"Not less than the men"

[Valentino]

If the UCI wants womens professional cycling to grow they need to make sure the athletes can live from it.
Minimum wages is one tool to achieve that, but I guess it rings better in Scandinavia than in the US.

 

[pastronef]

I think she is trying to say that wemon are equal to men and thus deserve equal pay rather than wemons cycling is equal to mens. Obviously this is not economically viable so it should not happen because there would be no wemons cycling if wemon had equal pay to men. Not a sexist just a realist.

Her sentiment that a woman working just as hard as a man deserves equal pay is correct but only possible in utopia. A minimum wage for wemons cycling would be a good idea though.

o.t.
wemon?

 

[42x16ss]

If the UCI wants womens professional cycling to grow they need to make sure the athletes can live from it.
Minimum wages is one tool to achieve that, but I guess it rings better in Scandinavia than in the US.

It rings better pretty much anywhere else in the world than it does in the US

But I guess it qualifies as communism over there....

 

[Cycle Chic]

I hope they leave the women alone to have their 'boring' races - and then they wont be subjected to the pressures of the mens racing - which is DOPED UP to attract the TV viewing figures.

 

[rhubroma]

Once upon a time in Euroland, cycling was viewed as too excruciating and hence indecorous for women. Among the aged class no doubt it is still viewed this way.

It distorts their faces and makes them look grotesque and ultimately ridiculous. Not something becoming of the fairer sex, they thought.

Just brutal to watch.

Times have changed, but can we honestly say they are equal to the men?

 

[rhubroma]

I hope they leave the women alone to have their 'boring' races - and then they wont be subjected to the pressures of the mens racing - which is DOPED UP to attract the TV viewing figures.

Beh, at least in Italy, womens' cycling is probably no less doped than mens'.

 

[Benotti69]

I hope they leave the women alone to have their 'boring' races - and then they wont be subjected to the pressures of the mens racing - which is DOPED UP to attract the TV viewing figures.

i imagine the women have followed the men down that dark road, at least we know Longo has and if she has probably most of the others too.

 

[The Sheep]

Why don't more classics and semi-classics do what La Flèche Wallonne do and have a womens version before the men's?

 

[Swabian Lass]

Why don't more classics and semi-classics do what La Flèche Wallonne do and have a womens version before the men's?

I've often wondered that. I guess that it's often too difficult to do practically. Shame though.

 

[Swabian Lass]

and personally, before the arrival of power players such as the Williams sisters (just for an example) I actually found women's tennis much more enjoyable to watch than mens. At the time, women had amazing tactical exchanges while the men were baseline slogging. Now, both men and women slog. boring

Yeah, that's about when I gave up watching tennis. These days it's boringsville.

The idea of a team getting more WT points if they have a women's team is interesting. I guess it might discriminate against some of the smaller teams who can barely afford the men's team, let alone a women's team though. Sad that two of the teams that also had good women's teams have bitten the dust - HTC and Cervelo.

 

[Irish2009]

From the interview I think in essence what the world champ, Vos and Teutenberg, were all trying to say was that in order to improve womens cycling that the time has come to have a minimum wage for professional women riders in order that it can take the next step forward. Womens racing can be great to watch (exception being the boring WC), it needs too be marketed better in order to attract better sponsorship and viewing figures, because if there ain't people watching it on TV it ain't going anywhere. More sponsorship would mean more women could ride full time rasing the standard.

 

[just some guy]

The funny thing is that maybe the girls should have thought a little before the WC which maybe their biggest stage and as a collective group thought lets go hard and show they way we race week in week out.

 

[Dancing On The Pedals]

Women are not going to compete on a level with men - that is physiological fact. But that does not mean that it is not worth the UCI doing far more to support and promote women's cycling, nor does it mean that their races are boring as a result. Forget the road race last week, the vast majority of women's races throughout the season are open, full of attacking, and enjoyable to watch and follow. The very least they deserve is some sort of financial security - forcing WT teams to have a ladies team like Garmin or HTC would be a good start. Emma Pooley did an interview a while ago criticising Sky for making such a big push to promote men's cycling but not doing the same for women, even on their Skyrides - a very valid point imho.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/8483490/Emma-Pooley-QandA.html

 

[FignonLeGrand]

o.t.
wemon?

