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🇨🇳 With over 1.4 billion people, world-class roads, and a rich bicycle culture, why does China produce almost no professional road cyclists?
In this deep-dive episode of BIKEFLIX, we uncover the real reasons behind China’s absence from elite cycling — from government-controlled sports academies to medal-focused priorities, and the cultural barriers that keep Chinese riders out of the WorldTour.
Despite hosting major UCI-sanctioned events like the Tour of Guangxi and the Tour of Hainan — two of the most prominent road cycling races in Asia — China has yet to produce consistent contenders for the global peloton. These races bring international teams and top-tier competition to Chinese soil, but the impact on local rider development remains minimal. Why?
Featuring the story of Ji Cheng — the first Chinese cyclist to finish the Tour de France — this is a story about what’s missing, what’s changing, and what it would take for China to finally join the global peloton.
💬 What do you think? Will China ever produce a cycling legend?
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#ChinaCycling #JiCheng #giroditalia #TourDeFrance #TourofHainan #TourofGuangxi
china a country of 1.4 billion people a place
where bicycles once ruled the roads a nation with a growing obsession for global dominance in sports
So here’s the question Why has China with its enormous population and cycling culture produced
almost no professional road cyclists in the world of elite cycling the Grand Tours the monuments
the world tour stage China is barely a whisper But the answer isn’t simple It’s a tale of missed
opportunities cultural divides and a sport system designed for something else entirely This is
the untold truth about why China produces so few pro- cyclists In the 1980s China was known
as the kingdom of bicycles Millions rode to work Bicycles were everywhere Not a hobby not a
sport but a way of life Owning a bicycle was a symbol of status independence and mobility By 1986
there were over 500 million bicycles in China But here’s the twist That deeprooted cycling culture
never translated into professional sports While countries like France and Italy were building
cycling dynasties China was riding for survival And when sports became a national priority China
didn’t turn to the road It turned to the podium medals golds national pride That was the game
Road cycling too long too unpredictable too European And in a nation where performance is
engineered not discovered road cycling just didn’t fit To understand China’s absence in pro
cycling you first need to understand how China creates athletes From the age of six or seven
children are selected based on physical potential flexibility speed endurance They’re sent to
government-runmies Their job train win repeat But here’s the thing The state focuses on sports that
maximize medals per investment One gold medal in gymnastics possible with one athlete one gold in
diving same In contrast road cycling is expensive unpredictable and often yields no medals A team
of nine might produce a single result and even that is never guaranteed Why fund nine cyclists to
maybe get one gold when you can fund four divers and win six that’s why track cycling does exist
in China and thrives China has Olympic medals in sprint track events short measurable and coachable
But road cycling that’s chaos tactics endurance a team sport played across mountains and continents
and that doesn’t sit well with China’s centralized model of control Quick pause If you’re enjoying
this story please consider liking the video and subscribing to the channel This really helps
us grow especially because we’re still a small channel trying to share big stories At the creator
behind Bike Flicks puts a lot of love into these videos and your support makes a real difference
Let’s keep riding In 2014 a Chinese rider made history His name was Gi Cheng The first Chinese
cyclist to race and finish the Tour to France Nicknamed the breakaway killer Gi wasn’t a
contender for stage wins He rode in service of the team pulling breakaways back setting tempo
doing the hard work He didn’t win He didn’t need to He proved it was possible But after Gi retired
the momentum evaporated There were no systems in place to nurture the next Gi Chung No Chinese
World Tour team no domestic league feeding talent into Europe no media coverage no sponsors And the
truth is European cycling is still a closed circle It’s hard to break in from the outside Young
Chinese riders face massive barriers Language distance diet training philosophy And without a
European development team backing them you don’t just need talent You need a miracle But it’s not
like China lacks talent In fact the country excels at endurance-based sports So where do those
athletes go to events China cares about They go to Olympic marathons to swimming to triathlon
or more often to track cycling where sprint and kilo events are predictable medalheavy
and centrally coached In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics China won gold in the women’s team
sprint That’s the kind of success the system rewards But here’s the thing Even within cycling
the road is considered a detour not a destination Without role models without races without a system
passion fizzles and potential goes nowhere There are signs of change Cycling is booming again in
China but this time as a sport Cities like Changdu Hang Joe and Shenzhen are building bike friendly
infrastructure Amateur racing is on the rise and social media has created a new wave of cycling
influencers Online platforms are filled with gear reviews local route guides and performance tips
all in Mandarin The Tour of Guangshi a UCI World Tour event is helping bridge domestic cycling
with the international calendar There’s even talk of Chinesebacked development teams emerging
aimed at creating a pipeline to the pros But it’s early and the mountain is steep Until China sees
road cycling not as a western distraction but as a legitimate path to sporting prestige Its role
in the global pelaton may remain marginal Cycling is about more than speed It’s about resilience
adaptation and belief China has the numbers It has the infrastructure It even has the roads
What it needs now is vision A vision that says we don’t just want medals We want stories We want
to climb the Alps and belong there because maybe just maybe the next Gi Cheng is already riding We
just haven’t seen him yet If this story moved you if you learned something new help us share
it Leave a comment below Do you think China will ever become a cycling powerhouse and don’t
forget to like and subscribe You’ll be the reason Bike Flick keeps telling stories the big networks
ignore Until next time keep writing keep wondering
33 Comments
a western distraction? its been quite popular for many many decades. I wouldn't call that a distraction.
