Basically we just talk about the Giro and it is awesome.

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Some GIRO! highlights:

• Jeff details what it is about Cadel that bothers him, but we both agree if we had to choose between Cuddles and Wiggo, we’d chose Cuddles.
• Jeff is convinced Wiggins has something up his sleeve. Anna is not.
• We try not to get too excited by Cadel.
• Gesink replaces Denis Mechov as the new Silent Assassin.
• We want to talk to a fantasy cycling guru! We’re both amateurs at this, if you’re road.cc fantasy cycling wiz, let us know!

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Fantasy cycling!!

• Velogames: (league code: 29133250): Basic fantasy league- you pick your team and let it ride for the duration.

• Road.cc (league code: 76730): A bit more intense, you can make a certain number of substitutes. Has free and pay options. You need a road.cc account to sign up for the league, but you don’t have to pay.

We mostly skip over talking about Amstel Gold and Fleche Wallonne to focus on Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro.

Liege-Bastogne-Liege!

• VeloVoices review
• Inner Ring review
• How the Race Was Won
• In Praise of Teamwork [Boulder Report]
• Garmin tactics [VeloNews]

Giro!

• Giro Startlist [Cycling Fever]
• Basso to lead Cannondale- srsly?? [VeloNation]
• Wiggins can’t decide- will he or won’t he ride the Giro? Meanwhile Froome starts shopping for new teams (not really, but I sure hope he is) [VeloNation]

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• We bemoan OmegaPharam’s and Stybar’s bad luck [VeloNation]
• Roubaix wrap-up from Joe Lindsey [Boulder Report]
• Paris-Roubaix analysis by Edward Pickering [Cycle Sport]
• Paris-Roubaix talking points by Edward Pickering [Cycle Sport]
• Winning Moment at Paris-Roubaix [Inner Ring]
• How The Race Was Won (now with synth!) [Cyclocosm]

Audio is a little wonky- still trying to deal with new technology!

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• Ronde Reactions [Podium Cafe]
• Talking Tactics [VeloVoices]
• How The Race Was Won [Cyclocosm]

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A New Hero

Last Sunday at the prestigious Tour of Flanders, Peter Sagan, a young 23 years of age, was to become the hero of women’s cycling and feminism in general by finally taking a stand. His well thought out plan was to cast a bright light on the disgraceful way the traditions of podium celebrations in men’s cycling have objectified women for years. Tradition states that two beautiful women, known as podium girls, will be paid to stand on the stage, at either side of the winner, wearing tight fitting clothes. Just as he receives his trophy, they will plant a big kiss on each cheek as photographers go wild in a barrage of shutter clicks and flash bulbs. Even young Peter knows how wrong this is. In this day and age of equality, we should be beyond subjecting women to jobs such as this, where they are seen as trophies themselves, so he formulated a plan. He was going to show the world how appalling this tradition is, and in one fell swoop, begin a discussion that might put an end the age-old silliness.

As he climbed the Patterberg for the final time, he positioned himself in second place and held out to the finish. Just so he would be in the perfect spot. Not distracted by women kissing his cheeks, but a step down he would be right next to the rear end of one of the women. All it took was a wink at one of the photographers, to steal his shutter for one click, and with a wry smile he reached out and gave that rear end a squeeze. It had all the makings of a boyish prank, but it was so much more. It was the squeeze that launched a million tweets. Just as he predicted, the discussion spread round the globe. Atrocious! Appalling! Horrific! Unbelievable! How can this practice still be in place? Podium girls? Really? It’s 2013, what other sports has such a stupid tradition as this?

Role Model? Not likely.

Okay, in seriousness, am I giving the young Slovakian lad WAY too much credit, yes maybe. But in my opinion, so were those participating in the online debate. What riled me all day long was reading how his squeeze, grope, feel, sexual harassment, spoke for all male cyclists and men’s cycling in total. I understand that such acts are wrong and shouldn’t be tolerated, but one act of a class clown doesn’t speak for the whole student body. I didn’t want to defend the act but I felt we were losing a bit of perspective. Can’t we take a deep breath and a touch of understanding that we don’t all share the same sense of humor? Some of us still have lessons to be learned. I wanted to jump into the discussion as all I was reading was cut and dry, black and white, how can people still act this way? Can’t men get past these views? She did not ask to be publicly fondled! I AGREE, BUT!  … I would formulate a statement and then delete it. I would think up another, then delete it too. My blood pressure was probably elevated for most of the day, wanting to say, “He’s the class clown! A punk kid. We’ve laughed at his silliness on the finish line, as it riles the establishment buried in staunch positions of authority and opinion. Get a grip, he is not the role model, nor does he speak for every male.” But I kept my mouth shut for the most part. See? I’m not so dumb after all.

Lesson Learned

Hours later, I filled my wife in on the story of the day. As I told her about who was involved, and how the podium unfolded, her initial reaction was much like mine. Puh-lease, get over yourself. Why do some people take themselves so seriously? Then I got to the squeeze. Things changed immediately. That was a line. When it became a physical, that was a turning point I hadn’t previously given the respect it deserved. I was reminded of more than one workplace situation she’s had where  a co-worker’s lack of common boundaries and ideas of what was funny led to incidents that weren’t life shattering, but none-the-less incidents which shouldn’t have to be tolerated by anyone. “That’s stuff Sagan should have learned in the fifth grade. His teammates should have let him have it for acting that way!” Once again, as she put me smack in my place, I was reminded of how much I love being married to such a tolerant woman. A whole new level of respect. I hope you’ll all please bear with me as I too still have many lessons to learn.

