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ASO "don't really seem to care much about women's cycling" says Joanna Rowsell Shand

Tour de France organisers hold only a one-day race for the women and recently pulled two other races from the Women’s World Tour

The organisers of the Tour de France aren’t doing much for women’s cycling, according to British double Olympic gold medallist Joanna Rowsell Shand. ASO holds only a women’s one-day race, La Course, during the Tour, and recently pulled two other races out of the Women’s World Tour, as – together with its partner broadcasters – it is not willing to provide the 45 minutes of live TV coverage required by the UCI.

"The biggest bike race in the world is the Tour and they don't really seem to care much about women's cycling," Rowsell Shand told BBC Sport. "I don't think it's unfair to say that really, because they're not doing much for it.”

At present, the 10-stage Giro Rosa is the sole ‘Grand Tour’ on the women's calendar.

UCI President David Lappartient has urged ASO to extend La Course to 10 stages, but race organiser Christian Prudhomme said this wasn’t an option, “simply because we do not know how to do that during the Tour de France.”

The OVO Energy Women’s Tour starts on Monday. At six stages, it is one of the longer races on the calendar. (The men’s race is eight stages.)

Rowsell Shand retired from racing in 2017 and she said that towards the end of her career, “everyone from around Europe said they loved racing in the UK because there is great coverage and support on the roads.”

She said the situation varied around the world. “The biggest platform for sport is the Olympic Games, when we have equal events. That's great, but it's the gap in between which needs to be filled.”

The Women’s Tour offers the same prize money as the men’s Tour of Britain, but Rowsell Shand said this was only part of the picture.

"Of all the years I was on a pro team I was on a salary for two of them. For the rest I was over the moon to be on a pro contract, but it was for zero money – that was normal, and you were lucky if you got some kit or a bike or something."

Like the UCI, she believes that TV coverage is key, "because that's what brings in the sponsors, therefore pays salaries."

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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17 comments

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Awavey | 4 years ago
1 like

the crowds roadside and at the finish of todays stage 1 of the Women's tour would suggest there are plenty of people, men & women, who want to watch elite women cycle races even in weather most people would rather stay at home for. The viewing figures for the England v Scotland womens football world cup game broke UK records at 6.1million, thats probably 6.0 million more than bothered to watch the England mens team finish 3rd in a made up UEFA tournament.

theres a market for womens cycling,the ASO need to recognise it, and the UCI need to engender, rather than enforce imo,the right conditions to showcase it.

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Rick_Rude | 4 years ago
0 likes

I think part of the problem is the weight of viewership is being expected of men, when I reckon you need to get more women actually watching cycling in the first place. If women were really into watching sport I think women's sport would carry more weight. 

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OldRidgeback | 4 years ago
2 likes

Just as an aside, I was watching the BMX Supercross racing yesterday with my youngest. The races for women get the same visibility on TV as the races for men in BMX. And in BMX racing, women riders get paid the same as men. I'm told it is the only cycling sport where this is the case, though I stand to be corrected if it isn't.

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peted76 | 4 years ago
0 likes

I think Womens cycling is best off as far away from the ASO as possible.

They want a 'piece of the Tour de France' golden cash pie understandably, but I'd like to think that the recent growth of womens cycling will continue, the bigger the other races get, the more exposure and advertising they'll bring and the less important the ASO gets, which has to be a good thing. 

 

 

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RobD | 4 years ago
2 likes

I'd rather watch women's racing than  some of the boring as hell flat sprint stages that get shown through grand tours. You can hear the commentators getting bored and running out of things to say.

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PRSboy replied to RobD | 4 years ago
2 likes

RobD wrote:

I'd rather watch women's racing than  some of the boring as hell flat sprint stages that get shown through grand tours. You can hear the commentators getting bored and running out of things to say.

^^This

Because the races are shorter, and the stage races have fewer stages, the women actually race because there is everything to play for rather than lounging about in groups til the last 50 metres.

Last year I remember the coverage of a thrilling La Course being almost apologetically squeezed into about 5 mins of the highlights, with the rest of the show focussing on another indifferent mens stage.

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Bigfoz | 4 years ago
1 like

ASO is missing a trick. Women's racing is good, I'd watch it (and do when it's on Eurosport). It shows the backward attitude of the top end of cycling. It's the same attitude that restricts design and technology (Disc brakes / tubeless) but "accomodates" and even "encourages" drugs by their race / stage selection, pushes riders through unsafe stage finishes, bans Spinacci type bars, but allows riders to lean on their elbows completely unsupported, doesn't accept women's racing, and thinks riders and teams from "non traditiinal" cycling countries are fun elements... 

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roadstain | 4 years ago
2 likes

Other than the fact that womens cycling is boring. Well, as is womens soccer, softball and on and on and on....maybe, possibly with an exception to womens beach volley ball.....

 

The other day flipping channels I saw a womens soccer match (on BBC here in the states)...the seats in the stands were about 95% empty....same would be true for womens sports in the US.

