Classics season is upon us. The true hard men and women of the peloton will again shine. It's a celebration of grit and history against the elements. And again, one race has chosen, above all else, to promote itself with the use of gratuitously sexualised imagery. It's time for the cycling community to say, enough is enough.
In 2011, E3 Harelbeke has used an image of black silhouettes of cyclists riding on the back of a naked woman, and in 2014 it was one woman 'riding' a 'bike' made of three other women as a means for 'promotion'. There was an artsy image not unlike those that track darling Victoria Pendleton had at the height of her career. At the same time, there have also been finishing line images from the previous edition to promote the race. In 2015, the image depicted is particularly troubling.
"Who will pinch them in Harelbeke?" The shot is of a podium girl's skirt, a breeze exposing her derriere, and a cycling glove-clad hand ready to go in for the grab. There can be no mistaking what the image is referring to. Two years ago, Peter Sagan thought it appropriate to grab hostess Maja Leye on the podium of the Tour of Flanders. He later apologised.
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Race spokesman Jacques Coussens would have us believe that the promotional poster is "fun and playful". Also, he argues that in the social media furor that followed the image's release, that it was misinterpreted.
Following the Sagan incident, I wrote a piece for Cyclingnews slamming his behavior and those that defended him. In response, I received plenty of hate mail not limited to death threats in the weeks that followed. The experience was not a lot of fun, but not for one second did I regret asking my editor to publish the piece. Two years on, and in the wake of this latest example of cycling's often misogynistic attitude, I again suggest that it is time for the UCI to take a stand.
Women are capable and fierce sporting competitors, and they are a significant portion of the avid global sporting event audience. As influential household partners, they control the majority of consumer spending. Giving respect to women is not only the right thing to do morally, but it is increasingly being seen as good marketing practice. The message apparently has not yet made it to Harelbeke.
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