The statistic in the last sentence helps develop the idea that bicycle racing was a popular sport in the 1880s and 1890s by showing that: A - the success of the first cycling periodical in 1877 quickly led to the publication of many more cycling magazines. B - the rapid increase in publications about cycling was directly responsible for Americans’ growing interest in bicycles. C - Americans became interested in cycling around the same time that the publication industry began to flourish. D - Americans’ fascination with the bicycle influenced the rapid growth that occurred in the publication industry.