries who struggle with this can implement this mentality more at schools and make local sports clubs more welcoming to girls.
Presentation
Another way to reach audiences who are coming from a traditional cycling environment is presentation. The Formula 1 used to be a quite conservative sport with a stiff social media posts, but since a few years the sport invested a lot more in their social media image with a growing popularity as a result. The social media pages of the UCI already became a little more visual appealing but I believe that still more could be done. More popular video footage in short & long forms, a look behind-the-scenes or a better showcase of data could bring more visibility and spark more interest by young people. The sport also can use new exciting unpredictable concepts like the mixed relays on the Worlds to attract more interest by potential new fans.
Conclusion
To make the sport more inclusive & global still a lot has to be done. There are multiple aspects and causes that lead that a lot of talent can't live from the sport, have to leave even before they come to their full potential or even doesn't find the sport between so many other exciting physical activities to practise. The issues often come from attitudes, financial situations or a lack of vision by others that often have an impact on young riders' chances in te sport. As long as these issues don't get solved, we will lose many talents in the sport and other athletes won't enter the sport as well. Nowadays, inclusivism is high on the list in many spaces, cycling shouldn't stay left behind and work on the problems that are around.
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