VN Podcast: How Black British cyclists were shut out of the Olympics
This week we hear from Dr. Marlon Moncrieffe of the University of Brighton, who has studied and written about the exclusion of Black cyclists during Great Britain's Olympic dominance.
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Our reporting on the intersection of race and cycling continues this week with a conversation with Dr. Marlon Moncrieffe, a professor at the University of Brighton in the UK.
A former elite track sprinter, Dr. Moncrieffe studies the history of minority ethnic groups in 20th century Britain. His 2018 book, Made in Britain: Uncovering the life-histories of Black-British Champions in Cycling explores the stories of Black British riders who were excluded from the country’s success at the Olympic games and abroad.
Dr. Moncrieffe explains how the success of British Cycling at the 2012 Olympics broadcast an extremely white vision of cycling to the country. Since there were no Black riders chosen for the team, cycling was therefore cast as a white-only sport, despite the fact that numerous minority riders compete at the elite level.
Dr. Moncrieffe explains how elite sport, media coverage, and brand messaging are all connected to the inclusion and exclusion of minorities in sport.
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