The African Cyclist

Today I watched ESPN's half-hour recap of the ATP Indian Wells Tennis Tournament. One of the segments recounted the "Hit For Haiti" matches that raised US$1,000,000 and they nicely worked into the story, the views of a retired professional Haitian man who has several pro titles on his résumé. (I don't remember his name.) Then I began thinking of Arthur Ashe, which led me to thinking about Jo-Tsonga Wilfried, the Williams sisters, Monfils and Blake. It struck me that there are no current African professional cyclists on the world scene. I know about Major Taylor, who was a celebrity very early in the 1900s but I don't recall any black world champions since then.

You'd expect that since Africans naturally excel in track and field and marathons, they should do the same in cycling, since the skills needed are the same in both sports. Then I recalled something about Kenyans being exceptional athletes due in part to the altitude at which they live, which is similar to Colorado, and I know there's more about fitness and living in Colorado but my memory has only a vague outline about it.

So why aren't there black cyclists in the peloton at the major races?

Googling "black professional cyclists" turned up some very interesting info, articles, and a movie — The African Cyclist — which is still in production.

Here's what I learned.

Cycling is the most popular sport in the East African country of Eritrea which has a population of over 5.6 million. The Tour of Eritrea was first introduced 54 years ago by the Italian Eritrean community, who are descendants of Italian occupiers of the 19th century. The race was brought back in 2001 on the tenth anniversary of Eritrea's independence and today is recognized by the world governing body of cycling (the UCI).

Many marathon champions come from Kenya, another East African nation. And so do Zakayo Nderi and Samwel Mwangi, a shoe-shiner and a pedal taxi driver. They were brought to Europe to attempt a famous Tour de France climb in the L'Alpe d'Huez, which they did on the 14th August 2008. The record for cycling up this mountain is 39 minutes 41 seconds with the tenth-placed cyclist finishing in 42 minutes 8 seconds. The Kenyans, who have no racing experience or professional coaching, climbed it in 42 minutes 10 seconds. Seems like they have a place in the peloton.

One cycling site suggests a couple reasons for the absence of African teams in major races. One is that the government of some African nations restricts the athletes from participating in outside events and another is the high cost of the sport which requires several sponsors per team.

Nderi and Mwangi, the subjects of the movie The African Cyclist, are hoping to attract support and sponsorship to participate in the Tour de France. I hope they get it.