UKC

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/100-tours-100-tales/2014/mar/06/equal-pay-...

Why would womens cycling be any less interesting than mens ?

I've noticed recently that I see far more women out jogging than men these days - often around 80%. Might have something to do with the time of day when I'm going through the local parks, might be that I notice women more. But I reckon it also due to the fact that a high proportion of female athletes you see competing on TV are runners, and in Sheffield this is added effect of a high profile athlete in Jess Ennis.

I see a lot less women cycling, and particularly mountain biking, it down to maybe 10%. Yes there was a lot of coverage of the track events at the Olympics, and even the recent world champs got on BBC2, but when it comes to real cycling, the grand tours and the classics, it's all men.

Time for a change ?

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Not quite the point, but there could be other explanations for the numbers you see. Personally, since I've had kids, I've done far more running and far less mountain biking (and climbing), simply because it's quicker and less hassle to head out for a run.....

In reply to Carolyn:

Yep, there are a number of factors. In my wife's case it was friends who persuaded her to do the 5k run for life, and suddenly she's addicted to it! Plus it fits in better with having a dog than biking or climbing.

But I think it has a lot to do with it reaching a certain critical mass and being a "normal" thing to do, which stems in part from how it is represented in the media.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Haven't you just undermined your point by describing the grand tours and classics, which are men's events as 'real cycling'.

I must say I see a lot more men running than women, both at my club and out on the streets.

In reply to The New NickB:


The point is, why are these "men's events" ?

I think most observers would view the road as the pinnacle of the sport, with the TDF being by far the biggest draw. As sporting events they pack in far more drama than merely going round and round in a circle. I'd love to see more MTB coverage, still think that clip of Danny Hart is the best cycling footage in recent years, but I couldn't name MTB world champions or any non-brit from the track worlds.

But road racing requires cooperation from authorities, which has been dramatically lacking in some recent womens events. And above all it requires money, which means sponspors, which means media coverage.

Which takes me back to the original question, would a women's TDF be any less interesting than the mens ?


Maybe Sheffield is unusual

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Things are changing in womens cycling at a non-elite level, last Sunday I participated in my first Road Race, it was Cat 2,3,4 and 68 women on the start line. This is double the number from last year. This has been mainly been down to a couple of women shouting from the rooftops that racing isn't that hard and more women should give it a go.

If we can get the numbers up at this level then they will keep increasing further up the chain and more pressure can be put on race organisers to include a womens race. The womens tour of Britain should get a lot of coverage.

I also race CX and in the Yorkshire series we get nowhere near the same prize money as men as its a percentage of the entry fees taken.

BTW any women reading, thinking of giving racing a go - then do it! It wasn't as hard as I was expecting at that level.

In reply to alisonk:

I did a sportive at the end of last summer in Annecy, France and there were women doing the event but almost all were doing the shorter one. For the long route there were 145 men and only 5 women - and it was definitely very doable as I did it and ended up on the podium (due to not many competing ha ha!)

As AlisonK says for women reading this give it a go, its really not as hard or intimidating as it seems from the outside!

In reply to The New NickB:


This highlights the issue of visibility of women's cycling. Although there isn't currently a women's TdF there is a Giro equivalent, and a lot of the Spring Classics have female editions.

To the op, the article well addresses the issue of race excitement. Often the women's cx races matched the men's for excitement, but occasionally if one or two riders had bad days the field would quickly spread out, the pressure would drop and become less of a spectacle.

Compared with the men's event there was less depth in the field. But this is because it's harder for them to make a living from the sport. If the financial rewards are higher, the field becomes stronger and the racing improves.