Women in the Tour de France

Here's something to get annoyed about if you want gender equality

Martin covered the 57km course in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 48 seconds...Hanna Solovey won the 20.8km women’s race in 28:24

Really, Chrono des Nations people? You think women are too feeble to do a 35 mile TT so you shorten theirs to barely over a third of the distance? If there is one place where putting everybody on the same course should be a no-brainer, it's an individual Time Trial.

I'm guessing the Women's race was run before the Men's and they had limited time ?
5 out of the 36 women are shown as 'OTL' which I presume is "Over Time Limit" ?

Here's something to get annoyed about if you want gender equality
Really, Chrono des Nations people? You think women are too feeble to do a 35 mile TT so you shorten theirs to barely over a third of the distance? If there is one place where putting everybody on the same course should be a no-brainer, it's an individual Time Trial.

That kind of thing and the shorter track events has always annoyed me with women's racing. 500m TT and 3k pursuit, specifically.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2013/oct/27/tour-de-france-women

OK, so this sort of went trough no?

But only on the last stage in Paris – which to my understanding is the one where they don't really race.
So I get the impression that they included women in this stage merely as a marketing exercise, dipping their toe in and checking the response from the audience afterwards?

Still... a step in the right direction I suppose.

So I get the impression that they included women in this stage merely as a marketing exercise, dipping their toe in and checking the response from the audience afterwards?

Yeah. They let the ladies ride alongside after le Tour has already been won, as kind of moving podium girls. Then they can say, "well, we let you take part in the TdF like you wanted us to, wtf else do you want, you hysterical, unreasonable witches?"

Alternatively, you could see this as an opportunity to show the world how exciting women's racing can be when the eyes of the world are focused on cycling. It's a step in the right direction at the very least, and should be applauded.

There's a lot more to be done, but the fact that the largest race organiser is involved is a good sign.

It's a step in the right direction at least...

I could see it that way but I'm cynical, and not unreasonably so, either. I'd rather wait to see what actually happens before celebrating something so ambiguous as being a progressive step forward. It might be, it might not be, who knows?

But that said, I still tend towards cynicism, because there isn't really a great track record to lean on to dissipate that. I'd prefer for them to show me that I'm wrong to be cynical, but that'll take time.

Will the woman get podium-boys?

Send in an application.

No.

I did think, and possibly mention to others, that they should run it in the mid-week of the tour. That way you could have it run over two of the rest days for the men, providing women a stage to race on their own merits (and allowing the men to actually rest instead of being hounded by the press).
Also, you can't really draft someone up a mountain!

I am someone who believes in free markets

Then you are naive. The whole concept of a 'free' market is total bs in modern society, used by the powerful to give the semblance of fairness to their abuse of power for their own personal benefit.

How can you show that there is demand for something if there is no way to express that demand?
Which is I guess what I am hoping for in answer to your question, and actual attempt to establish if there is demand, as opposed to it being dismissed off hand because 'we tried it once and no-one cared'.