Good to see Laura Trott gets her 5 minutes ??

[totallyfixed]

Most of this is utter rubbish....deleted what I wanted to say as I just can't be bothered...

Thank you, backs up what I said perfectly.
Dinosaur and other words spring to mind, but I can't be bothered.

 

[Mattonsea]

Most of this is utter rubbish....deleted what I wanted to say as I just can't be bothered...

UG UGG OH UGG. Hello 21st century, really is that what you think!!

 

[zizou]

There wasn't much in the way of coverage of any of the track championships, male of female

Great weekend for Laura Trott but Katie Archibald deserves a mention too. She is still "just" an amateur (although i think this might change for 2014) she had a really good performance at the British nationals with a bronze in the individual pursuit too but the reports of that race instead of commending her performance mentioned that sadly and unfortunately it wasn't Wiggle - Honda 1,2,3 neglecting her achievement on getting on the podium against professionals.

This is the real point and is common in most if not all areas of the media. Here at amateur level, the grass roots of cycling [or any other sport for that matter] discrimination is rife, from prize money to reporting. Cycling Weekly for instance is one of the biggest offenders, very often ignoring women's results completely.
Too many areas of sport are still run by men, in our branch it is old men who hold 1950's values where the woman should be at home rearing children, cooking and cleaning, It is really quite shocking, only yesterday we were at a prize presentation where the winning man gets a trophy and xx amount of money while the first woman gets less money and no trophy, how can that be right? What is worse is that the men are not even aware they are being discriminatory or sexist.

The respective field sizes are rather different so i can understand the disparity in prize money without it being for sexist reasons - There are times when just turning up can virtually guarantee a podium place whereas the mens events are oversubscribed and with full entry lists.

 

[User169]

The respective field sizes are rather different so i can understand the disparity in prize money without it being for sexist reasons - There are times when just turning up can virtually guarantee a podium place whereas the mens events are oversubscribed and with full entry lists.

That gets a bit chicken and egg though. Why would anyone turn up for crappy prize money?

 

[zizou]

That gets a bit chicken and egg though. Why would anyone turn up for crappy prize money?

I think for most prize money is not an incentive for racing. In places like Belgium with the Kermesse scene then it can be significant but not in the UK. Partly there isn't much of it, partly most know they wont be getting any in any case but mostly it is the nature of amateur sport and competition for competitions sake. Most of my racing this year has had no money or other prizes at stake, there will still be 100+ entering weekly though.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

An article about women's (road) racing in the Guardian today, worth a read for those who support women's pro cycling in general - http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2013/oct/27/tour-de-france-women

 

[Shaun]

An article about women's (road) racing in the Guardian today, worth a read for those who support women's pro cycling in general - http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2013/oct/27/tour-de-france-women

... and the petition itself - if any CC'ers want to sign it and show support ... :

http://www.change.org/petitions/aso...onal-cycling-teams-to-race-the-tour-de-france

 

[totallyfixed]

... and the petition itself - if any CC'ers want to sign it and show support ... :

http://www.change.org/petitions/aso...onal-cycling-teams-to-race-the-tour-de-france

Thanks Shaun, yes signed this a week or so ago. Most, if not all on here operate at the amateur level and we need some high profile professionals to add their voices to those of us that battle to get women on an equal footing. I am still struggling to understand how there are men who still don't see a problem with the way things are [and some on here unfortunately].

 

[Cyclist33]

That's precisely the problem!! The only thing you get famous for these days is the way you look!! You can really excel in your field of expertise but if there's no angle the media can put on it then you're a nobody!!

Er, that doesn't compute because Laura Trott is a little hottie.

 

[Shaun]

Let's not get into an argument about it please. I put the link there for anyone who wants to show their support for the petition.

 

[Crackle]

I must admit, I haven't signed the petition, I'm still thinking about it and I'm unconvinced a Women's Tour De France is the way to go. Logistically, what's proposed sounds difficult and then there's the diversion of attention between the two. I rather feel a separate women's racing programme with races such as, The Tour of Britain, which Lizzie Armitstead said she could base her season around, is a better way. If the petition helps fuel the debate though, I suppose it's better to sign than not.

 

[Bollo]

I must admit, I haven't signed the petition, I'm still thinking about it and I'm unconvinced a Women's Tour De France is the way to go. Logistically, what's proposed sounds difficult and then there's the diversion of attention between the two. I rather feel a separate women's racing programme with races such as, The Tour of Britain, which Lizzie Armitstead said she could base her season around, is a better way. If the petition helps fuel the debate though, I suppose it's better to sign than not.

I've signed the petition, but have the same misgivings. Establishing a women's race with a separate and unique identity may be the way to go. The UK would be as good a place as any, as there's (a minority of Surrey residents aside) an enthusiastic support base without some of the gender-bias baggage of more traditional cycling nations.
Having said that, I was disappointed with the timing of the women's crit prior to the final stage of this year's ToB. It deserved to be staged closer to the stage proper, and certainly after the schlebs' 2-up.

 

[SquareDaff]

Er, that doesn't compute because Laura Trott is a little hottie.

I agree. I was referring to "look" as in style. You don't see articles about LT wearing the latest designers number falling out of a club at 3am or putting on something absolutely outrageous (Lady Gaga style) just to get her name in the paper! She just gets on with the job at hand.

 

[Cyclist33]

I agree. I was referring to "look" as in style. You don't see articles about LT wearing the latest designers number falling out of a club at 3am or putting on something absolutely outrageous (Lady Gaga style) just to get her name in the paper! She just gets on with the job at hand.

now you're just torturing me!