The Politics of Sport - When The Medals Don't Matter

By Shane Thomas

British cycling has arguably been the country's biggest sporting success story in this generation. A glut of medals, a seemingly uninterrupted conveyor belt of elite level riders, and even having a considerable influence on wider British society - in fact, one could argue that it's one of the nation's biggest success stories - sporting, or otherwise (I said as much back in 2013).

The Politics of Sport - The Missing

By Shane Thomas

As the Tour de France rode to its conclusion at the Champs Elysee last Sunday, the twin headlines of Team Sky's moribund attempt to win a third successive tour, and Vincenzo Nibali finally achieving ultimate victory in France, dominated the world of cycling. But there was a subplot in the peleton that may have bypassed your attention - which is something of a metaphor for the problem at hand.