Peter Sagan Ignites Then Quells a Firestorm

Standout Slovak cyclist Peter Sagan had another terrific Tour de France this year, nabbing the green jersey once again for the most consistently high performing rider over three grueling weeks of racing.  But in Googling him, I stumbled on an incident at the Tour of Flanders last year.

Naughty Sagan...#rvv #sagan #player pic.twitter.com/RVY5gIrFt4
— Ronde Van Vlaanderen (@RondeVlaanderen) March 31, 2013

@RondeVlaanderen yup...that photo is not funny to female cycling fans! I found the ass grab disrespectful to the young woman!!
— Stephanie Gutowski (@hapagal) March 31, 2013

@RondeVlaanderen I totally get him, like, c'mon...he's just a young lad...he can't really do anything about it #sagan #asspinch #cheeky
— Andrea Lodder (@andrealodder) March 31, 2013

@RondeVlaanderen it is just as sexist an action as the concept of podium girls.
— Gerard Murphy (@Gerard_Murphy) March 31, 2013

In Cyclist Rising Star Peter Sagan Grabs Woman's Ass, but Who Really Cares? Laura Beck offered the following cautionary lessons:

Even if a woman's job is to wear a short dress and hand out shiny awards to men, it doesn't mean anyone has a right to anything else from her. Sagan crossed the line, a line that should be VERY clear, and his ass should be punished. In a world that wasn't the sexist worst, this shit would be handled with a team suspension and extensive training for Sagan on how to be a human being. Instead he'll probably be high-fived by a bunch of his pals for violating a woman, and th-th-that's all, folks. 

A cyclist friend of mine tweeted that while Sagan's actions are entirely ridiculous and he needs to be reprimanded, the whole culture of cycling is sexist. I think a bike is just a shitty car, but it's obvious to me that women's only involvement in the men's side of the sport shouldn't be as scantily-clad podium girls. When the only women involved are simply for sexual objectification, how can the sport's culture not support bullshit like this? As long as these men think a woman is part of their prize for winning — or even for not winning, as is the case with loser Peter Sagan — nothing will change.

23 years old at the time, Sagan was, and still is, definitely young and apparently immature.  While Beck and her cyclist friend tied an entire sport's sexism on him, unfairly so I believe, I do think Sagan needed some basic lessons on professional, respectful behavior.

In The takeaway from Peter Sagan's Tour of Flanders bum-pinching outrage, Matt Seaton echoed Beck and  put some perspective on the sport:

But perhaps the controversy lifts the lid on an issue cycling needs to look at anew: is the use of models as some kind of uncomfortable hybrid of hostess and shamelessly exploitative "eye candy" now outmoded and inappropriate to the modern sport? 

In amateur races, it's not unusual for a woman to award the trophies to winners in men's races, but she will often be a local dignitary of the host town. The clue is in the word "dignitary". So does professional cycling really need to award winners kisses from "trophy" females?

I love cycling, but I don't have a chance to watch it much, simply because it isn't on TV very much.  The yearly Tour de France is basically it, as it now has full, daily coverage from NBC Sports Network.  Interestingly, to Seaton's point, the dignitaries, usually men, stand off to the side of the podium and let two attractive ladies do the showcasing.  The winning celebration is certainly a lovely sight with these ladies.  But I agree that this little celebration is much more meaningful with the dignitaries handing out the spoils of victory and posing proudly with the victors.

Maja Leye is the young lady, age 25, whom Sagan disrespected, and she worked for the Flanders Classics Organization.  Thankfully we heard her reactions, in Podium girl Maja Leye says she fought to keep calm as Peter Sagan pinched her behind:

I felt this hand. I hadn’t seen it coming because I had my back to him. I understood quickly what had happened. I was frozen to the spot.” 

Leye admitted that she fleetingly considered slapping the Cannondale rider, but believes that had she reacted, the situation would have gone from bad to worse. 

“I really thought about it,” she revealed, adding: “I had to stay professional. If I had reacted, the incident would have escalated. There were millions of TV viewers in front of their screens.” 

She told the newspaper that her boyfriend was none too pleased when he heard what had happened. “He didn’t appreciate it,” she said. “After the race, he received loads of text messages. Luckily, he stayed calm.”

To his credit, Sagan was prompt with his apologies, in public with Leye and also on Twitter and YouTube:

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Was not my intention to disrespect women today on the podium. Just a joke, sorry if someone was disturbed about it.
— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) March 31, 2013

I sincerely apologize to Maja for what I did on the podium yesterday after the race. 

Because, it was wrong of me, and I wasn't thinking what I was doing when I was on the podium. 

I never should have done it. 

I'm so sorry and I hope that Maya and anyone else I have offended knows how sorry I am and accept my apology. 

I promise to act more respectfully in the future.

Not everyone who transgresses is so ready with an apology.  No, it does not remedy a culture of sexism, not just cycling, but more broadly in society.  But I'd like to believe that this incident and its resolution are one small step in that respect.

Joys and Blues for Tejay Van Garderen & Co.

The Time Trial brings out the sleekest man and machine

American Tejay van Garderen finished 5th after a great race, and at age 25 he shows a lot of Tour promise.

Congratulations are in order for the Stage 1 winner

Is the well-coiffed Marcel Kittel the new Mark Cavendish? He won an amazing four stages, including Paris.

Always thrilling for a Frenchman to win a stage

Frenchman Tony Gallopin did his country very proud by grabbing the maillot jaune, and Tour lead, for Bastille Day. 

The Time Trial is the Race of Truth, and there was no questioning who was the strongest

Tony Martin won 2 of an amazing 7 stages for the Germans: Marcel Kittel (4) and André Greipel (1) were winners, too. 

