Cookson is worse for cycling than McQuaid

[Granville57]

Did any of the top women of the sport tweet their opinions?

The very top.

‏@WestemeyerSusan
@micacquarone @SSbike No. Just plain no. That is so disgusting.
https://twitter.com/WestemeyerSusan/status/510740120618958849

 

[Publicus]

[snip]

How the heck did it get approval in the first place?

This to me is the real question. I thought UCI had to approve all kits in advance. Is that not the case?

 

[Dear Wiggo]

This to me is the real question. I thought UCI had to approve all kits in advance. Is that not the case?

At the amateur level here in Australia, you cannot wear a kit unless it's been approved by our UCI affiliated, state level cycling governing body.

Mind you, thinking about it further, you cannot necessarily picture what a kit looks like on a body - most approvals occur based on mockups of kit outlines / colours / designs.

 

[sniper]

Exactly.

Women's cycling IS one of the big issues, and sexism is a major factor.

Its incredible to see some try to use this to bang on about Cookson.

if only he'd have shown similar engagement to avoid conflicts of interest with sky, this discussion and this thread wouldn't exist.

 

[hrotha]

sure, but cookson did a great job drawing loads of unnecessary attention to it.

It was all over Twitter long before Cookson said anything.

 

[Granville57]

sure, but cookson did a great job drawing loads of unnecessary attention to it.

Well let's backtrack for a moment. As far as I was aware, it all started with this, from Michele Acquarone:

‏@micacquarone
So tacky, that's the worst way to promote women's cycling. Pls ladies have respect for yourselves and refuse to ride.
https://twitter.com/micacquarone/status/510718145586544640

Then the only thing from Cookson was this:

@BrianCooksonUCI
To the many who have raised the issue of a certain women's team kit, we are on the case. It is unacceptable by any standard of decency.
https://twitter.com/BrianCooksonUCI/status/511208900407099393

It's just an update. For all we know, the time it took Cookson to compose and send that Tweet may have been the extent of his involvement. "We" could mean any number of things. But even if he was more personally involved, I don't see a problem. I'd at least prefer him to focus his time on that team kit rather than the measuring of saddle angles on the morning of a TT.

 

[the sceptic]

meh seems pretty obvious to me that Cookson is using it to score some cheap PR. "hey look everyone, the UCI is in charge and doing exactly what you want ut to do"

 

[gooner]

The mistreatment of women's cycling *is* a real issue, and this particular thing doesn't take a lot of effort or resources to fix. So what's the problem? Whoever gives that team a call probably won't be an antidoping expert or someone tasked with cleansing the UCI from corruption.

Sounds to me like some people just want to use any opportunity to attack Cookson, no matter what he does.

Agree.

It's an important issue to deal with and it's not mutually linked to Cookson's actions on doping.

I picked up a national newspaper over here this morning and unbeknownst open up one of the inside pages to see a big picture of it highlighting this.

 

[Granville57]

At the amateur level here in Australia, you cannot wear a kit unless it's been approved by our UCI affiliated, state level cycling governing body.

Mind you, thinking about it further, you cannot necessarily picture what a kit looks like on a body - most approvals occur based on mockups of kit outlines / colours / designs.

It seems that maybe they just turned up with it? Either way, it must've been something new.

The uniform, with a flesh-coloured section between the lower torso and groin, was worn by IDRD-Bogota Humana-San Mateo-Solgar riders at the Tour of Tuscany in Italy over the weekend.

It is unclear if the six-woman team was intending to wear a similar uniform next week while representing Colombia at the road world championships in Ponferrada, Spain.

It is also difficult to ascertain whether the outrageous new strip was a publicity stunt or a genuine fashion faux-pas but the team may think twice about turning out in it again.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140915/sports-other-sports/article/colombian-cycling-team’s-bizarre-outfit-causes-stir-social-media

 

[gooner]

meh seems pretty obvious to me that Cookson is using it to score some cheap PR. "hey look everyone, the UCI is in charge and doing exactly what you want ut to do"

Yes, they should do something about it. The president's role goes beyond tackling doping and not solely confined to it.

If anyone is trying score points, it's you. Without any concern for the real issue here for women's cycling, you're only agenda is to use it as stick to beat Cookson with.

 

[the sceptic]

Yes, they should do something about it. The president's role goes beyond tackling doping and not solely confined to it.

If anyone is trying score points, it's you. Without any concern for the real issue here for women's cycling, you're only agenda is to use it as stick to beat Cookson with.

Im glad to hear you have faith in your president Gooner.

 

[Benotti69]

Yes, they should do something about it. The president's role goes beyond tackling doping and not solely confined to it.

If anyone is trying score points, it's you. Without any concern for the real issue here for women's cycling, you're only agenda is to use it as stick to beat Cookson with.

I think Cookson made a rod for his own back. Read his pre election manifesto.

 

[laurel1969]

I think Cookson made a rod for his own back. Read his pre election manifesto.

He certainly made some big promises.

As an aside, quite apart from whether sporting bodies want to tackle doping, can anybody think of any sport where this has been achieved?

 

[Armchair cyclist]

I'm disagreeing with the notion (which was already expressed) that they were not being made to wear it against their will, as if they had a say in the matter.

It is reported that one of the women on the team designed the kit, that it has been worn for several months without adverse comment, and that the colour is rather more gold and less flesh than the lighting in this pic suggests.

The power of Twitter to cause a fuss where there was none, by generating uninformed opprobrium.

 

[fmk_RoI]

The power of Twitter to cause a fuss where there was none, by generating uninformed opprobrium.

The same could be said of the comments here on the Clinic about it. Or in all the MSM outlets that ran with the story.

