Sport, Work and the Professional Cyclist in Belgium, 1907-40

Knuts, Stijn; Delheye, Pascal

doi:10.1093/hwj/dbu022

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…Despite considerable changes to the figuration of cycling over the course of the last 100 years, several characteristics pertaining to its structure have remained remarkably consistent -the social strata from which cyclists are drawn and the persistence of monetary and contractual insecurity. Cyclists have been, and continue to be, generally drawn from lower social class groupings -the working and lower middle classes (see Brewer, 2002;Foot, 2011;Knuts and Delheye, 2015;Thompson, 2008). My own analysis of the autobiographies would also confirm this.…”

Section: Habitus Suffering and Mutual Identificationmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Fortunately, several former cyclists have recently published accounts recalling their experiences of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s (see Bobet, 2008Bobet, [2004; Hewson, 2008). The autobiographies were further supplemented by historical monographs of professional cycling (see Foot, 2011;Knuts and Delheye, 2015;Ritchie, 2011;Thompson, 2008), newspaper accounts, cycling magazines and articles in online cycle sport news media.…”

Section: Research Methods and Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Civilising processes and doping in professional cycling

Connolly

2015

Current Sociology

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This article contends that professional cyclists have undergone civilising processes in relation to doping within the sport. Drawing on the theoretical approach of Elias, the author argues that over time stronger shame feelings in relation to doping became part of the social habitus of professional cyclists and doping became increasingly ‘pushed behind the scenes’. Yet, contradictions and reversals persisted in attitudes and behaviour. These fractures and discontinuities occurred due to several interconnected processes: the role of suffering within the sport and the nature of mutual identification that developed around it, the specific structure of the figuration of professional cycle sport, and the slowness of a comprehensive and effective monopoly apparatus over the control of doping to emerge and the perceived legitimacy of this. Combined these processes generated a social habitus in which doping only very slowly came to be perceived as shameful and which varied across space and time. Despite this a civilising advance is evident.

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Section: Habitus Suffering and Mutual Identificationmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Research Methods and Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%