"It's a Communist Country…that's why ! Their ideology makes its own people INFERIOR ! "
Drug user are imprison in China. Other countries only fine their riders. That's why.
Chinese metabolism is higher, they literally starve if they didn't eat or 4-6 hours. Low metabolism is what favors endurance sports.
Genetics
Huh? They produce alot of pro cycles they are just been not invited
Cyclists doesn't compete among themselves. Simple reason.
Tell you what, if the top Chinese leader loves cycling, China will take over all the cycling scenes. 😂 Just don't remind anyone, because in that case cycling will not be fun any more!
China is also by far the world leader in cycling manufacturing – so much potential for sponsorship!!
China will be a pro cyclist country but Japan won’t.
As highlighted in the video, bikes are seen in China as a commodity used to commute, transport goods, etc. Specially at the times when cars, motorcycles, and now electric motorcycles were a luxury item. Now they are not, specially electric motorbikes. The commodity status sees regular bikes as a thing for "poor" people who can't afford something else. Bike maintenance is also not regarded: use it rusted until it breaks, and don't even care about tyre pressure. And of course, buy cheap bikes, at most pay $50 for it. Spending $500 on a bike, let alone $900 or $3000? You gotta be crazy. Unless that is changing now.
You got no clue
They were all hit by cars or e-bikes.
Cycling as a sport is relatively new in China. Most people there can't afford a good bike. For them an expensive bike is around $500. As biking becomes more popular there the talent pool will also increase.
Its almost the same in southeast asia especially in the phillipines it saddens me to know that its almost impossible for us filipinos to go pro due to us being known for basketball and not cycling. We cant even go pro internationally in basketball bcs of our hieght. Cycling is mostly likely our only chance since in the past filipinos used to dominate cycling races not just in "sea" but aldo in asia.
Yup…. just like asking the whole Africa and America continent to produce a table tennis champion.
They won by making all of the bicycles sold throughout the world.
Because most of theme are focusing in KARATE
If you look at Zwift, all the chinese are cycling with 5,4 W/kg for 2 or 3 hours, so there should be enough pro's in reality.
Obviously the content creator made assumption that china is "medal-heavy" when it comes to investment in sports. But that is over generalised. The pro racing cycling culture isn't there yet. It goes the same as Football/Soccer. For many years China did not invest in it. They have 1b population then and could not produce world class soccer players like the Japanese or S-Koreans. I think it will take time for them to find the rhythm of this kind of sports and naturally when it become highly watched by chinese viewers, the sponsors will appear. It's basically business reasons rather than purely medal-heavy condition. As the world top bicycle producing country, I think they have great advantage of using this resource but to get there, it will take time. It's more true that it's a largely European driven sports. Look at Africa… they produce the world longest endurance marathon runners and yet they have limited exposure in European cycling although we can say that Girmay has made Africa proud. But that's only 1 cyclist out of so many Africans.
I have a friend who races for Pardus (a Chinese OEM company who specializes in high-end racing bikes), another professional Chinese Team based in Liaoning Province.
WHEN, not IF the CCP starts a stately funded national cycling training and education program to get Chinese athletes in the top of the pro cycling circus they will! Its just a matter of time. You can clearly see it in athletics/ track & field and in swimming today! Only 20 years ago there where not many Chinese top performing athletes at these events, but now they are dominating in some parts. That is due to programs directly focused on to get Chinese on top of podium, this is also called sports-washing!
well first of you internatiol companies usually don't look at China when it comes to cycling..Just like the minute people say run, you thing about African or American…but same goes about swimming in USA…why not many blacks…well there is history and also discrimination..but things are getting better..just like gymnastics..you have the fab 5 and American has had 2 dominant gymnast…give time and oppurnity..and china on its own have to start a cycling program…a proper one.
China is communist. They don't have professionals. Everyone is proletariat.
We can ask why other countries can't produce any good athletes in badminton and ping pong also. 😂
Cycling is a passion sport. Many riders but ONLY one winner. It's hard to train a passion sport athlete in the Chinese system.
I've been a cyclist since the late 1980s and I can count on less than one hand the number of notable pro cyclists the USA has produced since then. 😒
Makes Since
China may have athlete farms to get the best talent out on the field during competition, but most places don't do this and still end up with winners…so it's not explaining anything. This a chatgpt script? lol
Because they’re sick men of Asian?!
You will see them coming, I m sure.
how many korean or japanese riders are in the european peloton? at the pro level, it just doesnt seem to favor asians.
China cycling team are fearsome in Tour of Thailand