I've seen a lot of women getting involved in the sport through their friends in a no-pressure social situation. I think women-only social events and ride days are a great way to get girls out riding their bikes and having fun with their friends at the same time. I believe that women already want to get out there and try, but it can be intimidating and there is sometimes the feeling that it's a man's sport, which translates into 'you have to be strong and fearless to do it'. I think showing women that there are dedicated people out there wanting to encourage and help them shows that it's possible. Women do things differently, so I think that getting girls to ride together with girls that don't, encourages new riders to get into the sport because no one is looking at those women new to riding and thinking they can't do it. I believe it's on the right track and it's come a long way so far. Women need to know that they are wanted in this sport. |
I feel like there needs to be women-specific teams at a higher level in mountain biking. In mountain biking, or at least gravity, the brands and the industry in general just take women because they want the points or because they look pretty, not because they believe they are equally awesome! Like the Luna or the Liv Giant teams in XC, there needs to be a women-specific structure - and a marketing of those ambassadors - from the brands in downhill. We're all ready to try to represent a sponsor as good as we can, maybe more than male athletes because we know it's a privilege for us ladies to have the support. It is just a matter of time until one company has the guts to throw a big female-only team together. However, I think the solution is in the hands of the industry and not the UCI. Making a rule obligating teams to include a female rider wouldn't be beneficial. We see that the ladies on the World Cup circuit are made less and less important year after year. For example, our training is mainly in the early morning when photographers who have worked late into the night are still recovering so there are barely any shots of women riders other than those with the top three number boards. Having better coverage of ladies would show to other women that there's bunch of us riders other than those in the top three who take the same risks on the mountain and also do quite well. Every racer is a character and it should be promoted better, like Eddy and Wyn Master do for the boys, why couldn't a good but not necessarily top female rider also get attention for her character? A good example is Casey Brown. She did some stuff differently with her sponsors and got some good feedback from the fans. If only the best riders would rider their bikes, the sport would die instantly. I fear that this is what is going to happen to the Women's category in downhill if we don't fight back. I am pleased with what Liv Giant and Juliana are trying to do to get more women into mountain biking. It's nice to see events like the Liv Giant Women's Only A-Line event, and that should be done all over the world. But for that you need icons, you need people that attract the female audience in order to make them participate. Every country needs a national champion, and in South America some of my fellow World Cup racers are superstars! Why doesn't this happen in other continents? I think the supportive structure like Caroline Buchanan has over in BMX is excellent. Take two or three talented riders and create a 'next generation' team. In mountain biking there is a lack of racing opportunities for younger participants and even less for ladies. |
In terms of practical things that could help encourage more female riders, I'd like to see reduced rates for women at coaching clinics, and more entry-level style events like the Enduro Lite races they've had in Italy. I'd like to see bike parks and resorts offering women-specific times for certain trails too. I'm really impressed by what Rachel Atherton is doing with sponsoring the Junior's category at the British Downhill Series this year, it's pretty awesome. For our part, this year we're introducing equal prize money on the podium for women competing at Crankworx, and they'll be equal prize money for the King and Queen of Crankworx at the end of the World Tour. |
Women are more into mountain biking as a leisure activity then as a competitive activity. Women want to have fun riding, so they go out with their friends and they don't have to compete with each other. The industry has already done a lot in the past ten years, and became more confident in developing bikes and clothing for female riders, but there is still a lot to do. The industry acknowledges the existence of a growing women's market and takes note of their specific needs and expectations. Now they have another problem which is to really find out their needs and not only assume what they are. The bike industry is a very male dominated industry, in marketing as well as in product developing. The industry needs more women as product managers and also in marketing. If that happens then I could say that industry is really trying to understand the market. There already exists some women's events and camps, which is a good way to motivate more women to ride, but now we need again to work stronger on the products. The female biker is not just one type of mountain biker, there are so many different types - all mountain, enduro, tour, downhill, bike park - and the media is putting more women in their magazines and on their front covers. The bike scene as a whole is realising that there is more than just one type of female biker. By taking the female biker serious, the market will equalise their approach a bit more. They are developing groups of female bikers and also female biking teams. There are some female riders or personalities really pushing the market and challenging the bike companies and their product development. When I started to make female biking a subject almost 15 years ago I was pretty alone in the European market. I was very inspired by Candace Shadley who already organised women camps in Canada and Jacquie Phelan, who was the first to emancipate mountain biking for women. I think we all are on a good way and I am very excited in what direction the female biking will develop. |
