Cycling in South America, 1860-1920

Historians have tended to ignore the South American experience of cycling. The
continent’s diverse history of sports has effaced by a popular and academic focus
on soccer. The global history of cycling has therefore omitted South America from
its analysis, perpetuating mistaken assumptions about the continent’s absence
from technological and social innovation. This article analyses the sources
located across the continent to demonstrate that cyclists raced, toured, and did
acrobatics, often watched by thousands of spectators, attracting the attention
of chroniclers and the media. The physical sensations of travelling through the
environment on a pedal-powered machine were new and unexpected. With its
focus on cycling as sport, recreation and mode of transport, this article inserts
South American into the early global history of cycling.