Pro-cycling thread

I don't think the French cycling public are any less socially enlightened than London's.

Seriously? Traditionally French cycling supporters have been working class but even though that may not be true any longer a lot of them are from smaller towns etc. So I find that hard to believe.

Does working class tend to mean unenlightened?

What is it they say about smug metropolitan types again?

It's Britain (well, mostly England) that's agitating to leave the EU on the back of ridiculous xenophobia disguised as patriotism, not France.

The Moscon incidents and the other racist abuse faced by cyclists of colour

Has anyone mentioned the MTN Qhubeka rider who was called a fking n**r in 2015?

You don't even know his name you massive racist.

It's France that's burning refugee camps.
Edit: we can point to deplorable behaviours in all populations.

That was a Belarusian rider I seem to remember. Samoliau.

The refugee camps full of people that are entitle to asylum in France but want to come to the UK and we won't let them?

Also, our solution to this was to give France money to build a wall around Calais.

None of this means Bouhanni isn't an arsehole.

I don't know but they were statistically more likely to vote for both Trump and Brexit so draw your own conclusions...

Of the back of venal public schoolboys working in the media and manipulating the information they're transmitting to the public? You're not making a very good case there, sorry.

Hah. I didn't think the person responsible had been named but could have missed it.

I'm not making a case, just stating a fact.

I'm not exactly a fan of Brexit-causing venal public schoolboys either.

You're stating a fact? What use is that fact isolated from any context? It's useful if you want to present a very misleading portrayal of working class people. Maybe if there wasn't such racism and xenophobia fed to them by their benevolent and better educated masters in the press they would be more open to immigrants? We'll never know...

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/jul/10/racism-claim-uci-tour-of-austria-natnael-berhane

Happily it seems it was stamped on immediately, supported by the UCI.

I kind of feel like this implies that I want to present a very misleading portrayal of working class people but having re-read it you never actually said that.

I would just like to say for the record that I come from two working class families, some of my best friends are working class etc.

Good.

You said French cycling fans are more working class and from small towns.

That these people are more likely to vote Trump and Brexit and to 'draw your own conclusions'. You're implying they're more likely to be racist, no?

To compare French working class people-or French media-to either the UK or America's right wing rabies-fest is already abusing reality but to ignore the context in which working class people are encouraged to be racist by the supposedly more liberal types that work in the media is also pretty self-serving.

You'll be claiming you're gay next.

Come on... we all know you're locked in an ivory tower being spoon fed by mimsy and grabbing the nannie's arse.

No I said traditionally they were more working class then Thommm said are working class people unenlightened and I actually said I don't know but a lot of them voted for Trump and Brexit.

Draw your own conclusions meant exactly that - I'm not going to because I know sweet Fanny Adams about the French working class!

I very much agree that both working class Trump supporters and Brexit supporters were sold a pup by people who manipulated them into voting for their cause/leader because they were promised change/hope/something better than their current situation.

I'm actually at an international journalism festival in Umbria at the moment which is probably even worse.

Ok, back to discussion of pro cycling?

That sounds like a fucking blag for a free wine tasting holiday if ever there was one.

Make yourself useful round up some plebs and browbeat them into telling you their opinions on Gianni Moscon's racist outburst, and report back with 1500 words by 10am tomorrow.

On what basis does he not have the right to ride it?

What’s put you in such a nasty mood mate?

Only moral ground.

The flip is that because it’s public now, any race he attends is a media circus. With no one caring about the racing, just Froome and the debate.