“Representation matters”: America’s only black female pro cyclist calls out lack of diversity at Tour de France Femmes; Cyclist riding through Norway slams drivers for “near-death encounters”; AI cyclist Mercedes/Canyon nightmare + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"There are very real barriers": The only African American to have ever raced on cycling's World Tour discusses the lack of diversity in the Tour de France Femmes peloton
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Following a post from Tatum Brown on Instagram about this subject – that attracted both support and a number of racist comments – Ayesha McGowan has talked about her own experience at the Tour de France Femmes, and the lack of black women both in the race and spectating.
McGowan, known to be the first female African American cyclist to ride for a professional team on the women’s World Tour, said: “There is a lack of black women at this race.
“I’ve been [at the Tour de France Femmes] for the past few days, and I have seen less than 10 black people, let alone women, and I have known probably around half of those before I got here.
“It’s a problem, and that does not mean black people are not capable, are not qualified… or do not desire to be part of this space. It’s just a reminder that there are very real barriers.”
McGowan says the peloton at this year’s race looked “quite homogenous”, urging that a “deliberate effort” is needed to improve minority representation in professional cycling.
Reactions were mixed in the comments, with some arguing that black women do not gravitate towards the sport, while others pointed to a lack of safe streets to develop skills in the USA.
Tour de France Femmes attracted record 23 million viewers in host country according to French broadcaster
A less spicy Tour de France Femmes discussion point for you now, namely that the race attracted record viewers in France, commanding an audience share of just under a third of all French TV viewers.
Here are the key stats from broadcaster France Télévisions:
- 32.9% market share on average across all stages
- 2.6 million viewers on average
- 24.7% market share among 15-34 year olds
- 23.2 million French people watched at least one minute of the race
- Peak audience of 5.1 million views and a 41.5% audience share on Friday 7th August
- 35.8% market share for the final stage on Sunday 9th August
Maybe that’s enough evidence to suggest we’d like to see the whole race next year, if someone could put a word in to the organisers?
"The guy definitely saw me crash because of his driving and didn’t stop to see if I was ok": We hear first-hand from the ultra cyclist "driven off the road" in Norway
Cast your minds back to a few posts ago, and our adventurous cyclist commenting on some poor driving he has experienced while cycling around his adoptive country of Norway.
In the comments, one cyclist said her husband was driven off the road and had to be air-lifted to hospital while competing in an ultra event in Norway several days before – thankfully he’s now on the mend, albeit with several broken ribs, and was well enough to tell us a bit more about what happened.
Thijs de Blok, who calls himself ‘thekamikazecyclist‘ on Instagram (now rather ironic, he says), was competing in the VIA race, a 4,000km unsupported ultra taking in several European countries before finishing in Norway.
Thijs said of the incident: “The car didn’t physically hit me but I was left with no other options then to fold myself around the metal barriers on the side of the road. The one thing I am really angry about it that the guy definitely saw me crash because of his driving and didn’t stop to see if I was ok.”
He says race organisers contacted the authorities to report the driver but he is “not sure if it will do much”, and claimed that drivers in Sweden were far more patient.
Wise musings from the American Fietser
The visual definition of a “cyclist” completely changes the second you stop designing infrastructure exclusively for middle-aged men riding for sport.
— Fietser (@americanfietser.bsky.social) 11 August 2026 at 12:08
“In other words, build active infrastructure that doesn’t only enable those who are comfortable being uncomfortable. It must feel safe, efficient, and enjoyable to all ages and abilities”, he added.
"The world’s first workout car": Bizarre AI-hallucinated video of cyclist 'riding' a Mercedes via a Canyon road bike is fooling no one (we hope)
“Who needs fancy machines when you’ve got a little creativity? 😂 pic.twitter.com/NxG0ncsoLo
— George (@george_geX0) August 10, 2026
The bastion of truth that is X-formerly-Twitter has served up another silly serving of slop thanks to this absurd AI-generated car/bike contraption.
On what looks like a German autobahn, our AI cyclist can be seen pedalling his Mercedes from the right rear passenger seat. It’s difficult to know where the drivetrain starts and ends, as one part is spinning around the car’s wheel, and there’s also a whole other chain-driven contraption inside the vehicle.
