Cycling has never been a sport favored by Black athletes. The lack of diversity at the elite end of the sport is something cycling’s authorities are aware of and are trying to address. However, despite the challenges, these six Black cyclists have made a name for themselves despite the racial challenges, and are doing all they can to make way for future Black cyclists.
Kévin Reza
French cyclist Kévin Reza has spent ten years in the pro peloton and is a true veteran of the sport. Reza was the only Black cyclist in the Tour de France in 2020. He got an early start riding a bike at four years old, thanks to his father, who’s also an avid cyclist. Reza attended the sports school Notre-Dame du Roc before joining the development cycling team Vendée U. In his ten years as a pro cyclist, Reza has competed in six Grand Tours, including 2020’s Tour de France.
Brooklyn Bell
Learning to mountain bike in her hometown of Bellingham, Washington, Brooklyn Bell is a Patagonia Mountain Bike Ambassador and has come to love the jumps and stunts of her local trails as a mountain biker. She’s also an artist and graphic design student. Bell has dedicated her career to celebrating diversity in the outdoors through her artistic practice. She has supported Bike Works in various ways, most recently by designing a beautiful t-shirt. She’s an artist for Brown Girls Climb, a rock-climbing community for women of color.
Teniel Campbell
Hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, Teniel Campbell is a racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI Women’s WorldTeam Team BikeExchange. In 2018, she won four medals at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games. That same year, the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland offered her a chance to live and train full-time on a fully paid scholarship at its headquarters. She won the overall title at the Tour de Belle Isle en Terra, and fifth at the Nokere Koerse. Campbell believes that the World Cycling Centre programme is helping to build diversity within professional cycling. “It’s the best way to diversify [pro cycling] and help people see different talents and to showcase that it’s not about color,” said Campbell in an interview.
Yohann Gène
Guadeloupian Yohann Gène was the first Black Cyclist ever in the Tour de France. He is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2005 and 2019. A professional racer since 2005, Gène moved to Europe at the age of 17 and soon after discovered the passion for the green open spaces where his bike could bring him. “When I ride, I see all kinds of landscapes. I feel free,” he said in an interview with TIME.
Laura Solís
Bronx-native Laura Solís was a recipient of the 2017 Women’s Bicycle Mechanic Scholarship from QBP. She is a freelance bike mechanic who lives in Portland, Oregon and works as neutral support for hire at events around the country. “Riding a bike requires a lot of self-reliance, which often times is not presented in the best manner in neighborhoods that may be lacking opportunity,” Solís said in an interview.
Daniel Teklehaimanot
In the 2015 Tour de France, the first African team to competed in the race, MTN Qhubeka. The team’s Eritrean rider, Daniel Teklehaimanot, made cycling history by becoming the first Black African to wear a leader’s jersey at a grand tour when he claimed the polka dot jersey for best climber in the sixth stage of the race. On the 2010–11 UCI Africa Tour, he won the Tour of Rwanda and the Kwita Izina Cycling Tour. He also participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics, being the first Eritrean competing in a sport other than athletics.
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Boitumelo Masihleho is a South African digital content creator. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Rhodes University in Journalism and Media Studies and Politics and International Studies.
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