{"id":174910,"date":"2019-08-07T16:41:14","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T16:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=174910"},"modified":"2019-08-07T16:47:23","modified_gmt":"2019-08-07T16:47:23","slug":"major-taylor-usas-first-black-pro-cyclist-who-shattered-the-colour-barrier-for-others-to-follow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/08\/07\/major-taylor-usas-first-black-pro-cyclist-who-shattered-the-colour-barrier-for-others-to-follow\/","title":{"rendered":"Major Taylor: USA\u2019s First Black Pro Cyclist Who Shattered the Colour Barrier for Others to Follow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor was an American cyclist who turned professional in 1896 at the age of 18. He\u2019d move from city to city along the American East Coast, competing in track events including British formatted six-day races. He chewed up competition and within a couple of years of turning pro, Taylor was breaking world records, earning the nickname of Worcester Whirlwind. And he did all this in racially-segregated America.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Six-day races were popular events as the bikes at the turn of the 20th century would hit speeds of 40 miles per hour on the track \u2013 more than the cars of the day. The idea was to see how far you could race. You could take a rest whenever you wanted to \u2013 only to watch your competitors rack up miles.\u00a0 It was brutal enough without the segregationist racism. Remember, this was at the height of the \u201cJim Crow era\u201d and Taylor was born just 13 years after the passing of the thirteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States, which finally abolished slavery.<\/p>\n

Some cyclists refused to race him and Taylor is quoted as saying that he\u2019d been \u201cbumped, jostled, and elbowed until I was sorely tired\u201d. The \u201cn\u201d word was often used to intimidate and belittle Taylor.\u00a0 And Taylor responded by winning race after race and setting records that threw down the gauntlet to his racist detractors. In fact, his perseverance and excellent performance made him the first African American World Champion cyclist in 1899.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But in the above image, you see Major Taylor\u2019s support man was white. Tom Hay, a white man of Irish Quaker descent, gave Taylor free bikes as a teenager in exchange for Taylor performing stunts.<\/p>\n

The Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company saw Taylor\u2019s athletic potential and paid him to ride for them.<\/p>\n

When the League of American Wheelmen changed their rules to keep blacks out the sport, commercial sponsors were supporting Taylor\u2019s career. And this tradition has continued thanks to the likes of Specialized \u2013 and Justin Williams.<\/p>\n<\/lite-youtube>\n

Williams grew up dreaming of participating in Le Tour de France but his instinct to break the mould took him on a diversion. In 2018, Williams became the USA Cycling Amateur Road National Champion \u2013 astonishingly, he won without riding with a team. Williams now has sponsorship and he is clearly happy with Specialized.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UIB20zCwEd0&feature=youtu.be&t=194<\/p>\n

Ayesha McGowan, the first African-American female cyclist to go pro, pays tribute to Major Taylor in this video sponsored by a popular Cognac (drink responsibly folks\u2026) and maybe that\u2019s what\u2019s going to change the face of cycling. The sponsors funding the sports clearly see the benefits of a more diverse audience. And when black athletes compete \u2013 the victories speak for themselves.<\/p>\n<\/lite-youtube>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor was an American cyclist who turned professional in 1896 at the age of 18. He\u2019d move […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":174918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329,334],"tags":[3322,3321,3319,3320],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-174910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","category-socialising-and-culture","tag-ayesha-mcgowan","tag-justin-williams","tag-major-tayor","tag-tom-hay"],"yoast_head":"\nMajor Taylor: USA\u2019s First Black Pro Cyclist Who Shattered the Colour Barrier for Others to Follow - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor was an American cyclist who turned professional in 1896 at the age of 18. 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