"in 2022 there are no black riders in the peloton" - Nicholas Dlamini on lack of diversity at Tour de France

Nicholas Dlamini is a prominent figure in the peloton, having been in the past and present a vocal voice on the subject of racism in the peloton - and unfortunately the victim of separate episodes aswell over the last decade.

"You know, it's actually quite a disturbing thing. It's the biggest event, the biggest cycling event in the world. And yet, in 2022 there are no black riders in the peloton. For me, it was really disturbing. And I really felt the need to speak about it. You know, just to get to hear what a lot of people actually think about it," Dlamini said. In a long Instagram post he has approached the subject.

“To be honest, last year, I really felt like there was progress with this. To see this year that there's actually no black riders again was really a disappointment and a huge step back, actually. You know, now going forward, what's going to be done about it?" Dlamini has lost his World Tour contract after the abrupt end of Team Qhubeka NextHash, but found a new home in the team's continental squad 'Team Qhubeka' where he has been racing a mostly Italian calendar in 2022 - most recently the Adriatica Ionica Race.

“We’ve seen great rides this year from former Team Qhubeka teammates in Natnael Tetsfatsion and Henok Mulubrhan amongst others..." he argumented.