For us Brits, 2014 was a really successful year for women in particular on the international race circuit, and in 2015 we need to do more to capitalise on this success with taking credible action to encourage more women to ride and hopefully race. One example of this is what Rachel Atherton is doing to sponsor the Junior category at the British Downhill Series. As an organisation, we'll also be working to promote women racers front and centre by our having them on our marketing material. That's front page of our Facebook as well as the cover stars on our posters for each round. We hope this will help to encourage more women into the sport because if they see there are women participating - in what is traditionally seen as a male sport - they may consider giving it a go too, and that sort of groundswell is something to be encouraged. We'll also be recognising women's equal status on the podium by giving women equal prize money to men this year. As for teams themselves, teams like Madison-Saracen took a gamble with giving Manon Carpenter a spot, raising her through the ranks of her peers and onto the World Cup circuit. The gamble paid off and her success has meant the team as a whole has had its ranking boosted. There needs to be encouragement from the UCI to help Elite teams see the value of nurturing and fostering young talented female riders, especially at an early age. Finally, the media has a big role to play. How many people can name the 2014 Junior Female World Champ? It's not because they're not good enough, they're the future of the sport, but they don't get the coverage they deserve and that needs to change. |
Just go out there and make it happen! I love to share my passion with other women around the globe and get them hooked on biking just as much as me. It's not always about going fast... it's mostly about enjoying what you're doing and doing it with other people that share the same passion. |
When it comes to attracting more women to the sport on a leisure level, I think the key is providing more access to skills clinics, So many women, myself included, started riding just by following a friend down the trail and just holding on for dear life. By breaking down the skills and providing step-by-step instruction we make not only a feature more approachable and less intimidating, but the sport as a whole. The clinic movement is growing and I always tell any new mountain biker to participate in one. On a professional level, I support equal prize money and do what I can in my professional capacity to make that happen. The argument that women's fields are less competitive and thus don't deserve equal prize money, doesn't hold water, because it cost a women just as much to get to a race and to maintain her bike. I feel the growth of the clinic movement is instrumental to growing the sport as well as the breadth of quality mountain bike products from XC to gravity available to women. I see both of those areas growing and more and more companies behind both efforts. |
We are doing a number of initiatives to promote and encourage women to participate in MTB. We sponsor several world class women's instruction programs - The TREK Dirt Series, Lindsey Voreis Liv Ladies AllRide Program, Leigh Donovan's Ichoosebikes and The Rebecca Rusch SRAM Gold Rusch Tour. Last year we started along with QBP the Women's Scolarship Program to UBI - United Bicycle Institute and sent two women. This year several more sponsors joined in the program and we sent 10 women. We had over 800 applicants. SRAM includes women in our advertising both print and online, our sales materials, tradeshow booth graphics etc. I think half of the images at our Interbike booth this year were women. In terms of product, we make components that are adjustable, therefore offering choices that are suitable for women. |
I know there are more and more women riding bikes and it's great to see that. It's always harder for the women to take a space in a team becuase it's a guy's sport. We just have to show everyone that we can ride with style and as fast as they do, and also bring different things to the sport. We just need to enjoy riding and keep our peace. The best thing we could hope for in terms of this year is to see more women riders and for us already in the sport, to encourage them. |
