ASO "don't really seem to care much about women's cycling" says Joanna Rowsell Shand

the crowds roadside and at the finish of todays stage 1 of the Women's tour would suggest there are plenty of people, men & women, who want to watch elite women cycle races even in weather most people would rather stay at home for. The viewing figures for the England v Scotland womens football world cup game broke UK records at 6.1million, thats probably 6.0 million more than bothered to watch the England mens team finish 3rd in a made up UEFA tournament.

theres a market for womens cycling,the ASO need to recognise it, and the UCI need to engender, rather than enforce imo,the right conditions to showcase it.

I think part of the problem is the weight of viewership is being expected of men, when I reckon you need to get more women actually watching cycling in the first place. If women were really into watching sport I think women's sport would carry more weight. 

Just as an aside, I was watching the BMX Supercross racing yesterday with my youngest. The races for women get the same visibility on TV as the races for men in BMX. And in BMX racing, women riders get paid the same as men. I'm told it is the only cycling sport where this is the case, though I stand to be corrected if it isn't.

I think Womens cycling is best off as far away from the ASO as possible.

They want a 'piece of the Tour de France' golden cash pie understandably, but I'd like to think that the recent growth of womens cycling will continue, the bigger the other races get, the more exposure and advertising they'll bring and the less important the ASO gets, which has to be a good thing. 

I'd rather watch women's racing than  some of the boring as hell flat sprint stages that get shown through grand tours. You can hear the commentators getting bored and running out of things to say.

ASO is missing a trick. Women's racing is good, I'd watch it (and do when it's on Eurosport). It shows the backward attitude of the top end of cycling. It's the same attitude that restricts design and technology (Disc brakes / tubeless) but "accomodates" and even "encourages" drugs by their race / stage selection, pushes riders through unsafe stage finishes, bans Spinacci type bars, but allows riders to lean on their elbows completely unsupported, doesn't accept women's racing, and thinks riders and teams from "non traditiinal" cycling countries are fun elements... 

Other than the fact that womens cycling is boring. Well, as is womens soccer, softball and on and on and on....maybe, possibly with an exception to womens beach volley ball.....

The other day flipping channels I saw a womens soccer match (on BBC here in the states)...the seats in the stands were about 95% empty....same would be true for womens sports in the US.

watched highlights of the women's Tour of California slotted easily into the "not chasing down the breakaway/feed station" live stream on state broadcasting down under - impressed by commentators including good old Phil being able to call the race...and at the end had joint podium and equal prize giving...not too difficult was it ...cycling is not a lot different to other sports but maybe the current high profile sponsors and organisers will suffer in the future when people remember that not only were they not supportive but they were obstructive

The problem, surely, is that the grand tours are organised by private companies and not the governing body, so they are under no obligation to do anything like that without appropriate pressure from the UCI.

Bar UCI registered teams from taking part in the TdF unless ASO have an equivalent women's event and maybe things would change, but I can't see anything like that happening any any time soon.

I think sadly, aso do care. They care enough to actively dislike womens cycling and marginalise it as far as I can see.

The Low Countries, Italy, bc and uci are trying. They are still making mistakes, could do more etc. but are going in the right direction but like aso is a huge shadow over men’s cycling it is over womens just in a different way.

You are unfortunately correct. I think either the UCI needs to make better rules to enforce companies like ASO to run female cycling races alongside mens ones or sponsors should boycott events hosted until they relent. However I can't see either of these happening so the current situation will continue. 

Not sure what obligation ASO have to do anything but make money.