An open letter has been sent to the President of Cycling Ireland, Ciaran McKenna, in relation to the situation last weekend where the Irish Elite Women’s Road Race Championship was stopped to allow the U23 and Elite Men’s race to pass.
The letter was sent by the winner of the race Lydia Boylan, the Race Director of Rás na mBan Valerie Considine and Orla Hendron who looks after youth development on the Women’s Commission of Cycling Ireland.
In the letter, they state that issues of this nature will continue to occur until there is a fundamental alteration in thinking regarding the status of women’s bike racing in the country. They also outline that there deserves to be a stand-alone Women’s road race on the national championships weekend
Ciaran McKenna yesterday released a statement saying that a review of the details and logistics that led to this occurrence will take place and that the format of the National Championship weekend will also be looked at.
Below is the open letter.
OPEN LETTER Re: 2017 Elite Women’s National Road Race Championship
Dear Ciaran,
Following Sunday’s National Road Race Championships in Wexford we would like to comment on the situation which led to the Women’s Road Race being halted to allow the men’s race to pass within ten kilometres of the finish.
It should be noted that this is at least the third time that this has happened at the National Road Race Championships in the last ten years.
We look forward to, and fully expect, a time when Irish women’s bike racing is treated equally.
Field size and average race speed are irrelevant. Whether one race catches another or not is of little consequence. Women’s cycle sport deserves a stand-alone road race on the national championships weekend as was the norm throughout Europe last Sunday.
The idea that the women’s race should run at the same time as the men’s race is part of the thinking that has stymied the sport for countless years.
We would like to point out that currently there is no woman on the Board of Cycling Ireland. There is no woman on the new Road Commission.
Earlier this year Cycling Ireland saw fit to sanction a Junior and Masters Women’s National Road Championship event which clashed directly with An Post Rás na mBan in September.
These can be resolved on a case-by-case basis but until there is a fundamental alteration in thinking regarding the status of women’s bike racing, issues of this nature will continue to occur.
The Elite Women’s National Road Race Championship is the culmination of the hard work and dedication of the athletes involved and their achievements should be acknowledged in their own right with a separate event.
Direction on this needs to come from the top of our administration and we look forward to hearing a response from our governing body on this matter.
Yours in cycling,
Valerie Considine – Race Director An Post Rás na mBan
Orla Hendron – Youth Development, Women’s Commission Cycling Ireland
Lydia Boylan – Women’s National Road Race Champion 2015, 2016, 2017
Super, i wonder can she muster 30 marshals and talk the guards to close the roads for another day. OR get the women to hurry up! 17km head start.The problem is the female bunch was tipping around at 36kph. Hard to blame the cycling ireland president for that!
Disgraceful carry on how can this be allowed to happen in this day and age?
So they got passed, lapped what ever. Should we ask them of either gender to race 5 hours before? Maybe a 7am start for the men and a 9 pm start for the women, ya know to hold back public opinion of cyclists taking over the roads. Or switch the times. Who gives a flying fuck, they were passed and that’s that. Happened to many a racer of various gender and age.
Average speed of the women’s race….22.8 mph
Stopping the ladies race to allow the men’s race through is inappropiate caveman behaviour. Given that it was not an isolated incident but repeated and unwelcome it could therefore be deemed as bullying. The practice should stop.
Get’em Valerie! Women are more than equal.
As a motorcycle Marshall on the ladies race in my opinion the right decision was made.If the ladies race hadn’t been stopped then you would have had the situation where they would have been sprinting for a title as the men’s cavalcade was mixed with them. Imagine trying to get places in that mix!
Big congratulations to the organisers who gave coutless weeks of their time to run the event.
Fergal Redmond
If that was the case Ferghal why did they not hold back the men instead? I think you know the answer to that – you think that this sport is all about the fastest man, and ‘man’ being the operative word. I get the impression you and the other Neanderthal commentators barely tolerate the presence of women next or near your precious sport.
wouldn’t waste my time replying to an ignorant arrogant comment like that.safety 1st…numbskull
I think the situation would not have happened if the Ladies werecompleating their second lap as the Seniors had started. But I do think they should have a separate race …start nine thirty and seniors after and I don’t think there would b a problem if it was a four lap race on Sunday. Only sujestions now But should b treated fairer as were the over 60s ?
They had their own race they just didn’t race hard enough to stay where they should have not much more can be done without extra funding and people every week raves run on one circuit and it’s a chance organisers take that each group won’t catch each other and normally they don’t maybe all the complainers could get together and organise a race see how hard it is and see what they can do about it for next year but complaints about races is only going to make there be even fewer races organisers get little or nothing to run these races they do it for good of cycling it wasn’t a dangerous course or a badly run race please think of organising races before complaints are made in a few years there will be no more if this keeps up
I was there on Sunday, as Belgian supporter for Sam Bennett. Having some experience over here, strange to see 2 ‘mixed’ races. In Belgium, womens race started at 8.00 AM, men started at 11.00 AM. So, no problem at all. When I tell cyclinglovers over here that traffic is allowed during the race, nobody believes me. This can’t be true !!! Pictures, video and then …
Make racing in Ireland safe please !!!
So the organizer should have thought less of the women’s race and allowed more time? Riders value their safety and having the slower race pulled over to let the faster race through mitigated tons of risk.
What a load of shit.