If neither the possibility of a cyclist generating enough power to make a very heavy vehicle tank along at 80mph or the other car further ahead being driven down the central reservation didn’t give it away, helpfully X’s wise community has added a note under the video: “The cyclist appears inside the frame in some shots and outside the frame in others. The video appears to be AI-generated and should be labeled accordingly.”
Glad we’ve cleared that one up!
A good idea?
Driving an SUV in the UK should require a C1 category driving license.
Let’s see how certain Timothy and Gemima are that they need one to ferry their kids around Walthamstow then.
— John Bull (@garius.bsky.social) 11 August 2026 at 09:21
"Driver entitlement on full display here" Driver pulls into bus lane without checking... tells oncoming cyclist to get into the cycle lane
Contains 🤬. Driver entitlement on full display here. Illegally enters the bus lane without bothering to check if it was clear. Then had the cheek to gesture that I should have been using the cycle lane. pic.twitter.com/gHNKJDB3dy
— Cycling For Mind (@CyclingForMind) August 10, 2026
If you think the cyclist should have been in the cycle lane, does that mean it’s no longer illegal to pull into a bus lane?
Regardless, this cyclist is perfectly entitled to use the bus lane as he mentions under his post on X, claiming that the cycle lane to the left of it was “obstructed by a vehicle”. While riding along it, a van driver pulls out, nearly hitting the cyclist who managed to take evasive action.
It’s alleged the driver then gestured for the cyclist to get into the cycle lane, and plenty of people on the social media website formerly known as Twitter appear to agree, seemingly oblivious to the face that they are completely wrong.
Will the driver face action for the illegal manoeuvre? We’ve asked the rider behind the Cycling For Mind account for more info.
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@chrisonabike The only way the next iteration of beings will value the world is if that attitude improves your chances of mating. Ladies, I REALLY value the world we inhabit😊
Well now, let's not be hasty. We should get the views of a range of audiences first. For instance, how's it gone down with readers in the Surrey area?
I can't find these on Lezyne's site, not even in among the legacy/discontinued products.
"Confusing name - "Elite" and "Pro" not meaning top end" There is method to the madness. Challenge uses "Elite" to designate second-tier tyres with intermediate thread counts. "Elites" is also the top amateur rank recognised by a few continental European federations, I believe that's the inspiration for the name. Challenge uses "Pro" to designate tyres with open tubular construction. They lie above the vulcanised tyres, that Challenge calls "Race".
Suggest you pull this article, fix it, then bin it.
@ajd As well as confusing George Orwell with Orson Wells - clearly not proof read (at least, not by a different person)
@mdavidford One assumes it's referencing Nancy Mitford's famous "Noblesse Oblige" with its concept of U and non-U language, U being upper class and non-U the more flowery attempts to sound posh from the middle classes. I recall her decreeing that bicycle and bike were U and cycle was non-U, though she was of course a little early to rule on the difference between ATB and MTB.
On the subject of mountain biking, terrific rides by Tom Pidcock and Charlie Aldridge to take gold and silver in the UCI World Championships yesterday.
Most puzzlingly: Firstly for the closing off of parentheses twice, but also, who are these people "in the U"? Is this some kind of slang the kids are using that I'm not down with?
22 thoughts on ““Representation matters”: America’s only black female pro cyclist calls out lack of diversity at Tour de France Femmes; Cyclist riding through Norway slams drivers for “near-death encounters”; AI cyclist Mercedes/Canyon nightmare + more on the live blog”
Better still, make SUV drivers register an abnormal load every time they want to move the vehicle. 😁
“Driving an SUV in the UK should require a C1 category driving license.”
At the end of the day, this is all about safety/risk.
I agree with the idea and would welcome a view from the motor insurance industry.
If the risk andor claims costs of KSIs/property damage is much higher for drivers of larger vehicles, should those increased premiums/renewals be shared amongst only those drivers?
Or, as is currently, all drivers including those of us who only drive smaller vehicles?
As a cyclist on the road, I’m not paying “extra” insurance for damage caused by drivers.
As a driver, I am.
Insurance cost already does vary with vehicle and associated risk profile though.
@mdavidford
OK.
So maybe my question should be amended to: are those rates ring-fenced?
ie, I’m not paying a lot more for my insurance due to drivers of larger/more dangerous/more expensive vehicles andor the drivers with points.