First of all, we have to admit that the number of women in the mountain biking community has increased a lot in the past years. Yet, we are still a minority and there are a couple of things that need improvement or change to continue going. For me, the first word that comes into my mind is acknowledgement. For mountain biking as a leisure activity, it means that people from the industry acknowledge the existence of a growing women's market and take note of their specific needs and expectations. It's not only about the design. Bike brands should be able to offer as fun, amazing and high-performance products as they do for men. For mountain biking as a professional capacity, it means for example more women in leading industry positions. Nevertheless, I think that the scene is on the right track, with growing female media presence and growing women specific offer not only in products but also in events and camps. The landscape is already in an evolution process and stereotypes are slowly disappearing and we can now find women shredding on magazines covers. The education has evolved too and there are always more mountain biking women guides bringing the sport not only to other women but to men too; this is another step towards 'MTB-equality'. We can also spot more high-end products for women on the market, especially bikes, which means that the industry is listening to this segment. Finally, there is a real emancipation of female mountain bikers, not only riding with their boyfriend, husband or brother any more but getting together to achieve some really cool things. There are a lot of amazing, inspiring women out there, so with people and stakeholders giving them the opportunity to express themselves and inspire other women, it will for sure happen. |
It's all about breaking down intimidation boundaries and providing MTB riding opportunities in a safe, organized, and fun atmosphere. At Specialized we understand the importance of providing the tools for women to feel confident when getting into the sport. There are also a number of women who are leading this from the top at the professional level such as Anneke Beerten, Lea Davison, and Kate Courtney, part of our job is to make sure we also build the bikes and equipment to support the discerning female rider and help them get to the top step of the podium. As with any sport or hobby, it's extremely valuable to start as a kid and it's extremely exciting to see the growing number of high school mountain bike teams through out the country and even more powerful the number of girls on each team. Although the sport of mountain biking has been around for quite awhile it's fairly new on the "mainstream" side and I believe the more we do as an industry to educate and familiarize the world with the sport and variety of riding opportunities mountain biking provides the more it will continue to grow. At Specialized it's always fun to take new ladies out for their first mountain bike ride, get them setup with the bike, work on handling, braking, and just having fun while out on the trail. There's something contagious about mountain bike riding with a bunch of ladies, you laugh, you push each other and support each other to try new things and over come fears, and then you stop and take a group photo for instagram of course! At Specialized we are very excited for the upcoming year and our continued expansion of our women's MTB product line for both the beginner as well as the accomplished discerning rider. Our goal is to provide the optimum bikes and equipment for each rider's desired experience and we are really onto some exciting things this year! |
One thing I see helping are more women's specific events and organised rides as they seem to be the best way to get lots of women out riding together, having fun and exploring. From my own experience, the first time my mum went out for a ride without myself or my dad was recently on a local organised women's ride, and women's nights at our local skatepark - although not quite MTB - have been a great way to get women riding together and encouraging each other in a fun, friendly environment. Again, my mum even had a go! Sometimes being the only girl out amongst a load of guys can be intimidating. I love it when I have other girls to ride with, especially if we are of a similar level so we can encourage/bully each other into trying a new jump or section and try to keep up! I think everything going on with women's mountain biking at the moment is really encouraging already. With women's specific bike ranges, clothing, events and awards, the industry is getting behind us. There's so much going on. It's great to hear that female entries to the British Downhill Series have doubled this year and I think Rachel Atherton sponsoring and supporting the Junior Women's category is an awesome idea. So hopefully we will see plenty of youngsters signing up! |
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Increasing women's price money is a good thing but don't you think this avoid the real problem ?
I can understand how it would be hard for a girl to even know where to begin to get into the sport. It is promoted as super dangerous, expensive and all "yo bro, go big or go home". Especially since generally women are brought up to not get involved in "extreme" activities, entering such male dominated space is going to be hard at best. Add to the fact that its a fairly bumpy road in the start before you begin to get a hang of riding anything but beginner trails and keeping up with what bb and rear hub fit your frame, I think giving somewhat unearned money to an already professional is not the best way to guide in more females.
Grow the female side from the ground up not up to down. The cash is imo better spent on the many rather then a very select few that like Atherton for instance had the priviledge of growing up with to insane brothers. What about others that dont have such a natural way in? I'd rather subsidize them than those who are already in the thick of it earning a living from sponsors that we buy quite expensive gear from.
