Ciclismo aos olhos dos jornais: uma análise da prática do ciclismo na belle époque amazonense através de periódicos

Abstract

This research aims to analyze, through periodicals available in the online collection of the National Library, the process of the emergence and dissemination of cycling in Manaus, between 1892 and 1916, a period known as the Amazonian Belle Époque. The wealth derived from the rubber economy formed a bourgeois elite that sought means of social differentiation, and one of these means was the practice of sports, especially cycling, which was widespread in Europe and dominated the pages of newspapers. The research also sought to analyze the role of the press in the dissemination of cycling in Manaus, which had a significant impact with its publications, ranging from its health benefits to coverage of races, in addition to propagating the image of an ideal of modernity and civility for practitioners of this sport, always portraying them as "gentlemen" and "civilized". Another point analyzed was the strategies used by these elites for the practice of cycling, such as the creation of clubs and the construction of velodromes for holding bicycle races; however, the lack of consensus in the construction of these spaces, plus the emergence of other sports, caused cycling to lose space in the newspaper pages.