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Cyclepassion Calendar - Your view

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I think......

  • When is a version coming out featuring male riders?

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May 24, 2010
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I think these calendars are fantastic and I think the impact they have is positive. As has been said they show that we have some incredibly sexy female riders unlike other sports where the women have simply become androgynous figures.

To me the ladies are doing everything possible to put themselves in the public eye and what better way to appeal to male cycling fans. They have to do it themselves because the sodding UCI won't do it for them and spend their time ignoring the womens version of the sport, there are some fantastic riders out there in all disciplines.


PS I'm with Dim...Liz Hatch looks far better smeared in muck and lycra than lingerie..;-)
 
Jul 27, 2009
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Have to say that it bothers me just a little...particularly given that (AFAIK) there's no equivalent beefcake calendar of male cyclists.

It can create the perception that women athletes exist purely for male "fans" - many of whom don't seem to give a crap about the sport - to gaze at. Some of the commentary on various cycling forums about Georgia Bronzini in the wake of her two world championships was very offensive.

That said, the calendar does also demonstrate that female cyclists can be both sexy and kick **** on the bike.

And, finally, hopefully it makes the participants some money, because given what they earn they could sure use it!
 
Jul 20, 2011
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Blackstone said:
Certainly puts womens cycling out there.

Dont like the fact they've photoshopped the women into that situation. If they want them in front of a male race they should take them there and actually get the picture!

Kind of agree with Just Some Guy in that it's a short term loss for long term gain

They were there, I can remember seeing the race pass them and thinking, why on earth are they doing a model shoot alongside the tour, must have been waiting for ages.

Disagree with the calendar, think it is the wrong attitude, promotes attitude that women are there to be looked at not because of the racing.
 
Jun 16, 2009
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Roland Rat said:
Look at the imagery in that photo- the women are a soft-core sideshow while the men get on with the real racing. Isn't that exactly the kind of attitude that needs to be changed, not encouraged?

Precisely!

The argument that its what they need to do to get attention because nobody pays attention to their talent is absurd. The general reaction to them that we see is that they become known only for doing these types of photo shoots and nobody cares whether they can ride or not.

If you ask most cycling fans to name female riders, they will start rattling off Liz Hatch, Rochelle Gilmore, etc. They can name the rider but they cannot name the last race that they were in or won. All this stuff does is encourage guys to buy the magazines. They still won't watch the races.

If its really that successful, why not start the "Lingerie Cycling League"?
 
Jun 16, 2009
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LaFlorecita said:
*ahem* How come their shadow is lighter than the ones of everything else in the picture?

At a guess it would be because there would be a couple of assistants with big white light reflectors positioned to the right of the camera to help accent them and to reduce the shadows in their faces, clothing, etc. It helps to make them stand out more prominently in the shot.
 
The thing is, you won't - can't - stop the "sex sells" aspect. Women in sports where they are very successful and relatively high-profile can get involved in such things - tennis players, athletes, skiers and so on. And I don't blame guys for wanting to see attractive women, and I don't blame attractive women for using that to make some money, especially in a world like women's cycling without much money in it. But as long as women's cycling is being roundly ignored and this is the best way for them to grab publicity, it can only serve to perpetuate the image of it as an irrelevant side circus, not to be treated seriously. It's okay for Maria Sharapova, Lindsay Vonn or Yelena Isinbayeva to do glamorous photoshoots without any recourse to credibility; they're taken seriously as athletes (or at least in sports where the athletes are taken seriously).

Back around this time last year when we had a thread about 'next French superstar' I mentioned Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. The first comment was "is she hot?" While the answer may be that she is very pretty, and this may be the key to invigorating women's cycling in the post-Longo doldrums (even the late-career Longo doldrums as they simply couldn't find anyone to replace her) in France as she will be very media-friendly (much as we don't want to admit it, the unpleasant fact of the matter is that people will find it easier to support an attractive person than an unattractive one, even if only because the media will be much happier to promote an attractive person as they are more sponsor-friendly), she is also an incredible prospect on the bike with high levels of talent on road, off road and in field, and that this was the immediate response speaks volumes.

Do I blame the girls for appearing in CyclePassion? Hell no. It's an all-too-rare opportunity to get some attention and money to a profession starved of both. Do I blame the people behind CyclePassion for doing it? Hell no. They've hit on a way to promote women's cycling, albeit not in the ideal manner, and if they're able to make money from it then fair enough. I think the same product could be created in a more tasteful and respectful manner, yes, but also that the problem lies not in the people who've tried to exploit the status quo but in the status quo itself.
 
Oct 29, 2010
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The pro women I know personally have no problem with this calendar. If they don't, why should we?

A few have said they'd like to see a male version too.
 
May 6, 2009
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I fully expect Susan to edit Christian's post for posting the Pozzato image. As for the calender, if it's alright for the German football team to pose naked or Lindsey Vonn to do a photo shoot for Sports Illustrated, then I don't see anything wrong with it. I'm sure they got paid well and had a lot of fun out of it.

As for a male version, and I'm fully heterosexual, I don't see anybody good looking enough that would appear in a male version of a calender. I think Seinfeld did an episode of this once on how man and women's bodies look.
 
Apr 26, 2010
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Uhm...

What's up with tacky dresses and why one of them is bare footed? Or it's because they wanted to show off more of their leg muscles?
 
Oct 28, 2010
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Imo it's quite natural when a female athlete wants to show herself as an attractive woman in glamourous photography (and to derive a benefit from this).
Photography at all (and glamourous photography as its genre) is The Art. The talent of a photographer is to convey into a photo somebody's emotions or sexuality in different appearances...
In our case (the photo at the begining of this thread) just an awful appearance of models was chosen, i think there are dozens of ways to photograph them naked but not crossing the line of pornography thus everyone (or almost everyone) would accept it's beautiful and no way it conveys a negative image for womens cycling, like this exact photo does.
 
Martin318is said:
At a guess it would be because there would be a couple of assistants with big white light reflectors positioned to the right of the camera to help accent them and to reduce the shadows in their faces, clothing, etc. It helps to make them stand out more prominently in the shot.

Ah, okay. I thought it might have been the result of photoshop.
 
Mar 13, 2009
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completely random but just found out that this girl (Marion Rousse) is dating Tony Gallopin, makes for a beautiful french cycling power couple!! :)

cyclo-marion-rousse-janvier-499442.jpg
 
Christian said:
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Though she is French national champion I don't think she is wearing a different jersey? Also RSNT shorts

The real question is why couldn't the calendar just be pictures like this, of the athletes in their kits?

No thanks to the glamour shots. Ugh.

And I love the thought that Rousse and Gallopin swap gear. :) Very cute.
 

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