The issue I see would be competitions letting 200 men compete but only 20 women compete. For example, in UCI downhill they let less women into the finals. If there simply aren't 200 women who want to compete that's fine, but if 177 want to they should ideally all be allowed to. At the same time, if I'm being honest with myself I don't think there will ever be as many women who do "extreme sports' as men, based on how we're wired.
It's very simple; each one of us, male or female, should encourage a female friend or family member to ride.
When mountain biking sales increase due to demand from women, then there will be more women specific things.
At the same time we all should be fighting for more trail access everywhere.
Take the risk, get the reward... Props to the ladies sending it with the fellas..
Anyhow, the sponsors and like folk can afford it.
Oh, and by the way, I don't have it to send any of that stuff... Carry on then
pedaldragger@ I can see your logic and I would agree, women usually even take more risk than the men since they most likely dont have the same physical bulk to cushion hard impacts but normally price purse is a function of participants that pay for the chance of taking home the dough. So it makes sense that if you have to beat 200 rather than 10 you'll get a bigger check.
Men's MTB is much much bigger than women's MTB. Thereby more people watch it, follow it, and get influenced (wether they like it or not) by seeing the sponsors everywhere at the events, leading them to buy their products.
It's pure marketing.
This being said, when a scene is much smaller, no company is willing to pay the same ammount for the sponsoring, because they get much less exposure, and it won't be worth their invested money. Sponsorships etc are not a charity. They are purely (cheap) advertisement for companies, which are hoping to get much higher sales in the near future by promoting their company.
A good example of this is the millions of dollars that go into road cycling (huge scene), but a professional mtb street rider (tiny scene) should be happy if he gets a free frame or bike.
It is not always just black and white discrimination, wether one likes it or not but its a really easy card to play if you feel you are on the wrong side of the stick and want more because you see someone else doing what you think is the same. I mean a sales rep gets payed for making sales not showing up to work or knowing the best arguments etc. Greed fueled by envy can make anyone blind, must be hard being a female showing up at a race, win and not get as big a check as the man that won? For in her eyes she has done the same work. Well half of it, on the expense side, the cost was the same for equipment, lodging, transport etc. But her performance results in two more bikes out the door, the mans results in 10. As to why more went out the door is another question but they most certainly didnt deliver the same work to the sponsor.
We want strong girls who can compete against men, women who are not props there for decoration. Do we want girls who strive to being sex objects? Or, do we want girls who believe they are on equal footing with men?
Woman's participation numbers may never be as high as men, but I'm sure a change in marketing wouldn't hurt. I think what needs to especially change is the race reporting around female athletes. We all know that men are more capable in absolute physical terms, but that doesn't excuse all the "she's beautiful AND strong" crap in articles about every female athlete. Right now women who want to be successful athletes in sports need to be pretty to get contracts, and I think that's terrible, especially considering some of the ugly ass dudes who have no problem getting contracts in men's UCI DH.
Personally, i've been seeing more and more women riding DH. In fact last summer I think I saw the same or more women in lift lines than I did on XC trails, but they seem put off by the competitive side of the sport.
I wonder whether that is really working? It puts me off, that's for sure and I tested myself several times how much catholic guilt is there - NONE. I would like to see a scientific study confirming that this model of advertising for soft wankers actually works over other models, whatever that is. Redbull is way more successful and their marketing is oriented more towards a "smart" client, they really try to stand out.
@dthomp325 that's a great note about being pretty and getting the contracts. Its so true. We should always champion excellence, not some marketing schtick with underlying sexual overtones.
@WAKIdesigns just look at all the douche bags in lifted trucks with Monster stickers in their windows. Other than the sponsored guys, those dudes are buying into the marketing. Lowest common denominator after all.