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Mathemagician replied to roadstain | 4 years ago
7 likes
roadstain wrote:

Other than the fact that womens cycling is boring. Well, as is womens soccer, softball and on and on and on....maybe, possibly with an exception to womens beach volley ball.....

 

The other day flipping channels I saw a womens soccer match (on BBC here in the states)...the seats in the stands were about 95% empty....same would be true for womens sports in the US.

Honestly, shut up you bellend.

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alansmurphy replied to Mathemagician | 4 years ago
2 likes

Mathemagician wrote:
roadstain wrote:

Other than the fact that womens cycling is boring. Well, as is womens soccer, softball and on and on and on....maybe, possibly with an exception to womens beach volley ball.....

 

The other day flipping channels I saw a womens soccer match (on BBC here in the states)...the seats in the stands were about 95% empty....same would be true for womens sports in the US.

Honestly, shut up you bellend.

 

I'm glad you contributed in such a way to really change his opinion...

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Mathemagician replied to alansmurphy | 4 years ago
3 likes
alansmurphy wrote:

Mathemagician wrote:
roadstain wrote:

Other than the fact that womens cycling is boring. Well, as is womens soccer, softball and on and on and on....maybe, possibly with an exception to womens beach volley ball.....

 

The other day flipping channels I saw a womens soccer match (on BBC here in the states)...the seats in the stands were about 95% empty....same would be true for womens sports in the US.

Honestly, shut up you bellend.

 

I'm glad you contributed in such a way to really change his opinion...

Two things:

1) You want to waste your time engaging with a sexist prick, be my guest. I'm just calling a spade a spade.

2) I don't have a problem with anyone for that matter finding something not to their taste, so why would I try to change his/her opinion? Presenting opinion as fact pisses me off however. As does being a sexist prick.

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BehindTheBikesheds replied to roadstain | 4 years ago
0 likes

roadstain wrote:

Other than the fact that womens cycling is boring. Well, as is womens soccer, softball and on and on and on....maybe, possibly with an exception to womens beach volley ball.....

 

The other day flipping channels I saw a womens soccer match (on BBC here in the states)...the seats in the stands were about 95% empty....same would be true for womens sports in the US.

Men's road cycling is boring aside from the odd bits and the end, it's no different for women's cycling. I actually find women's soccer more entertaining than the men, less cheating and fuckwittery going on, it's just about bearable to watch 10-15 minutes. Judo, swimming, badminton, archery, field hockey, gymnastics (and quite a few more) are all sports that to this sports viewer I find are equal in interest for any sex.

I watch gridiron, I even dabbled a bit back in the 80s, for me as someone who has played and watched rugby since I was a kid it can be turgid watching a very stop start game over 3-3.5hrs even though I appreciate the skill and physicality. Baseball is similar to cricket in timescale, there's a lot of 'boring' bits were nothing much happens (not as bad as gol mind!) and hence why cricket has turned to 20/20 to attract fans because it's lots of action packed into a short space of time, domestic 4 day games are dying on their arse and is dull as dishwater in the mens game comparatively even though there is lots f nuance, it's all at a much slower pace.

Some women's sport isn't as entertaining to me as it would be for someone else, a woman for example or someone who has an interest in that sport as a whole. Some male sports are boring as fook, others will be in absolute raptures over it.

If some sporting orgs ignore one half of the species then they miss out on potential income.

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antigee | 4 years ago
1 like

watched highlights of the women's Tour of California slotted easily into the "not chasing down the breakaway/feed station" live stream on state broadcasting down under - impressed by commentators including good old Phil being able to call the race...and at the end had joint podium and equal prize giving...not too difficult was it ...cycling is not a lot different to other sports but maybe the current high profile sponsors and organisers will suffer in the future when people remember that not only were they not supportive but they were obstructive

 

 

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Jetmans Dad | 4 years ago
1 like

The problem, surely, is that the grand tours are organised by private companies and not the governing body, so they are under no obligation to do anything like that without appropriate pressure from the UCI.

Bar UCI registered teams from taking part in the TdF unless ASO have an equivalent women's event and maybe things would change, but I can't see anything like that happening any any time soon.

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eddie11 | 4 years ago
3 likes

I think sadly, aso do care. They care enough to actively dislike womens cycling and marginalise it as far as I can see.

The Low Countries, Italy, bc and uci are trying. They are still making mistakes, could do more etc. but are going in the right direction but like aso is a huge shadow over men’s cycling it is over womens just in a different way.  2

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AlsoSomniloquism | 4 years ago
4 likes

You are unfortunately correct. I think either the UCI needs to make better rules to enforce companies like ASO to run female cycling races alongside mens ones or sponsors should boycott events hosted until they relent. However I can't see either of these happening so the current situation will continue. 

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Rick_Rude | 4 years ago
6 likes

Not sure what obligation ASO have to do anything but make money.

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