Lance's Milkshake Brings all the Girls to the Yard..
..Well, not quite, but it's certainly helping.
This weeks post is in light of some major changes in the cycling world. From the exposure and subsequent interviews with Lance Armstrong and others relating to the doping debacle. To the likes of Nicole Cooke's outspoken (and quite rightly so!) exit from the professional world. It's been a fairly dramatic January to say the least. Is it a bad thing? Are we now doomed to a destiny laced with judgement and scandal? There is a hell of a lot of work to be done in men's road racing before the trust of the public and the general masses is rekindled. Our national sport has taken a knock, thankfully Britain as a rule has remained strong and we are not as tarnished as our counterparts across the pond. However, it's not great news for men's sport - doping goes on at all levels of ability and it must be stamped out if we're ever to ensure the younger generations of riders have a fair chance of making it.
All this aside, we have made a positive gain from these big changes and that is in the form of "leveling up" for women's racing. Women, as a rule, aren't big dopers. The sports a little slower, the tactics are a little different. Tradition has not been kind. We've battled and fought our way to a dimly glimmering spotlight, found in the back of a darkened hallway, hidden the glare of the public eye. Shunned like the bad child or kept hidden away like the ugly pet. We don't get a fair rap and that's easy to see whether you're Marianne Vos or you're Jolene Bloggs off to get her chain fixed on her Dutchie.
I thought it was just me being oversensitive, after attending both the Birmingham and London Bike shows in '12 and this month. Standing at stalls, knowing exactly what I wanted to talk about, wheels, groupsets, even kit. Ignored, only to be superseded by men three times my age and a flashing of the green stuff (not that I have anything against rich, middle-aged men - I am against ignorance, though!). Unfortunately, it turns out, I was not alone. I've seen tweets, I've heard comments, riders from elite to hobby ignored from all angles by not only the retailers and vendors, but the media and even male peers. One common denominator. Vaginas.
We don't help ourselves, though. There is no wonder the blokes aren't giving us a look in. We're bitchy and unhelpful. More and more I see women in cycling simply shunning their sisters in aid of riding with the big boys. Cycling tarts? More and more I hear of other women refusing to aid or advise the newbie. In fear, perhaps, of raising a competitor to their throne. I have examples brimming from ear to ear, and from inbox to inbox, of the sheer cattiness that goes on between us girls. One example is the response of a request for advice from a girl in a club, that response being "she can look after herself". Nice. These are the people that ruin women's cycling for all of us. The sport is boring, not because it is slower, or different. It is boring because there are no women doing it. The new recruits, the talented fledglings are being pushed out, while the elders struggle to keep their place among the categories. They are sickeningly scared of the competition. This is what makes it boring.
So what can we do about it all? The doping has helped, it's opened up a doorway. Reputation-wise it's given us a bit of an advantage over the lads. More and more women are getting involved and with help from the work of the likes of the awesome Lizzie Armitstead, and the strong opinions put forward by unbelievable pros such as Vos, we're finally creeping into the bigger picture. Female pros and semi-pros need that push. A pro woman in the UK will barely earn enough to keep her over the breadline, while her male counterparts revel in a sea of green. This is not fair. They work as hard, if not harder, to keep themselves at that level. Yet half of them are expected to carry on their full time or part time jobs? This must change. 2013 will be our year. More and more gifted women are opening up to cycling as a competitive sport, not just as a mode of transport.
We need more exposure (not like that, calm down lads). We need more girls to get involved to make competition harder. We need to quit bitching and help each other, whether it's lending out some lights or giving a stranger a lead out. We are the peloton, we work as one and it doesn't matter if we're male or female we are all in this pain-pit together.
This weeks post is in light of some major changes in the cycling world. From the exposure and subsequent interviews with Lance Armstrong and others relating to the doping debacle. To the likes of Nicole Cooke's outspoken (and quite rightly so!) exit from the professional world. It's been a fairly dramatic January to say the least. Is it a bad thing? Are we now doomed to a destiny laced with judgement and scandal? There is a hell of a lot of work to be done in men's road racing before the trust of the public and the general masses is rekindled. Our national sport has taken a knock, thankfully Britain as a rule has remained strong and we are not as tarnished as our counterparts across the pond. However, it's not great news for men's sport - doping goes on at all levels of ability and it must be stamped out if we're ever to ensure the younger generations of riders have a fair chance of making it.
All this aside, we have made a positive gain from these big changes and that is in the form of "leveling up" for women's racing. Women, as a rule, aren't big dopers. The sports a little slower, the tactics are a little different. Tradition has not been kind. We've battled and fought our way to a dimly glimmering spotlight, found in the back of a darkened hallway, hidden the glare of the public eye. Shunned like the bad child or kept hidden away like the ugly pet. We don't get a fair rap and that's easy to see whether you're Marianne Vos or you're Jolene Bloggs off to get her chain fixed on her Dutchie.
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| Token spot of bike porn from bike show. |
We don't help ourselves, though. There is no wonder the blokes aren't giving us a look in. We're bitchy and unhelpful. More and more I see women in cycling simply shunning their sisters in aid of riding with the big boys. Cycling tarts? More and more I hear of other women refusing to aid or advise the newbie. In fear, perhaps, of raising a competitor to their throne. I have examples brimming from ear to ear, and from inbox to inbox, of the sheer cattiness that goes on between us girls. One example is the response of a request for advice from a girl in a club, that response being "she can look after herself". Nice. These are the people that ruin women's cycling for all of us. The sport is boring, not because it is slower, or different. It is boring because there are no women doing it. The new recruits, the talented fledglings are being pushed out, while the elders struggle to keep their place among the categories. They are sickeningly scared of the competition. This is what makes it boring.
So what can we do about it all? The doping has helped, it's opened up a doorway. Reputation-wise it's given us a bit of an advantage over the lads. More and more women are getting involved and with help from the work of the likes of the awesome Lizzie Armitstead, and the strong opinions put forward by unbelievable pros such as Vos, we're finally creeping into the bigger picture. Female pros and semi-pros need that push. A pro woman in the UK will barely earn enough to keep her over the breadline, while her male counterparts revel in a sea of green. This is not fair. They work as hard, if not harder, to keep themselves at that level. Yet half of them are expected to carry on their full time or part time jobs? This must change. 2013 will be our year. More and more gifted women are opening up to cycling as a competitive sport, not just as a mode of transport.
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| We look the same from the behind anyway! |
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