Women can make money on talent alone. Think of Ann Caroline or Missy Giove.
they are. Until then we will believe in pictures and use them as arousing agents, men fall easily for visuals, it's a pitfall robbing us from experiencing women magic fully
You actually think women aren't SXing because the industry forbids it? You'd say the same for slopestyle maybe? Or BMX? Hmmm, what is your reasoning for not seeing any men in bikinis walking around the events? Men are exploited for their willingness & abilities for carcass hucking & women are exploited for their willingness & abilities for bikini wearing. The women aren't out there competing because there aren't enough with the physical & mental qualities to send it & the ones that would be inclined to try can't compete with the bigger, stronger, faster & gnarlier men. Now vote me down like you did jaame for telling the truth. Most girls (probably including your daughters) care way more about looking like & being a super model than a supercross racer & that's because women are what they are & want what they want. Not because men actively try to put them down, you dolt. When FMB has a girl that can ride like Semenuk then I'll guarantee that we'll all wanna see her compete with Semenuk & exploit those abilities the same way he does & win the same money he does. Until then, take your head outta your ass & get some fresh air once in a while huh?
It's like women only snowboard video. They ride better than most of us, but at reachable level, what is motivating i think.
@WayneParsons And I never said you were a pervert, what I said was dont sit on your pedestal like you are above other "men". Now what you teach your daughters is your prerogative, but @freeride-forever is right in saying its not realistic and practical to teach them that "you can do anything a man can do AND alot of the times, better!" first off you are dead wrong, because women cannot serve in combat roles in the marine corp, but I get what you are trying to tell them, but if you really want to teach your daughters something powerful and useful for the rest of their life, teach them to roll with the punches and at times accept defeat, and that they wont be the best in everything, but that none of that should break their spirits and that they can make it through anything. Teach them to find what they love in life and do that. Those are probably better life lessons...
Equality or not, women will still continue to use their anatomy to get what they want. Not all times, but they still will use it no matter how "equal" it gets. Just like men use our advantages...
Many women really want to be viewed as equal to men in sports and they usually accept that they aren't ever going to be as good as the top men, its just a fact of life. We still train just as hard and even harder than the top male athletes. Some female athletes do use their sexuality to their advantage, but many of them do so because it's one of the ways to get as much attention as men do. Not saying that I really agree with it, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Until sport stops comparing women to men and ladies are no longer in the huge minority then it's going to happen. The fastest way to cut that part out is to nurture girls and have them push each other, have all ladies events and top mtb teams, because an all womens team or event is not going to be exploiting any kind of sexuality.
For @WayneParsons to want to teach his girls that they can do anything a man can do and do it better, thats a great lesson to teach. There are a lot of ladies out there on the trails every day that could school a good portion of the men. Maybe they won't be better than top FMB, DH, or XC athletes but they can certainly be just as good or better than the men in their own community.
@g-42, you're right, but there's a certain insidiousness to the demands on women -- like I said in my original comment, we must look good whilst risking our lives, lead but not speak loudly or say things that people don't like, and we have to work our asses off, not say a word and still be available to lounge around in bikinis. A lot has changed since the 1950s, but in athletics, not much of the mentality has come that far.
So what do men want? Do you want subservient women whom aren't in power, nor earning the same wage, or feeling like they matter as much as men? Or do you want to raise strong girls who are told they don't have to fit any role put forth by society? I would choose the latter. Look at the countries where women are subdued. Do you want that? Remember this, strong men have strong women in their lives. Weak men attract weak women.
As to what this all means for MTB - this sport is part of this world. In general, groups tend to do better when they're not fully male or female dominated. Men and women bringing out the best in each other. What a concept. So why should that be any different in MTB than it is in the wider world/society. I say bring it on - we all have much to gain by everybody bringing it, no matter their gender, orientation, ethnicity, nationality, whatever. As a species, we have much to gain from socially evolving, and everything to lose from refusing to do so.
*hangs head in shame...
Personally I think it's the same as in the Men. Some are happy with the level they are at and others want to be the best.
Progression is awesome and well and good (believe me!), but I personally would love to see us progress and push the limits as a community. Individual fame or notoriety is far less valuable than an entire discipline stepping up and throwing down.
You also have to take into consideration that a lot of women are expert risk assessors -- we tend to think big picture and eye up potential consequences versus reward, and right now, there's not a whole lot of reward in Rampage. We're genetically programmed to recognize risk for the continuation and health of ourselves and offspring. Can we physically kick ass at a venue like Rampage? Absolutely. Would it be amazing to be the woman who throws down at Rampage? Completely. But is it worth it, and the highly likely time off the bike when our efforts could be put somewhere else? Doubtful. But not all women are cautious, and not all men are like Zink.