Regarding the lack of diversity in the femmes, yes there should absolutely be equal opportunities for all regardless of ethnicity, but (as with all equality arguments) this should absolutely not be at the cost of ability and achievement. Having equal representation for all ethnicities is totally unfair for the riders who earn their place. Equal opportunity is not the same as equal representation.
Not sure why that’s a relevant question though – I as far as I can see, nobody has suggested any kind of ‘quota’ system – they’re simply talking about removing barriers so that those of equal ability have equal opportunity. Do that, and equal representation will more or less take care of itself anyway.
When was the last time did elite male and female marathon runners complain about the lack of diversity in their sport? Whoever pretends to become a pro cyclist must have power, endurance, stamina, self-confidence. And more. Race and faith don’t intefere with data and results. American wokeism is the last thing the women’s pro peloton needs at the moment. Instead, live broadcasting, TV rights and sponsors are most welcome.
@MaxiMinimalist Nobody complains about a lack of diversity in marathon running (if such exists, I don’t really follow athletics any more but there seem to be plenty of white runners whenever I see it) because equality of opportunity in the sport already exists and nobody objects if the best then get to the top. Road cycling in many regions is almost 100% white dominated and there are problems with a lack of encouragement for black youth to get involved in road racing at least (near me the excellent Peckham BMX club does sterling work getting black kids to try BMX racing on our Olympic-standard track, with the result that it’s hugely popular with that demographic and we are seeing black kids start to come through at national and international level). If equal opportunities existed and no black rider made it into the pro peleton then so be it, but until they do the complaints are justified. Your analogy rests on a false premise and is frankly rather stupid.
I think MM’s point is more fatally flawed than that – people *do* complain about inequality in running. There might be less inequality than in cycling, but there’s still an over-representation of white people and barriers to participation.
And how are those attracted/paid for? Through bigger audiences. There are 53 million black people in the USA, and around 1.2 billion in Africa. How much extra sponsorship and TV coverage do you think women’s racing might get if there were a few black US and African women competing? That’s not, in your idiotic phrase, “wokeism”, it’s good sound commercial common sense.
@lemonenema Good job that Ms.McGowan is not asking, as far as the evidence above goes, for any sort of quota system then, isn’t it? She’s talking about increasing the opportunities for black women to participate in the sport and removing any barriers that may exist to them reaching their greatest potential, not simply enforcing an X% black women representation regardless of ability.
And that’s very commendable, but it needs to be done right, not done for the sake of appearances. How do you ensure that potential barriers are removed and diversity is promoted without unfairly selecting specific ethnicities for the sake of inclusion?
@lemonenema You start at grassroots, reach out to every community and give them a chance to try the sport and go from there. You maybe encourage pro teams to think about trying out more young black athletes, they’re well known for taking youngsters from sports like rowing and cross-country ski-ing and turning them into cyclists, I’m sure with the natural advantages of Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes there are some young men and women in those nations who could be great climbers if encouraged to try. Nobody is saying just take the best twenty black women cyclists and dump them in the peleton. You seem to be concerned about the unfairness of something that nobody, as far as I can see, is actually proposing.
The short bio at the bottom of the blog reads : “Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master’s degree in print journalism, …” He now contributes to road.cc live blog where he demonstrates an inclination towards biased communication, pejorative language and emotionally loaded writing.
@MaxiMinimalist Would you care to give an example of any of those traits to which you claim Jack inclines, because I can’t see any of them on display here.
Perhaps they’re confusing the writer with a certain – ahem – new poster?
@chrisonabike I don’t know how they would get confused – one’s called Jack and one’s called Nigel.
@MaxiMinimalist Sorted 👍
Sounds like a recommendation to me – after all, who’d want their writing to be emotionally empty?
I worked in outside broadcast (mostly sport) for a quarter of a century, and although I didn’t astutely monitor the situation, one could easily notice the differences in diversity according to sport. Football – very diverse. Boxing, also diverse. Athletics also diverse – especially at international championships. Formula 1 – white. I also covered many ‘minor’ sports like basketball, hockey, swimming. Basket ball was diverse but the latter were white. I never worked at a single cycling event now that I think about it and one thing was certain, the TV crews were exclusively white.
Black women are not good enough to ride the women’s Tour de France, the same reason almost all white women are not good enough.
@kingleo OK…on the face of it you are saying that all black women share the same traits as all the white women who aren’t good enough to ride the Tour. I’m hoping that’s not what you’re saying, could you elucidate your meaning a little more?