{"id":2998,"date":"2013-11-15T02:47:10","date_gmt":"2013-11-15T02:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crankpunk.com\/?p=2998"},"modified":"2013-11-15T02:52:54","modified_gmt":"2013-11-15T02:52:54","slug":"e450-for-the-gc-at-the-giro-womens-cycling-still-faces-massive-disparity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/11\/15\/e450-for-the-gc-at-the-giro-womens-cycling-still-faces-massive-disparity\/","title":{"rendered":"\u20ac450 for the GC at the Giro? women’s cycling still faces massive disparity"},"content":{"rendered":"

this article originally appeared in The Roar<\/em><\/p>\n

______________________________<\/p>\n

Changes are being rung in under the new presidency of the UCI by Brian Cookson \u2013 from confiscating computers and hard drives from MacQuaid\u2019s people right after his victory to setting out a roadmap for the sport\u2019s recovery \u2013 but one of the toughest challenges facing the governing body is the rehabilitation of women\u2019s cycling.<\/p>\n

Though it may be somewhat natural to think that any pro athlete is relatively well paid, for the women that push their pedals for cash, nothing could be further from the truth.<\/p>\n

In fact, the vast majority of female pros have to negotiate their own contracts, seek out personal sponsorship alone, struggle with the uncertainty that their scheduled races will even be held and generally fret over paying their bills, never mind putting money into the bank.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a little fact that illustrates this point: the Giro d\u2019Italia forks out \u20ac90,000 to the overall winner while second place takes \u20ac50,000 and third place \u20ac20,000.<\/p>\n

The winner of the women\u2019s Giro received \u2013 wait for it \u2013 \u20ac450.<\/p>\n

That is not a typo. There are not two, nor even one, zero missing from that figure.<\/p>\n

The winner of the women\u2019s version of the Belgian Classic, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, received just \u20ac360.<\/p>\n

\"Omloop<\/a>
Omloop and Giro stage winner, Tiffany Cromwell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once these winners have shared their \u2018loot\u2019 out amongst their teammates, they may have enough for a celebratory dinner \u2013 at McDonald\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Cookson though is making strides in the right direction, and when Brian Cookson appointed Australian Tracey Gaudry to the post of vice president, he was making a clear statement of intent.<\/p>\n

Gaudry, who became the first ever woman to hold\u00a0 the post, is known as a former professional cyclist and, interestingly, is a member of the Anti-Doping Review Violation Panel to report to the Board of the Australian Sports Commission.<\/p>\n

Gaudry has been brought in by Cookson for several reasons, the first being that he considers her to be ideally suited to carry out the duties required of the vice president of cycling\u2019s governing body, and also to specifically tackle the problems facing women\u2019s cycling.<\/p>\n

Gaudry is no stranger to the challenges faced by the female peloton, one of which is the cancellation of races due to lack of financial funds.<\/p>\n

In 1999 Gaudry won the Tour de Snowy in her first\u00a0 year as a pro rider, a race that was canned in 2003 due to the lack of sponsorship.<\/p>\n

Gaudry is currently working on the setting up of a Women\u2019s Commission that she says reflects the UCI\u2019s new desire to diversify.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will have 6 or 7 members of both genders, Europeans and non-Europeans, from all disciplines, former and current athletes, National Federations, women coaches, organisers, teams and broadcasters,\u201d she says in an interview on the UCI website.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Commission will be set up by the end of the year and we will present our strategy for the coming 12 months and beyond at the next Management Committee meeting in late January.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to develop women\u2019s cycling it needs, among other things, better visibility,\u201d she continued. \u201cBut I want to specify that we will have a transversal approach: we will work with all the commissions [road, track, and so on] because the rise of women\u2019s cycling must involve everybody. It is not something that concerns just one department.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time, there will be a woman in each commission, which is another clear sign from the UCI. We will take on board the proposals that the other commissions make to us and we will make propositions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shortsightedness of the traditionally male-dominated UCI has led us to this point where there is a real and drastic need for measures such as this one.<\/p>\n

Indeed, how and why there has never been a Women\u2019s Commission is something that beggars belief. In a world where some 50% of the population is female you would imagine that the governing body of a sport that is suited to all would actually do something to get women on bikes, rather than neglecting them so forcefully all these years.<\/p>\n

Speaking of male and female professional cycling, Tiffany Cromwell said to me in a recent interview that \u201cyou really can\u2019t compare the two, they are completely different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cromwell went on to state that the women accept that the two strands of cycling have differing histories, but also said that in many ways, the existence of most female pros is not that different \u2013 through their entire careers \u2013 to young, aspiring amateur men who live in team houses and in rooms above cafes at the start of their journeys.<\/p>\n

Just about every female cyclist bar the very best riders also have to work or are studying, preparing for a later career, knowing that they will never become rich, or even well-off, from their cycling careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do it because we love it,\u201d said Cromwell. \u2018You might make a little bit of money but you\u2019re not going to retire off of that. You don\u2019t want to think about it. It\u2019s how it\u2019s always been, it\u2019s sad but I guess we can show the beauty of the women\u2019s side rather than comparing it to the men\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

And there, in a nutshell, is the answer to those who bemoan the lack of distance covered in women\u2019s racing or the lack of brute power on display. What the women bring to the sport is different, and it is a difference that should be appreciated, not bemoaned.<\/p>\n

Indeed, in many ways the shorter races that are a feature of the women\u2019s side of the sport lead to far more exciting racing than many men\u2019s events.<\/p>\n

The sport needs to encourage women to ride, develop new races with UCI funding and outside sponsorship, and bring in television companies to help further support the enterprise.<\/p>\n