Equality isn't about pretending we're all the same. Equality is about valuing everyone's different qualities (strengths and weaknesses) on the same playing field. We're all human, and it isn't about trying to be better than someone else at everything -- it's about being the best us and doing what we're best at. For Cam Zink, that's him being his best. For Rachel Atherton, that's her being her best. They both have different, amazing skills that aren't gender-specific, and they do what they're best at, which makes them great. End of story.
That said, I'd say the field in those races is still tilted pretty far towards sausage.
Same goes for friendlyfoe. "Not a question of skill or talent"? Maybe to someone who thinks a 40' jump is big. Do you drive a car? Fly on a plane? Do very many women do those things? Men fly big jumps because MEN can handle it. That's why. That's what makes it not necessarily a "poor" decision. Accidents happen, but they're not often fatal or even permanently damaging because of the way decisions are made. Man's willingness to do physically risky things is certainly different (greater) than women's. Which one leads to further progress I wonder? You're fvcked if you think women are any better at making decisions than men are. If men are chemically wired to take chances even when it seems like a poor decision" & the same is not true for women, then what must be true for women is that when they make poor decisions, they must not have known it was poor in the first place. Women are just a different kind of stupid than men are. How many broads will spend themselves into oblivion, or marry an a*shole for money or sell their slut holes on the streets? Women take their own dumb risks within the social complex that governs them. Between men & women, which one is usually considered to decide with logic & which one with emotions? We all do what we like to do for fun & maybe the reason men get away with all those big airs is not only a physical advantage but a better understanding of physical laws as well. Same reason there are more male mathematicians & scientists. Don't be a dumbass. :/ Women don't take the physical chances men do because they already know they're almost certainly gonna fail. The man takes the chance, because he knows he CAN do it & that he'll likely walk away from it. Both have a roughly equal sense of what their abilities & limitations are & men are generally just tougher, not any dumber.
But dude... I feel ya. It must be difficult for you when your only interaction with women is insulting them on a bike forum, and I feel your pain, man! It's a goddamn dilemma and a rising issue around the world for keyboard jockeys who don't leave their basements. I'm sorry that you feel so inferior that every word and every sentence out of your mouth serves only to justify your sexist views and compensate for your lack of social bearing, and I'm sorry that it's all our fault. If you want a shoulder to cry on, I'm here for you... Just give me a call -- mine are really strong.
I'll say this much, for every guy who can consistently ride a pro jump track, there's 10 guys who ate it and ended up in the hospital. Not that long ago there was a PB article about some guys who came from iirc poland, and on the last day the one guy broke his back or neck or whatever it was. That dude is probably 10x a better rider than i'll ever be, and look where it got him.
Arguments like this are the same sort of nonsense you hear from left wingers who think scrapping welfare and cutting taxes on big business as a way to create jobs. Getting answers by only looking at 2% of the problem.
but they get TOTAL RESPECT from me...theres nothing better than to see a woman who kicks ass on a bike...( and getting mine kicked at the same time !!!)
I'd be pretty stoked if Pinkbike could feature more good women's clips as they come up. I don't want to see not-great videos posted just because they are women, but there's certainly to be some high quality stuff out there.
Isn't that why anyone tries anything new?
Annekes comment was rather thin and superficial
Sure, it gets the girls doing it more into racing etc, but how many non-riding girls are actually more likely to enter the sport because Manon Carpenter got paid $50k sponsorship in a year? ( I have no idea how much Manon gets paid)
If you're looking to improve the female field of riders that'll do the job, but I question how many will want to ride because of that - which raises the question of whether we want more girls or more girls in competition - the recurring theme among many of the top women riders in the article was that the majority of girls are not as competitive as men.
Sincerely, an 18 year old male rider who doesn't know any female riders and really doesn't know what he's talking about.
In terms of the goal of getting more girls onto bikes whether "we" watch pro women's downhill is kind of irrelevant to my way of thinking because "we" already ride.
