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E3 Harelbeke organisers slammed over "sexist" poster

Publicity for WorldTour race that kicks off Flanders week references Peter Sagan bottom-pinching incident

It’s fair to say the organisers of Belgian UCI WorldTour race the E3 Harelbeke have a bit of form when it comes to courting controversy with promotional posters for the event, which traditionally kicks off Flanders week – and this year is no exception, leading to accusations on social media of sexism.

Roughly translated, it says “Who’ll 'squeeze' in Harelbeke?” and references Peter Sagan’s infamous pinching of a podium hostess’s bottom after he finished second to Fabian Cancellara in the 2012 Tour of Flanders – indeed, a picture of that incident appears beneath the 2015 poster on the race’s Facebook page.

Despite featuring on the UCI WorldTour calendar, the race lacks the status of the previous week’s Milan-San Remo, or those which immediately follow it, Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders.

That’s led some to suggest that by publicising the race with posters that are guaranteed to provoke controversy, organisers are ensuring the race gets talked about, and it’s not the first time that such adverts have been labelled sexist and demeaning to women.

Here’s a selection of responses to this year’s poster on Twitter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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68 comments

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robert posts child | 9 years ago
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Rcc, it isnt 'sexist'...its just plain sexist.

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farrell | 9 years ago
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The Peter Sagan incident was in 2012?

Bloody hell.

It's amusing to see some tweeters that are claiming to be up in arms about this. It's probably much easier to claim the moral high ground if you aren't using twitter to send sleazy messages to female cyclists.

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tehcrash | 9 years ago
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People will get offended by anything these days.

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Yorky-M | 9 years ago
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love it

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mrmo | 9 years ago
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are people talking about it? any publicity is good publicity

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russwparkin | 9 years ago
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look at the 2011, 2012, 2013 posters, ha ha the 2011 is a naked girl making a contour of a hill, the 2012 is an old lady in feathers and excess make up.

its just their way

just crazy benalux guys

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DavidC | 9 years ago
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Iamnot Wiggins replied to DavidC | 9 years ago
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