Woman competing in Tour de France

[beccaB]

I received this e-mail from Trek Travel-

Worgull Breaking Ground at the Shack

Trek Travel President, Tania Worgull will join Team RadioShack and be the first female to compete along side the male competitors in this year's 2010 Tour de France. "This is groundbreaking," proclaimed Johan Bruyneel. "Worgull is such a strong competitor and we are thrilled to have her on the roster." Riding as an alternate on the Shack it is unlikely that Worgull's rubber will actually hit the French pavement during the race, but the fact that her athletic prowess awards her a position on the Team and into the most acclaimed cycling race in the world open's the door for other women coming up the ranks.

Worgull's career diversion from Trek Travel President to professional cyclist was a feat of fate. While riding with her husband in Santa Barbara, Worgull jumped on the wheel of a crew of cyclists riding in front of her--Team RadioShack. After unsuccessfully trying to shake her for 30 miles, over some of the steepest climbs in the area, the Team's Director, Johan Bruyneel, pulled her over to find out her story. A simple conversation led to a series of fitness tests that revealed Worgull had a freakishly high athletic ability; one so high that it allowed them to use a small fitness loophole which would enable her to compete in this year's Tour de France. "I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to be in this position," said Worgull. "The Team has been so supportive and they recognize the value that raising the profile of female cyclists will have for the industry. I'm just happy to be breaking new ground."

You'll be able to follow Worgull's professional development on MTV's MADE and see her live as she competes in this year's Tour de France.

Happy April Fool's Day! Your friends at Trek Travel.

[shootingstar]

Has she competed internationally already?

This should be interesting.

[beccaB]

I don't know if she has competed internationally, but I will be following this story.

[KnottedYet]

You'll be able to follow Worgull's professional development on MTV's MADE and see her live as she competes in this year's Tour de France.

Happy April Fool's Day! Your friends at Trek Travel.

Ah, yes, Happy April Fools Day, everyone!

[Pedal Wench]

Happy April Fool's Day! Your friends at Trek Travel.

You got me!

[OakLeaf]

Am I the only one who finds this offensive?

There are physiological reasons why women don't compete side-by-side with men in this type of event. But to make a joke of the idea just rubs me the wrong way.

[lunacycles]

I'm with Oak.

[MM_QFC!]

Am I the only one who finds this offensive?

There are physiological reasons why women don't compete side-by-side with men in this type of event. But to make a joke of the idea just rubs me the wrong way.

No, you're not; I'm in full agreement: it's offensive.
To me, it's consistent with the practice of using male-generated derogatory terms that are female-specific, like a military drill instructor shouting in a recruit's face that they're "such a girl" or worse as in the slang terms for female genitalia and such...how about the seemingly innocuous term of "man-up"?
I'm the mother of 2 sons and have felt all the way along that I'm pushing against this sexist tidal wave just to teach them awareness and sensitivity from the woman's perpective...whew!

[roguedog]

i don't necessarily find it offensive but i do think it's in poor taste (and kinda stupid) coming from Trek who tout their WSD frames.

not funny (down thumb for trek.. not for thread)

[shootingstar]

i don't necessarily find it offensive but i do think it's in poor taste (and kinda stupid) coming from Trek who tout their WSD frames.

not funny (down thumb for trek.. not for thread)

I agree. If becca received the email as part of a customer email group, that's pretty pathetic.

Or someone was using Trek Travel's name indiscriminately, without their knowledge for this joke.

[jp4995]

I can see how they would think it's funny, but I don't really think it's funny. Glad I don't own a Trek bike, it's saving me from writing a strongly worded letter to them. I might just write the letter anyways.

[KnottedYet]

Certainly poor taste, and a bad move on Trek's part.

Look at the grumpy reaction Trek is getting from folks here. Someone in the mix should have thought a bit more before making an "official" April Fool's that might p.o. one of their major focus markets.

[ny biker]

I'm not offended by it because it's just another lame april fools attempt. Really I don't know why people feel the need to do this sort of thing.

[Jolt]

i don't necessarily find it offensive but i do think it's in poor taste (and kinda stupid) coming from Trek who tout their WSD frames.

not funny (down thumb for trek.. not for thread)

I agree. Lame. I wonder whose brain fart this was...

[Desert Tortoise]

Oak and MM QFC have good points. It's irritating when people look at men's strengths as the be all of strength and then dimish women's strengths.

Yes, men and women are different and men do tend to have more muscle mass thereby making them physically stronger. That said, there is also mental strength and endurance. Men have some serious competition from the women in this department.

From ultramarathoners to stay at home moms, all of this stuff takes serious endurance to do on a regular basis. On a side note, when men mock women who stay at home to raise kids and ask "what do you do all day?" I respond with, "If staying at home with kids is so easy, why don't more men do it?"

I digress, sorry. Several times I have heard Navy Seal instructors talk about the difficulty and challenges of being a Navy Seal. Yes, you do need to be very physically fit but even the biggest, strongest guys drop out if they don't have the mental strength and stamina for the job.

Another example, when the USA was competing with Russia in the space race and wanted to be first in space, they kept trying to find ways to get the men to withstand the rigors of space flight. In the testing, they also used women. Guess who fit better into the tiny capsule and who endured the pain better? But the thought of women astronauts before men was too much and so the Russians did it first, and with a woman. If I remember correctly, the story/book is called "The Mercury 13: The true story of 13 women and the dream of space flight"

So to mock womens' abilities (and use it in deragorty terms at times) as something less than mens is offensive. Especially when people believe it.