I doubt many girls get into mountainbiking because they watch Emmeline Ragot pin a WC race run - to me they're more likely to get into it through a chilled woman's day, female friend or boyfriend/brother/dad that doesn't push them too hard and alienate them. This is why I referred to the pro women talking about how girls are less competitive. While I started riding because I saw rampage/ other pro footage when I was 10, most girls I know would just get freaked out by it.
I wonder if this is what some of the girls meant by the mtb industry being geared towards and run by men - my entire argument is hypothesis because I don't actually know what makes girls tick.
s119.photobucket.com/user/aircarver/media/understanding-women-10520_zps4bc63cc3.jpg.html
Personally, I don't really care about the pro side of the sport getting bigger, I just like the riding, but it's undeniable that a lack of women in the top events doesn't help getting half the population out on a bike. If you want an bigger/better/cooler scene then you want women in too. It's called investment.
Just since the USAC ProGRT announced broadcasting and advertising plans, there has been a surge of support not just for the men, but for us women -- athlete sponsors have actually offered monetary compensation this year for placing or winning (as opposed to last year), just because of the increased broadcast and exposure. It's not that people aren't watching; it's that the little screen time racers are given isn't well planned, and there is little to no advertising from anyone outside of RedBull. Does the UCI require sponsors to advertise on international TV weeks beforehand? Nope. Do they even ask? Nope. When was the last time you saw a vehicle sponsor the ICU tour in a profitable way (a la Audi sponsoring the U.S. Ski Team)? When was the last time you saw the UCI seek out major sponsorships? Or USAC, for that matter? Governing and sanctioning bodies, race organizers, broadcasters, event coordinators and location vendors HAVE TO get money from somewhere, and right now, they count on the factory teams and solo riders' entries far more than they should.
If we marketed the women's racing (and the men's) more effectively, you can bet your ass people would watch. When was the last time you watched a men's tennis match? What about a men's volleyball match? Anyone? People aren't watching DH (men's OR women's) because it's not marketed appropriately or correctly. Advertising is about selling the story and catching a viewer's interest -- it's about engaging them enough to make them want to trade some of their time to another area. And right now, we don't do that, plain and simple.
ya.
it looks like that.
Because it sucks to watch people not be able to do half the jumps on the track.
Womens wc dh sking? Different story.
It still looks badass.
men's day = the 364 other days
The industry can affect patents by investing in junior clinics, and by making bikes more affordable. Whether the comparison is fair or not, no parent interested in buying a bike for themselves and their child (so they can go out riding together) is going to buy a bike worth at least 1/3 of their car. The industry needs to work out how to make bikes more affordable across the board. Cheaper yet quality entry is the way forward. Maybe less marketing trying to differentiate between all the other brands which more or less do the same thing, and more investment into ease of life for the every day rider? Even 2.5k for an entry level dual suspension bike is too much for those looking to enter the sport and we shouldn't be relying on the second hand market to pick up the slack because there is more scope for the first time buyer to get ripped off and leave the sport forever.
more support for high school teams
more legal and accessable single track
more women working in the bike industry
women's specific bikes that are good quality and more affordable especially for beginners
more girls in media; photos, advertisements, videos, etc...
more clinics and group ride opportunities for adult women
So this last year....who is that?
I agree totally with her. Racing creates Heros/Heroines that inspire people to get into the sport
Racers and their sponsors create the engaging mythology to inspire us all to dig in get serious about riding. After the incredible 2014 WC DH season, its high time to see some alot more coverage of the Womens race scene.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwhJ1-fqepM
We don't need to balance anything out, we should encourage everyone with an interest in MTB to get into it but the sport will always be male heavy in numbers as in Football, Rugby, Cricket, Golf, Rally Car, Moto, Road/TT etc etc etc.. Males are just more genetically wired to desire going fast and risk a bit of rough and tumble.
Just because someone doesn't make a quote for an article doesn't mean they're not making a statement... Read the press from earlier this week, smart guy.
Can you explain how those two statements are in any way linked?
Let alone a day, we've had an International Men's Millenium - time to let women have some of the fun too now, don't you reckon?