Kévin Reza (born 18 May 1988) is a French former professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...

, who last rode for

UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

. He was named in the start list for the

2015 Vuelta a España The 2015 Vuelta a España was a three-week Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tour cycling stage race, cycling race. The race was the 70th edition of the Vuelta a España and took place principally in Spain, although two race stage, stages took place ...

Early life

Reza was born in May 1988 on the outskirts of Paris. His family originate from

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

Career

Reza signed his first professional contract in 2011 for French cycling team . In 2013 he took part in his first Grand Tour, the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

, finishing in 134th position overall. In 2015, Reza signed for French team . Whilst at FDJ, during the

2017 Tour de Romandie The 2017 Tour de Romandie was a road cycling stage race that took place between 25 and 30 April in Romandie, Switzerland. It was the 71st edition of the Tour de Romandie and the nineteenth event of the 2017 UCI World Tour. The race was won on t ...

, Reza was a victim of racial abuse from rider

Gianni Moscon Gianni Moscon (born 20 April 1994) is an Italian professional cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the road race. Early life and career Moscon grew up in the apple farms north of Trento in Trentino ...

. Moscon was subsequently suspended from racing with Team Sky for six weeks. In August 2017, Reza was named as one of fifteen riders joining new French cycling outfit . In June 2021, Reza announced that he would be retiring from cycling at the end of the season.

Activism and advocacy

At the

2020 Tour de France The 2020 Tour de France was the 107th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. Originally scheduled to start on 27 June 2020, it was postponed until 29 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The race began ...

, Reza was involved in a small gesture of solidarity with the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement. As the only black rider in the race, he rode at the front of the peloton on the final day of racing.

Major results

;2007 : 3rd Madison, National Junior Track Championships ;2008 : 1st Stage 2 Vuelta Madrid Under-23 ;2009 : 2nd Overall Circuit du Mené : 3rd Les Boucles de la Loire : 8th Overall

Tour de Martinique The Tour de Martinique is a multi-day road cycling race held annually in Martinique. First held in 1965, it was part of the UCI America Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 20 ...

::1st Stages 1, 5 & 8a ;2010 : 1st Les Boucles de la Loire : 7th

Classic Loire Atlantique Classic Loire Atlantique is a road bicycle race held annually in the French department of Loire-Atlantique. Since 2011, it is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing compe ...

;2011 : 3rd Madison,

National Track Championships National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

;2012 : 9th Overall

Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône an ...

;2013 : 8th

Cholet-Pays de Loire Grand Prix Cholet-Pays de la Loire is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in March in Cholet, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle ra ...

: 9th

Brussels Cycling Classic The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a classic cycle races, semi classic European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar. History Paris–Brussels was first ...

;2014 : 3rd Road race, National Road Championships : 6th

: 9th Overall

Tour de Picardie The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a se ...

;2015 : 4th

Classic Sud-Ardèche A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

: 10th

;2016 : 7th Overall

;2017 : 3rd

Paris–Camembert Paris–Camembert (also Paris–Camembert Trophée Lepetit or Paris–Camembert Lepetit) is a semi classic held annually in April. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The route of the race has varied over t ...

: 8th

Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan Grand Prix du Morbihan is a single-day men's road bicycle race held annually in May around Plumelec, in the region of Brittany, France. Since 2020, the race is organised as a UCI race classifications, 1.Pro event on the UCI ProSeries, also being p ...

;2018 : 4th

Paris–Chauny Paris–Chauny is a one-day cycling race held in France. It was first held in 1922 and has been part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union C ...

: 9th

Grand Prix de Wallonie The Grand Prix de Wallonie is an annual road bicycle race held annually in Wallonia, Belgium. From 2005 to 2019 it was organised as a category 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2021, it joined the UCI ProSeries, after being cancelled in 2020. ...

;2019 : 6th

: 10th

Heistse Pijl The Heistse Pijl is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June around the municipality of Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium. Since 2016, the race is organized as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Victor Van Schil, ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reza, Kevin 1988 births Living people French male cyclists Sportspeople from Versailles, Yvelines Cyclists from Yvelines Black French sportspeople French people of Guadeloupean descent 21st-century French sportsmen