Right now there is a female rider who may well be the greatest rider the sport has ever seen \u2013 men or women \u2013 and yet we barely see her. Mention Marianne Vos to casual followers of the sport and many will never have heard of her.<\/p>\n

We may be getting somewhere though, thanks to Cookson, Gaudry and the spirit shown by the women riders in their pursuit of their dreams. In many ways, it is they who are the true carriers of the flame of passion and love of this great sport, simply because they do not do it for the money.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to think about how lucky you are,\u201d said Cromwell. \u201cI am riding my bike every day, I travel the world and see beautiful places, and my passion is my job. There are not many people who can say that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

this article originally appeared in The Roar ______________________________ Changes are being rung in under the new presidency of the UCI by Brian Cookson \u2013 from confiscating computers and hard drives from MacQuaid\u2019s people right after his victory to setting out a roadmap for the sport\u2019s recovery \u2013 but one of the toughest challenges facing the governing body is the rehabilitation of women\u2019s cycling. Though it may be somewhat natural to think that any pro athlete is relatively well paid, for the women that push their pedals for cash, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the vast majority of female pros have to negotiate their own contracts, seek […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40955418,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wpupg_custom_link":[],"wpupg_custom_link_behaviour":[],"wpupg_custom_link_nofollow":[],"wpupg_custom_image":[],"wpupg_custom_image_id":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"450","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[159546164],"tags":[46648215,767233535,9543826,1662368,104494170,237501,13390],"class_list":["post-2998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-punkopinion","tag-brian-cookson","tag-cycling","tag-lee-rodgers","tag-tiffany-cromwell","tag-tracey-gaudry","tag-uci","tag-womens"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2OfoS-Mm","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3135,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/12\/02\/encouraging-signs-to-now-from-cooksons-presidency-though-time-will-tell\/","url_meta":{"origin":2998,"position":0},"title":"Encouraging signs to now from Cookson’s presidency, though time will tell","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"12\u6708 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"By Shane Stokes This week\u2019s news that Brian Cookson will ensure that the UCI looks into the matter of a long-running appeal for compensation from the widow of a pro rider who died in a race in 2005 is encouraging, even if the final outcome is not yet certain. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"other contributors","block_context":{"text":"other contributors","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/other-contributors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/brian-cookson-008.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2870,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/10\/11\/the-times-they-are-a-changin-cookson-gets-to-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":2998,"position":1},"title":"the times, they are a-changin’ – Cookson gets to work","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"10\u6708 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Writing about hope again? For the second time in a week? Surely not! It must be the medication\u2026 And yet here we are, barely over two weeks into Brian Cookson\u2019s presidency and the rumblings of change are to be heard across the land. I know, it\u2019s too early yet to\u2026","rel":"","context":"other publications","block_context":{"text":"other publications","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/other-publications\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"images","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/images1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2635,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/08\/23\/mcquaif-down-for-the-count\/","url_meta":{"origin":2998,"position":2},"title":"McQuaid down for the count?","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"8\u6708 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"this article was written by cp and originally appeared in The Roar __________________ The drama and tension is supposed to belong on the road, not off it. Not in stuffy offices with strip lighting and Ikea desks, the characters wearing Hush Puppies and blue suits rather than Sidis and lycra.\u2026","rel":"","context":"dopepunk","block_context":{"text":"dopepunk","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/dopepunk\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5197,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/12\/12\/cookson-astana-and-the-death-of-hope\/","url_meta":{"origin":2998,"position":3},"title":"Cookson, Astana, and the Death of Hope","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"12\u6708 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"And the first rule of Twitter is that you should never tweet something you will live to regret. Not many people follow that rule but it is quite a good one, one that Brian Cookson OBE (Oh! Benevolent Entity?) was never taught, quite obviously. The decision to award Astana a\u2026","rel":"","context":"dopepunk","block_context":{"text":"dopepunk","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/dopepunk\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/3297331706_a8b9b1c83a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5937,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2015\/03\/09\/uci-employing-former-doper-man-behind-mtn-qhubeka-also-responsible-for-development-of-african-talent\/","url_meta":{"origin":2998,"position":4},"title":"UCI employing former doper – man behind MTN-Qhubeka feeder team also responsible for development of African talent","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"3\u6708 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Speaking last week ahead of the release of the findings of the CIRC report, UCI President Brian Cookson spoke of the need to 'define who is a fit and proper person' to have in the sport. \"We want to be able to look at what happened in order to avoid\u2026","rel":"","context":"dopepunk","block_context":{"text":"dopepunk","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/dopepunk\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/van-zyl-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4316,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/06\/18\/womens-cycling-doing-it-for-the-love-and-one-dick-too-many\/","url_meta":{"origin":2998,"position":5},"title":"Women’s Cycling: doing it for the love, and one dick too many","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"6\u6708 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"When Australia\u2019s Tiffany Cromwell won the 2013 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad classic she had every right to be delighted - and one reason not to be. She\u2019d just cemented her name on the European scene with what was arguably the biggest win to date in her career, trouncing Megan Gruanier of\u2026","rel":"","context":"women's cycling","block_context":{"text":"women's cycling","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/womens-cycling\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/1074697_575505319203292_1770661060_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/1074697_575505319203292_1770661060_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/1074697_575505319203292_1770661060_o.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Lee Rodgers","author_link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/author\/crankpunk\/"},"rttpg_comment":2,"rttpg_category":"punkopinion<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"this article originally appeared in The Roar ______________________________ Changes are being rung in under the new presidency of the UCI by Brian Cookson \u2013 from confiscating computers and hard drives from MacQuaid\u2019s people right after his victory to setting out a roadmap for the sport\u2019s recovery \u2013 but one of the toughest challenges facing the…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40955418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2998"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17044,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2998\/revisions\/17044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}