Pooley to quit??

andyjr

A further knife in to the future of women's road cycling

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/19556710

Daz555

I have a feeling Laura Trott is going to turn out to be a demon on the road. Voss will have something to worry about.

Richmond Racer

Daz555 wrote:

I have a feeling Laura Trott is going to turn out to be a demon on the road. Voss will have something to worry about.

The problem is what teams are going to be around for her - and others - to race with...

Yellow Peril

This is sad. I think If I won the Euro millions I'd finance a couple of women's teams. I like watching them race. The Olympic RR was a good watch and Vos is a legend. If it was logistically possible It would be good to have shorter women's GT's setting off earlier than the blokes and finishing sooner so there is no over lap and that way the crowds and telly would get a double whammy with good sponsor exposure. Could it be done?

disgruntledgoat

Yellow Peril wrote:

This is sad. I think If I won the Euro millions I'd finance a couple of women's teams. I like watching them race. The Olympic RR was a good watch and Vos is a legend. If it was logistically possible It would be good to have shorter women's GT's setting off earlier than the blokes and finishing sooner so there is no over lap and that way the crowds and telly would get a double whammy with good sponsor exposure. Could it be done?

Isn't that exactly how the Women's classics work? And still they don' get any TV coverage.

Yellow Peril

disgruntledgoat wrote:

Yellow Peril wrote:

This is sad. I think If I won the Euro millions I'd finance a couple of women's teams. I like watching them race. The Olympic RR was a good watch and Vos is a legend. If it was logistically possible It would be good to have shorter women's GT's setting off earlier than the blokes and finishing sooner so there is no over lap and that way the crowds and telly would get a double whammy with good sponsor exposure. Could it be done?

Isn't that exactly how the Women's classics work? And still they don' get any TV coverage.

that may be the case but let's face it the men's classics are only just about starting to get terrestrial coverage in the UK in any case. The understanding of the importance of the classics will continue to rise with the growing popularity of cycling but I'd start with ressurecting the women's TdF as outlined above so that there can be a switch between the men's race and the women's race for the viewing public. It seems to work with Marathon's doesn't it? When youu've nailed the TdF you then do the same for the other GT's (which now get regular TV airing) and work your way backwards

disgruntledgoat

I meant in Belgium and Holland. I've never seen a live stream of the womens races and there was naff all on telly when I watched Flanders over there. Maybe it's my ignorance, but it did seem to either be absent or requiring hunting down.

greasedscotsman

Yellow Peril wrote:

that may be the case but let's face it the men's classics are only just about starting to get terrestrial coverage in the UK in any case. The understanding of the importance of the classics will continue to rise with the growing popularity of cycling but I'd start with ressurecting the women's TdF as outlined above so that there can be a switch between the men's race and the women's race for the viewing public. It seems to work with Marathon's doesn't it? When youu've nailed the TdF you then do the same for the other GT's (which now get regular TV airing) and work your way backwards

I don't think I would try and run a women's tour at the same time as the TdF. Imagine the logistics of it all? How many more vehicales would you need? And trying to compete with the TdF really isn't a great idea, for any race, nevermind a women's one. I would try and win a space where there isn't a big men's race to compete with in terms of TV coverage. Like when the Tour of Turkey or Eneco Tour are on. I'd much rather watch the Giro Donne than one of those. And how come I can watch the Sprint Challenge thingy at the GP Plouay on Eurosport, but not the women's race?

ocdupalais

greasedscotsman wrote:

And how come I can watch the Sprint Challenge thingy at the GP Plouay on Eurosport, but not the women's race?

That was silly.

It was like an added insult to women's racing - like watching lads doing wheelies in the car park while the main event was on.

My suspicion is that Pooley is trying to keep some of the issues facing women at the top level of cycling to the fore. She ain't going to be giving up for a year if she wins World Champs.
Unless she's up the duff.

Richmond Racer

OCDuPalais wrote:

greasedscotsman wrote:

And how come I can watch the Sprint Challenge thingy at the GP Plouay on Eurosport, but not the women's race?

That was silly.

It was like an added insult to women's racing - like watching lads doing wheelies in the car park while the main event was on.

My suspicion is that Pooley is trying to keep some of the issues facing women at the top level of cycling to the fore. She ain't going to be giving up for a year if she wins World Champs.
Unless she's up the duff.

You could have a point about her keeping up the pressure..

greasedscotsman

OCDuPalais wrote:

That was silly.

It was like an added insult to women's racing - like watching lads doing wheelies in the car park while the main event was on.

My suspicion is that Pooley is trying to keep some of the issues facing women at the top level of cycling to the fore. She ain't going to be giving up for a year if she wins World Champs.
Unless she's up the duff.

It was utterly stupid. OK, I have no problem with the Sprint thingy as such, but to show it on TV? And then they showed an hour and a half of the same event from Quebec! (Mind you, I still sat and watched it... )

Unfourtunately I could see her leaving the sport, it's not like it's all she has. When you hear her talking about her team not having the money for fuel to go to races, you can see why a "proper job" might be more appealing. Hopefully she wins the World Champs and feels compelled to carry on!

LangerDan

greasedscotsman wrote:

OCDuPalais wrote:

That was silly.

It was like an added insult to women's racing - like watching lads doing wheelies in the car park while the main event was on.

My suspicion is that Pooley is trying to keep some of the issues facing women at the top level of cycling to the fore. She ain't going to be giving up for a year if she wins World Champs.
Unless she's up the duff.

It was utterly stupid. OK, I have no problem with the Sprint thingy as such, but to show it on TV? And then they showed an hour and a half of the same event from Quebec! (Mind you, I still sat and watched it... )

The probable truth is that someone in Eurosport knows that they were commercially better off showing that sh!te than the womens race.
And into that sad mix you could also throw in the repeats of the London-Paris charity cycle, some corporate team event in the Alps with Carlos Sastre and that documentary about Herne Hill that was wedged in between the US Pro Challenge and the Vuelta coverage. And each of those probably sold more Yokahama tyres and Eli Lilly erectile dysfunction products than Plouay.