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BBC Colombian kit screenshot.pngBrian Cookson says UCI "on the case" over Colombian women's team kit
More background has emerged over the origin of the Colombian women's team kit that has been the centre of probably the biggest cycling-gear-related social media furore ever, and UCI president Brian Cookson announced yesterday that the organisation was "on the case."
A report from Spanish website ABC.es says that the IDRD-Bogota Humana-San Mateo-Solgar kit was designed by team rider Angie Rojas, according to Bogota Cycling League president Carlos Orlando Ferreira Pinzón.
Ferreira said that the team had been competing in this clothing without comment until this image from the team presentation at the women's Tour of Tuscany went whizzing round the world.
Yesterday evening, cycling's world governing body weighed in with this tweet from president Brian Cookson:
To the many who have raised the issue of a certain women's team kit, we are on the case. It is unacceptable by any standard of decency.
— Brian Cookson OBE (@BrianCooksonUCI) September 14, 2014
A few people responded that there were bigger problems in women's cycling than this kit. Marcos Marín said: "I think there are lots of more important issues in #womenscycling to fix than a brown kit. That race i.e."
Last year the Giro Toscana saw over half the field abandon on the final day because of safety issues, which Marín clearly thinks is rather more important than how a few skinsuits look on a presentation podium.
It also turns out that the problem could be, quite literally, a trick of the light. Cycling journalist Ben Atkins, who follows women's racing closely, tweeted:
@BrianCooksonUCI Can I suggest a response like: "OMG you won't believe this, but in some lights the GOLD bits on your kit look a bit flesh."
— Ben Atkins (@benatkins_uk) September 14, 2014
Meanwhile, the fuss has even made the BBC news, though to spare Middle England's blushes, Aunty has carefully modified the image, as you can see here:
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
Latest Comments
- Eton Rifle 12 hours 28 min ago
Well, yeah. I can imagine that linking your product in any way to the Cybertruck, the most ridiculed product in recent history, isn't a PR victory,...
- Rendel Harris 12 hours 35 min ago
Thank goodness for that. I don't suppose anyone would want you to. You certainly behave like one though.
- Eton Rifle 12 hours 43 min ago
You do see some utterly ridiculous examples of car use....
- Eton Rifle 13 hours 5 min ago
Exactly. Every road death is a tragedy but this is at the "twat deserved it" end of the spectrum, looking at the state of that car.
- Rendel Harris 13 hours 12 min ago
I'm not the editor of this article, nor indeed of anything on this website. One would have thought that didn't require explaining.
- Eton Rifle 13 hours 13 min ago
I think the answer is in your question. I genuinely didn't know he was married to her. It does kinda explain it. Disappointing, nevertheless.
- Daclu Trelub 17 hours 58 min ago
In a perfect world, we'd have a measure of how easily distracted someone is, as part of their driving test....
- Sredlums 18 hours 26 min ago
These products are nothing but ridiculously expensive and superfluous, and they bring nothing but bragging rights....
- Daclu Trelub 18 hours 45 min ago
Of course they are, and not so different. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09B662CDN?crid=34M42BETAMFT0&th=1 The bugger's got four versions up now!
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24 comments
and people think the photos of those ladies were indecent, have you been seen the rowers photos....wonder how much furore happened their photos were published
italian-rowers.jpg
I'm not sure what's worse. People being outraged by the kit or people being outraged at people being outraged at the kit.
Meh. I'm off to ride my bike.
I wish the UCI put the same effort into growing Womans cycling. Really, I just don't think this is a big deal, i've seen far worse on the streets in this country.
Alex Murray has fired his FACT CANNON: http://www.chasingwheels.com/road-racing/professional-road-racing/5-thin...
I dont think the outrage has anything to do with morality . Its about the traditional view of women as objects to be rated for their looks, not for what they do.
Nor is it solely down to what those individual women say about it, as it impacts all racing.
As for being outraged on someone elses behalf, you cant be, but you can be outraged on your own behalf. I find discrimination outrageous, whomever its aimed at.
Otherwise any wrong you can mention should be ignored by everyone not the direct target, so for example lets disband the police right now, as whatever happens,its nothing to do with anyone else.
Please, do enlighten us all as to what impact this kit has had on all racing, given that this kit has been ridden in for pretty much a full season now.
Will Brian be personally checking the crotch of every female rider for acceptable and decent standards?
the moral indignation surrounding this photo has distinct echos of that edwardian 'advice for lady cyclists' article that does the rounds every so often, the one about not having a 'bicycle face' and so on...
Maybe it's just me, but I thought the issue was that there appeared to be dark pubic hair where, er, pubic hair is. Combined with what seemed to be ("trick of the light") flesh colour in the midriff area, for a split second the women appear to be wearing see through clothing from groin upwards to the white bit.
You can't see this in the photo above because of the black strip.
So there is an issue. There may well be other issues (safety of the race, status of women's cycling etc.) But still an issue.
Seems to me people see what they want to see, and forget that photos can easily give a wrong impression - especially on a screen. This kit's been in use all year without anyone getting their knickers in a twist about it. And several men's teams' kit has been far, far worse - especially when wet!
Do the women racing in the kit have a problem with it ? If not then what is the problem ? Outraged on behalf of someone else is a modern phenomenon that makes me feel sad for humanity.
Odd that there is no uproar when the bulge in the men's shorts are in view, yet there is drama over this !?
Good grief
More stuff has been posted on here since I commented on the other article on this. Might be wrong but one pic that Angie posted up showed the skinsuit gold has a distinctive darker pattern very similar in design to the engraving on one exhibit at the Bogota Gold Museum called the San Agustin armband.
Bit of a variation on her previous design as posted up by Gkam84. I wonder whether she was influenced by the museum's exhibit(s) or maybe Bogota Humana's inclusion as a sponsor required some kind of identification with a major tourist attraction in the city. Just guessing.
BxbLMukIUAAxqhksg.jpg
Yes they did just saw it on News 24 - they have to lets face it they look like they have their shorts down! Sorry but this kit is degrading to women. Even the selfie is downright dangerous. Light colours around personal areas should be a complete no-no.
That definitely should be a rule - no more white shorts, not a good look (even on world champions).
Yes, absolutely! In fact one of the riders designed it. She must be into degrading herself!
Let's help them all by banning light colored clothing under the waistline. While we're at it, they should also wear long skirts that go down to their ankles to protect their modesty from their own wicked desires!
And ban all dangerous selfies!
We know best what they really want, right?
It was designed by a woman!
I think a lot of the indignation around the kit degrading woman is daft. IN the photo it makes them look like they are partially undressed and that's why peopleare laughing at it. If it was a team of men in a similar kit people would be lqaughing at them too and I doubt if we would hear anything about it being degrading to men.
Did the BBC really blank out the groins? Seriously? Fools.
An absolute dick move from Cookson, perhaps he should step away from Twitter, or at least be better advised before he goes swinging in and publicly bullying a small cycling team.
Here is a close up selfie from Angie of the kit. Doesn't look bad in this photo. It is only that one from Italy that makes it look bad. They have been racing this kit for months, nearly 9, but the only issue has been when they come to Europe.
Cookson, get your finger out of your arse and sort out the real problems, teams stealing from their own riders and then not paying them
Kit3.jpg
QFT
This is their previous kit and I believe the gold from this kit was supposed to be the same on the skinsuit, both designed by Angie.
What would the UCI rather have, that or one with a bottle of pills on it.....
Kit5.jpg
Im not sure why the UCI would have a problem with vitamins? Or are *all* pills evil?
It is only the skinsuit that has the GOLD patch
Kit1.jpg