For a quick debunking of some of the errors in the coverage of this read this http://www.chasingwheels.com/road-racing/professional-road-racing/5-things-you-should-know-about-that-colombian-cycling-kit

For why Cookson has his priorities a bit out of whack read this http://prowomenscycling.com/2014/09/15/on-that-kit/

And for the UCI's actual response visit here http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/cycling/29203890

The UCI will be sending a letter to the Colombian Federation reminding them of their responsibility regarding article 1.3.046 in the control of regional and club team kits that compete in international events.

 

[Granville57]

It is reported that one of the women on the team designed the kit, that it has been worn for several months without adverse comment, and that the colour is rather more gold and less flesh than the lighting in this pic suggests.

Yeah, I read that too. Now THAT is funny!

"Gold." Uh huh. Am I supposed to believe that there some James Bond imagery that they were going for?

The only thing worse than designing a kit like that is pretending that it supposed to be something other than what it is.

As far as it being designed by one of the women on the team, to me, that does nothing to diminish my own distaste for it. Women exploiting other women is nothing new.

Helen Gurley Brown comes to mind.

Helen Gurley Brown became chief editor [of Cosmopolitan] in 1965. The magazine eventually adopted a cover format consisting of a usually young female model, typically in a low cut dress or bikini.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Gurley_Brown

Setting the standard for women, and leading by example.

 

[Granville57]

For a quick debunking of some of the errors in the coverage of this read this http://www.chasingwheels.com/road-racing/professional-road-racing/5-things-you-should-know-about-that-colombian-cycling-kit

Oh FFS, are you kidding me?

2. It’s not flesh or nude, it’s gold

Yeah sure, and I'm a moron.

Then they include a pic of the team sitting down where not a single aspect of the controversial part of the kit is even visible. And that's supposed to demonstrate what, exactly? That someone posted a pic? Wow.

And this!

So you can be outraged by an unflattering photo.

Or you can be outraged by the fact that the people running the sport still haven’t bought forward meaningful change to ensure that women are not on the end of enduring sexism in the sport where their right to a fair wage for a professional job is still considered less important than the design of their kit.

Hello? Irony?

 

[Granville57]

For why Cookson has his priorities a bit out of whack read this http://prowomenscycling.com/2014/09/15/on-that-kit/[/url[/quote]More brilliant insight. [quote]BBC journalist (and all round good bloke) Alex Murray has had a proper look at the kit, and his conclusion is that this is a case of bad photo in bad light making a gold colour look “nude”, rather than a deliberate attempt to simulate nudity.[/quote]So that settles it I guess. If Alex Murray says it so, it must be so. I couldn't care less if the kit turned out to be camouflage green in person. The fact remains that in PHOTOS it comes across one way, and one way only. And last I time I checked, more eyes are on cycling through photos and video images than in real life. But feel free to continue to make whatever point it is your trying to make. And be sure to continue with your inimitable condescension.

 

[the sceptic]

I cant tell if they are trolling here or not

 

[Granville57]

And now I see this:

‏@Vaughters
This Colombian women's team uniform thing....Is it really that big of a deal? It looks a little racy, in a 1976 Playboy bush way. Who cares?
https://twitter.com/Vaughters/status/511609843396796416

If that's where we're at, then I'm wasting my time on this topic.

I've planted my flag already.

 

[mrhender]

Meanwhile in Austria:
http://www.evolutionary.org/anti-doping-laws-to-be-tightened-by-austria/

The Sports minister remarked testing will now concentrate more on sports with a history of doping. Klug remarked we are going toward more intelligent testing and we will focus mainly on sports which have been affected by doping many times, and on athletes who show a sudden major improvement in their performance.

The new anti-doping laws of Austria will also make complicity in drug cheating a criminal offense. They will also include stricter rules for witnesses called by the National Anti-Doping Agency. The Austria sports minister said many witnesses in the past just didn’t appear for a hearing but they can be obligated in the future by a criminal court to testify.

In accordance with the new World Anti-Doping Agency Code, the standard suspension for a first doping offense will be doubled from two to four years. Klug said a four-year suspension will effectively mean the end of a career in many cases.

 

[Master50]

I thought I would touch on the approval of domestic jerseys. IE not Pros.
The team submits the artwork to their national Federation. It is often flat paper designs and not an actual jersey or short. In Canada we join the UCI through our Provincial association who is governed nationally by the CCC and then internationally by the UCI. Those jerseys were approved by the Columbian Federation. If they have to order a change coming from the UCI it will go in a letter to the federation who then inform the team they must change the colour scheme on the shorts or?
A national Champions jersey is supposed to be approved by the National Federation and if the rider is a pro then the UCI too. Svein Tufts jersey is designed by Orica who submit the design to the CCC and in turn to the UCI.

 

[Gavandope]

As a fellow Englishman like Cookson I've always assumed the topic of this thread is a lovely sarcastic comedic one liner. It's going to take him years not months to put the corrupt and incompetent house in order that the other two jokers took multiple decades to muck up!

 

[mewmewmew13]

It is reported that one of the women on the team designed the kit, that it has been worn for several months without adverse comment, and that the colour is rather more gold and less flesh than the lighting in this pic suggests.

The power of Twitter to cause a fuss where there was none, by generating uninformed opprobrium.

Yup
Twitter Outrage coming on...

 

[hrotha]

It is reported that one of the women on the team designed the kit, that it has been worn for several months without adverse comment, and that the colour is rather more gold and less flesh than the lighting in this pic suggests.

The power of Twitter to cause a fuss where there was none, by generating uninformed opprobrium.

Even accepting that, the notion that the workers have any say, as a rule, as was expressed in this thread, is ridiculous.