Giro d’Italia showed the video (sorry for the bad quality) of all countries that has won a Giro stage and it is really interesting to see the Southeast part of Europe is missing with not a single country from there. But why there are no good pro cyclists from there?
by skodawelovecycling
37 Comments
Lack of interest in the sport probably.
1. Weak cycling infrastructure and systems
2. Economic constraints
3. Limited race exposure
4. Sports culture priorities
You want the one century history or the 2 millenia history?
[deleted]
Don’t want to dive too deep into international politics but aren’t some of those countries technically quite young? At least in the modern way we think of them?
Everything they had went in to one rider! 🤣
I mean Croatia lost its only velodrome that was part of a sports stadium to make space for a new soccer stadium. While the city of Zagreb promised a replacement velodrome they have not done anything in that regard.. Though on a good note I see more and more road cyclist and more Gran fondos, XC races and other cycling events.
5 or 6 of those countries were Yugosvlavia until the early 90s, so perhaps that ‘reset’ the map in that region if that makes sense?
Short summary, maybe they were run-over during training. Due to lack of infrastructure or/and due to bad driving skills.
They’re busy swimming and playing water polo.
Busy committing genocide against literally their neighbors
On the other hand… [https://brilliantmaps.com/water-polo/](https://brilliantmaps.com/water-polo/)
Cycling is simply not one of the big sports of this region (unlike football, basketball, vaterpolo,…)…
It was tier 2 sport in Slovenia for long time too with skiing being number 1 but with climate change and some luck it quickly became the biggest one…
Doping is frowned upon there
Because they are too poor to afford expensive bikes needed for top tier competition.
Besides potentially the best cyclist of all time? And one of the best sprinters/classics riders of the last couple of decades? And another brilliant GC contender who just happens to crash a lot?
Ah! Well, I am from there so I could probab- *gets run over by a tractor*
Poor infrastructure, lack of support. Yet, there are some good cyclists:
https://mtbdata.com/riders/lejla-njemcevic
Edit: there are some improvements lately, new tracks, races, events…
There’s doctors that have developed doping techniques that pass the current tests and rider development system in that region not organized enough for doped riders to become a known obvious thing
As someone from Bosnia, the answer is just laziness. Cycling was always a method of transportation rather than a sport. I remember my grandpa telling me about riding 15 km one way on an old single speed with my grandma sitting on the luggage rack. After cars became more and more common in the late 70s/80s, and especially after the civil war with the influx of cheap crap from the west, cycling was, and continues to be seen negatively.
Of course it’s not super rare, but I swear 90% of the people I see on bikes these days are old people.
As others have said, there is basically no bike paths or infrastructure for bicycles. Never stopped me, but there is definitely a huge difference in places where there are proper bike paths. Like crossing from Bosanski Brod to Slavonski brod, it’s night and day with the amount of people riding bikes to shops or to work.
Because riding a bike there is suicide
Now now, did we forget the time Attila Valter (Hungary) held the maglia rosa for a few stages?
Stray dogs. stray dogs and drivers not giving a shit about you, unless you’re a luxury car driver.
You can take Slovenia off that map. Pogacar, Roglic, Mohoric, Mezgec, Tratnik, Novak are all in the peloton atm
You want the Aladdin news or the Aladdin news?
Slovenia and Croatia have good cyclists actually
Aside from the infrastructure and screen time comments, at least in Croatia cyclist are not only perceived as obnoxious, but when in the outfit for cycling, they’re perceived as gay. Even in a progressive Balkan nation like Croatia, even appearing gay is shameful for a big part of the population, if not the majority. If I shared how my mother talks about cyclists I would get banned, as Reddit is not a welcoming place for anti-gay stances.
We had to use bicycles as a real method of transportation, now we have cars, we will get bored of cars, the cycle continues.
1.9tdi still going strong
Boardman. Hoy. Froome. I think it’s since the name Chris went out of fashion.
all the cyclists keep running over landmines unfortunately
Also lots of mountains and narrow roads
Only water polo. No cycling.
I’m from that area, well, roads are fucked up, moneywise you can buy something stolen in EU here still for not very cheap, compared to EU/US used prices it’s at least x2. Sports wise it’s mostly football as I see.
And freaking hills and mountains all over the place.
My brother has been doing high performance cycling since he could barely pronounce its name, and he has won countless awards over the years. It is a very expensive sport, and in poor countries such as those in Eastern Europe, it is extremely difficult if there is no support from the state or the federation. My brother was fortunate because our family had a decent financial situation, but after a certain point, you get tired of depending on your parents or your team and struggling for nothing.
In most poor countries, you receive neither financial or moral support from anyone, especially if you are not lucky enough to have a family that supports you, which slowly demoralizes you over time. In some countries with different seasons, during winter you need training camps in warm places (such as Benidorm where there are hundreds cyclists every winter) in order to keep training and be prepared during the season. However, if you cannot afford it, you cant go to warmer places to stay in shape during the off-season and be ready once the racing season starts.
Another factor is people’s mentality. In most Eastern European countries, if you are not playing football, other sports are barely noticed. You basically have to win an Olympic medal or some major competition or race just to receive attention from television, the federation, or the state. I know many people and young athletes who gave up on sports because of the lack of support, people who truly had potential and wanted to perform in different sports, but did not have the necessary resources to continue. Meanwhile, the state seems more concerned with stealing than with helping young people or children who are ready to succeed.
Vatican pulling it’s weight.
Finland is also not producing pro cyclists.
They’re too busy playing basketball, tennis, and water polo.