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Your vote needed (again): TalkSport asks, 'Is cycling a sport?'Mark Cavendish pre TDF press conference 2011.jpg

Your vote needed (again): TalkSport asks, 'Is cycling a sport?'

Meanwhile, Giles Coren stirs up minor Twitterstorm with 'never heard of him' Cav tweet...
by Simon_MacMichael
Fri, Dec 23, 2011 15:58
37

While many in the cycling world and beyond have applauded Mark Cavendish for his winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2011 yesterday evening, the world champion winning as many votes as the other nine sportsmen on the short list put together, he - and cycling - appear to have some way to go before enjoying the embrace of the full British public. 

A poll currently running on the TalkSport website asks whether former Ipswich Town and Scotland footballer Alan Brazil, who now presents the radio station’s breakfast show, is “correct in believing that cycling is not a sport?”

The poll currently shows that three in four of those voting disagree with Brazil, who also played for clubs including Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and, er, Wollongong City during his career.

Meanwhile, Giles Coren (who he? – ed) tweeted shortly after Cavendish had been revealed as the winner: “I have literally never heard of Mark Cavendish.”

There’s nothing particularly wrong with that – many pointed out that it’s unlikely that Cavendish would have heard of the food critic, TV presenter and novelist either, and to be fair, saying you haven’t heard of someone isn’t necessarily a judgment on them or what they happen to do for a living.

He did, however, manage to push some buttons in his subsequent tweets. One of the more publishable one to the cycling fans taken him to task was, “Woooooooooo. This is hilarious. I haven't seen so many cyclists in such a piss outside of one of those stop the traffic demos.”

Mind you, even we managed a chuckle when after saying, “it seems he won the tour de France. Who knew?” his next tweet exclaimed, “What? He didn't even win it? Then how the f*** on earth could anyone be expected to know who he is? I mean, I didn't win it either.”

We’re picturing rueful nods of agreement from any among you who’ve tried to explain to non-cyclists how the jerseys at the Tour work, only to be met by a blank look of non-comprehension.

Coren himself is no stranger to the bike, however. In a restaurant review published in The Times earlier this year, he describes how he undertook “six years of cycling during my embarrassing ‘green’ period.”

Mark Cavendish
BBC SPOTY
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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37 comments

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Mr_eL_Bee replied to Simon_MacMichael | 13 years ago
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Simon_MacMichael wrote:

I love the story of the rather posh prospective student at an Oxford college who was asked whether he took part in any "sport".

He enthusiastically outlined his lifelong love of hunting, shooting and fishing.

One of the academics interviewing him said they were thinking rather of pursuits such as rugby or cricket.

"Oh," he replied. "You mean games?"

Wasn't "Game" the stuff he shot, tore to pieces with dogs and hooked.......
3

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scotter replied to Simon_MacMichael | 13 years ago
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Simon_MacMichael wrote:

I love the story of the rather posh prospective student at an Oxford college who was asked whether he took part in any "sport".

He enthusiastically outlined his lifelong love of hunting, shooting and fishing.

One of the academics interviewing him said they were thinking rather of pursuits such as rugby or cricket.

"Oh," he replied. "You mean games?"

Love it!
Any chance of finding out who/when/where?

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Simon_MacMichael replied to scotter | 13 years ago
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scotter wrote:

Love it!
Any chance of finding out who/when/where?

No idea I'm afraid, details have been lost in the retelling.

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WolfieSmith | 13 years ago
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Forgive Coren. He knows not what he says.

I am exasperated with the continued ignoring of cycling (and women's sport) by much of the press. I had a twitter exchange last week with the Guardian sports desk who pleaded that they had talked a lot about Cav this year and then said they were doing all they could when I asked them why they couldn't at least cover the TDF more thoroughly in July instead of page after page of cricket, racing and off season footie and rugby speculation?

It's a easy sport to criticise as the drug scandal chugs on. Any discussion of the performance drugs in swimming and athletics is shot down and any suggestion of performance drugs in football is met with derision even though if I was looking for steroid and HGH abuse in sport the Premiership U21's is the first place I'd go looking
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The real problem with cycling as a mass interest sport is that for men it means watching men wearing lycra (which just isn't manly) let alone donning it - and for women it isn't easy to pee at the side of the road so women are few and far between on sportives.

On the plus side there are so many new fans of the TDF every year and the other grand tours and classics are beginning to gain attention as well. So many of my friends who don't cycle were suddenly watching the Tour this year - many of them women. The sheer majesty of seeing Europe from the air on the grand tours is pulling more and more people into Eurosport and ITV4 -if only to look for holiday destinations - but more and more of them are starting to understand the team systems and the fantastic ways in which each day's racing can play out.

The other plus is there are, I suspect, just as many dads taking up sportives as golf now as health is on the agenda like never before and a bike is a damn sight more beautiful and satisfying than a set of clubs.

It is still going to be a while before you regularly hear 2 armchair cyclists in the pub who haven't pedalled since they were 10 years old sagely discussing the respective merits of Saxobank v Rabobank but I think it's getting better!

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PeteH replied to WolfieSmith | 13 years ago
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MercuryOne wrote:

I am exasperated with the continued ignoring of cycling (and women's sport) by much of the press.

Yeah, but this'll change, give it time. Just think how many more people you see on the road now than ten years ago. Just think how ten years ago the only cycling we saw on tv was the TdF, now we can get most of the classics and all the grand tours.

You never know there may come a day when cycling is considered a mainstream sport as it is on the continent.

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Matt_S replied to WolfieSmith | 13 years ago
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Who are these people. I honestly had no idea who either of them were and I've been sport mad since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. (apart from football, which as far as I can tell, is just a way for oligarchs to flash some cash on racists and people who need some arse hair transplanted on to their heads. *shrug*)

MercuryOne wrote:

I am exasperated with the continued ignoring of cycling (and women's sport) by much of the press.

On a magnitude of achievements basis, (and even given the amazing year that British sportsmen had),Nicole Cooke should at least been in the SPOTY top 3 in 2008.

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PeteH | 13 years ago
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Alan Brazil....now there's a name from the past. Who was the guy who was his partner at Ipswich....was it Paul Mariner or was he earlier? Used to rate them...

You quite often hear the "Is xxxx really a sport?" question. In particular "sports" like darts, snooker and golf spring to mind. For me anything where you get hot and sweaty and burn lots of calories would quite happily tick my mental "sport" box. Except perhaps sex.

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