In 2013 when cyclist Peter Sagan stood on the podium of the Tour of Flanders and squeezed the bottom of the podium girl. He issued an apology. Now two years later, that incident is the inspiration behind the advertising for the 2015 ‘E3 Haralbeke’ race. “Who squeezes them in Harelbeke?” is the tag line on a poster next to the picture of a podium girl’s exposed backside with a cycling glove-clad hand set to squeeze it. The image sparked outrage on social media and the sport’s governing body, the UCI, have forced promoters to remove the poster. We discuss that image and look at whether cycling has a sexism problem.
Sporting Witness… after his recent passing Sporting Witness revisits one of rowing coach, Dan Topolski’s finest hours in the 1987 Boat Race, despite an American mutiny.
Photo: The E3 Harelbeke billboard poster which has courted controversy (CREDIT: E3Harelbeke)