Check out Anna’s take here!

I wasn’t going to write about this. I really wasn’t. If I wrote about every feminist bee in my bonnet I got, you all would stop reading this blog. But right now I have so many EMOTIONS inside of me that I just don’t…. I can’t even… I want to… you know… *sputter* ARGH! The thoughts can hardly form! All I know is that I have a lot of thoughts and emotions about how people are reacting and what people are saying on social media, and writing often helps me put those thoughts in order.

So, fair warning *Feminist Rant Ahead*

There are actually a few things to address in this “pinch-gate”: the fact that Sagan thought it was appropriate to grab the woman’s ass; people’s reactions to the pinch; the whole idea of podium hostesses in the first place.

So why did Sagan grab her ass?

Probably because he’s an immature 23 year old, who appreciates attractive women, and often doesn’t think about how his actions are going to affect others. Does Sagan grabbing her ass make him a bad person? I would say yes and no. No, because he was just an immature kid doing something stupid. While many argue that 23 is old enough to know better, this is a kid who’s spent his whole life in a male dominated sport, surrounded by other males, which often, as we know, causes them to regress back to their teenage years. I would suspect he’s spent very little time around women who are treated with respect- when you rarely see other men treat women with respect, how are you going to learn? On the other hand, it does make him a bad person because 1) it shows a lack of respect for the opposite sex and 2) it’s an indicator of a larger problem in society. But in the end, I can’t condemn him too much, as he’s shown what I believe to be true remorse.

My biggest issue with all of this? The reactions.

Especially the reactions of people who saw no problem with his actions. Now, while I don’t condone his actions, I don’t condemn him either. Don’t  think I’m excusing his actions, because I’m not. He made a stupid mistake and should be reprimanded for it, but I believe he meant no harm and his apology is sincere. He recognized he acted badly and feels remorse. So he apologized, as he should have. So what bothers me is all his apologists who are saying things like:

That’s what I have a problem with and that’s what is making me so upset. When those people can’t acknowledge that Sagan did do something inappropriate and should apologize, then I get angry, upset, depressed.

You see, a woman has a right to be able to do her job (whatever that job may be) without wondering if she’s going to get touched in an inappropriate way without her consent. No matter what your job is, whether you’re a consultant, a CEO, a fast food worker, an administrative assistant, or a podium hostess, you should be able to go to work without wondering if someone is going to call you sweet cheeks, stare at your boobs, leer at you, or cop a feel. This type of behavior is called “sexual harassment.” If you’ve ever worked in the US, it’s highly likely you’ve had to take a sexual harassment prevention class. So you know that it’s not about your intentions but how your intentions are interpreted. I’m sure Peter didn’t mean any harm- he was just having a bit of fun! But if the woman whose ass he grabbed does object, then it caused harm. And it causes harm on greater level, because it illustrates to other impressionable males that it is okay to grab a woman’s ass without her consent.

So now a quick word on another type of reaction.

Are you familiar with victim blaming? It’s the act of placing the responsibility of a crime/accident/incident on the person who was on the receiving end of the transgression. So when someone gets raped and the response is “Did you see what she was wearing?? She was totally asking for it!” that’s victim blaming. Or when a podium hostess gets her ass pinched and the response is:

or

…that’s victim blaming. It doesn’t matter what one is wearing or how one looks, that’s never an invitation to touch, grope, kiss, what-have-you. It doesn’t matter if I’m wearing pasties and a g-string- that doesn’t privileged you certain actions against me. So, when someone says

…that’s unacceptable and helps perpetuate a rape culture. And that, in a nutshell, is what bothered me so much about the whole situation.

And the whole idea of podium hostesses in the first place?

That isn’t something I want to address right now, but quite simply, I see podium hostesses as representing the “spoils” of victory, presented to the winner along with a trophy, champagne and flowers. So yeah, I’d rather this tradition was phased out.

In the end, the biggest issue is how should one react to a situation like this? The way I see it,  a good rule of thumb is asking yourself if the woman was your daughter/wife, would you be comfortable with the way she is being treated? Would you think it’s a funny joke then? Or, if it was your husband/son treating women that way, would you proud of him?  Think about that the next time you see a situation like this. If you do, then maybe I can start having some hope in humanity again.

[read Jeff's take here!]

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Paris-Nice!

• VeloVoices always do great recaps.
• Cosmo must have a lot of time on his hands lately, or he’s excited about the new season, because he has another How The Race Was Won for Paris-Nice.
• Inner Ring’s analysis of the race and Talansky’s attacks.
• Porte says he’s fine being a domestique [VeloNation]

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Strade Bianche

• VeloVoices and Cycle Sport both have great recaps/analysis of the race. And Cyclocosm has a great How the Race Was Won.
• Winners: Cannondale
• Losers: RadioShack and one-trick ponies
• Honey Badger Award: Flecha!
  

News

• Brailsford says cycling needs a new model [Cycling News]
  
• OmegaPharma owner upset that his development team can’t ride with his pro team. [Cycling News]

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