This is a cycling forum with many people having English as a second langauge. Is there any need to correct peoples spelling?

 

[FignonLeGrand]

The funny thing is that maybe the girls should have thought a little before the WC which maybe their biggest stage and as a collective group thought lets go hard and show they way we race week in week out.

hhmm have to agree unforunately. Was a really poor showing and one that is not an isolated incident. Womens cycling often seems to constrained with no teams able or willing to shake up the status quo.

The Netherands tactics were awful yet again. Sure Vos is the fastest but surely that past 4 second places may have shown this wasnt the best approach.

 

[cineteq]

This is a cycling forum with many people having English as a second langauge. Is there any need to correct peoples spelling?

*wemon* That's a nice accent though

 

[badboyberty]

I can't believe people can sit back and argue against a case for a minimum wage. They aren't asking for equal wages or equal prize money, just a bit of security so they can go on sacrificing their personal and professional lives and get on with training and racing. No woman would take up cycling as a means to get rich, but at the same time, when someone gets to the top level of a branch of a relatively rich sport that requires enormous training and travel hours they deserve to know that they don't have to worry about their 'real' job to pay the rent.

Yeah the current level of the women's pro peleton is below the men's, but with no minimum wage in place let's cut the crap and call it pro-am women's cycling, because a huge part of that peleton are only able to race and train part time.

 

[El Pistolero]

Saying female cycling is equal to mens cycling is like saying cyclocross is equal to road cycling. It's simply not true. Road cycling(men) has bigger competition than both cyclocross and female cycling thus they're competing against a larger pool of talent.

 

[ramjambunath]

Saying female cycling is equal to mens cycling is like saying cyclocross is equal to road cycling. It's simply not true. Road cycling(men) has bigger competition than both cyclocross and female cycling thus they're competing against a larger pool of talent.

That's the fact with most sports. Most sports (and especially cycling) were designed for men and not till quite a bit later was the women's form introduced. Duly the men's game got more attention and sponsorship (football, cricket, hockey etc) and will always remain a step above. Tennis on the other hand has always been played by women, hence the strength of field and level of sponsorship.

In places with 0 cycling coverage and knowledge the Olympics can play an important role in the development of women's cycling but unfortunately one stage race gets coverage pretty much all around the world.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Womens road race World Champion Giorgia Bronzini is quoted as saying "We're not less than the men". Lets analyse this. If something is not less than then it must be greater than or equal to. I don't for one second think that she thinks that womans cycling is a greater spectacle than the mens events. So she is saying that womans cycling is equal to mens cycling right? Why didn't she say that? Because deep down she knows this is not true. She knows that womens cycling is beneath the mens but couldn't bring herself to say it.

the winner of the female elite pro itt would've finished 32nd in the junior man itt field, that's how pathetic female cycling/sports truly is.

 

[just some guy]

the winner of the female elite pro itt would've finished 32nd in the junior man itt field, that's how pathetic female cycling/sports truly is.

and how would you go ?- pathetic really.

 

[cineteq]

the winner of the female elite pro itt would've finished 32nd in the junior man itt field, that's how pathetic female cycling/sports truly is.

This kind of comment requires immediate suspension. It's really insulting.

 

[theyoungest]

the winner of the female elite pro itt would've finished 32nd in the junior man itt field, that's how pathetic female cycling/sports truly is.

Why are you so concerned with asserting the superiority of men? Is it because you don't really believe in it?

 

[woodie]

the winner of the female elite pro itt would've finished 32nd in the junior man itt field, that's how pathetic female cycling/sports truly is.

wow, just wow.

It amazes me that small little people like you still exist

 

[Cimber]

Supply and demand really. If just as many spectators show up for the women's race and just as many tune in on it on TV, then they are equal. The interest of the public decides it. Always have been that way. U cant force ppl to enjoy wathing the women's race eqully much as they do enjoy the men's race