Riding away after a crushing shortfall at the Stage 15 line

A great but heartbreaking ride for New Zealander Jack Bauer: Just meters from the finish, the sprinters swallowed him up.

A premature but inspiring finish to the Tour

In a courageous effort, badly hurt American Andrew Talansky rode 60k entirely on his own to finish Stage 11.

Vincenzo Nibali & Co. on Paris Podium

The champion on the most prestigious spot in Paris

Even if Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, and Andy Schleck - all Tour champions - hadn't abandoned, Vincenzo Nibali would've won the Tour: He was simply that dominant, and Team Astana was masterful in support.

Congratulations to the maillot jaune

Despite the loss of big favorites, this Tour de France was easily the most exciting in the 20 years I've followed it. 

The King of the Mountains exults after Stage 17

Young Polish rider Rafal Majka was a great surprise for Tinkoff-Saxo, after losing Alberto Contador.

The top podium winners

France hadn't seen two riders on the podium in 30 years: Jean-Christophe Péraud (left) and Thibaut Pinot (right) did their country proud.

Blackhawks Convention (8) Rocking on Twitter

Anyone know where my Stadium Series Mask is? Cause we don't #stolen? pic.twitter.com/fXOHZQuTDc
— Corey Crawford (@crow_50) February 28, 2014

🐔🐔           🐔⚪⚪🐔      🐔⚪⚪⚪⚪🐔    🐔⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪🐔 🐔⚪⚪🐤🐤⚪⚪🐔 🐔⚪🐤Happy🐤⚪🐔 🐔⚪🐤Easter🐤⚪🐔 🐔⚪⚪🐤🐤⚪⚪🐔      🐔⚪⚪⚪⚪🐔           🐔🐔🐔🐔
— Brandon Saad (@BSaad20) April 20, 2014

The boys doing well pic.twitter.com/ehWStseycp
— Andrew Shaw (@shawz15er) July 20, 2014

Truth be told, none of these guys rock Twitter all that much.  But it was funny to hear them banter on stage about what they do on social media.  Of all the current players, Bryan Bickell and Niklas Hjalmarsson were the most outgoing and the funniest.

Blackhawks Convention (7) Living on the Road

Peter Regin, Jonathan Toews, and Bryan Bickell related behind-the-scenes stuff on the road.  It's the life of an athlete to be traveling frequently, and while many of us may think it's way too much, these players have adapted well to it.  For those with families, especially young children, it's opportunity to rest and focus on hockey.  It's an opportunity, too, to pull pranks on teammates, and Patrick is the ringleader:

Blackhawks Convention (6) Weighing in Rivalries

The topic was rivalries, as past and present Blackhawks weighed in: Denis Savard, Troy Murray, Steve Larmer, Brandon Saad and Brent Seabrook were front-and-center.  In general the NHL has seen fewer fights in recent years, and the Blackhawks are about speed, skill and Showtime scoring.  They are not at all a team of goons who fight for the sake of instigating or retaliating.  But Savard and Larmer talked about having to fend for themselves and each other, as fighting seemed to have been in the blood of many of their contemporaries.  Still Savard wasn't at all a big guy, so he needed Al Secord to protect him, and Larmer apparently demured to fight at times.  While the Canucks and Red Wings were big rivalries in the past, now it looks like the Blues take that billing.

Blackhawks Convention (5) Reveling in Conn Smythe

Marinela and I thought we could grab seats for this session with the Conn Smythe winners: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and newcomer Brad Richards.  But scores of fans had their seats, plus their mates' seats, already staked out.  So the huge ballroom was effectively standing room only, and we stood dead center right behind the last row.  Apparently the same two girls who asked Kane and Toews to do a dance-off last year asked them to do it again this time, and that was fun for the fans.  Besides a bit of teasing between the young superstars, the three were generally low-keyed on stage and Richards was positively droll.  So it wasn't all that fun, but thankfully emcee Mark Giangreco offered comic relief.  Similar to the opening ceremony, though, it was about soaking in the atmosphere.  How many NHL teams can boast of three Conn Smythe winners?   

Blackhawks Convention (4) Listening to Top Brass

Only a scattering of fans attended the session with the Blackhawks top brass, Marinela and I among them of course.  We enjoyed them talking about team values, draft strategy, and fan experience.  Stan Bowman pointed out that the deeper a young player is drafted, the more he will need development effort and time.  The Blackhawks excel at this, and apparently have such a wealth of talent in the wings that even those who may be ready to break into the pros will have to wait longer.  

The entry of Rocky Wirtz, after the death of his father Bill, heralded a new era of team ownership that reminds me of what Mark Cuban upon acquiring the Dallas Mavericks: improved the facilities, invested in top players, and catered to fan experience.  Two Stanley Cups in four years, and clearly the Blackhawks fomented rabid interest among scores of fans.  One of the executives pointed out that the team drew a sizable segment of women and girls.  One lady asked, however, why the team didn't quite project a healthy image of women, alluding to the skimpy outfits of the Ice Crew and the sexy high-heeled ladies for the second intermission shoot-the-puck.  A bit of an oops, I'd say.  

Blackhawks Convention (3) Soaking in Electric Air

At 3:30 PM Marinela and I headed for the large International Ballroom, and make sure we had a place for the 5 PM opening ceremony.  It was already crawling with red, but we managed to find space to the middle right as we walked in.  We just sat down on the carpeted floor, as some fans did, but I don't find that comfortable at all.  

It was thrilling to be at ceremony.  Eddie Olczyk emceed the long awaited affair, and guided the one-by-one introductions of the front office leadership, the old-time players, then of course the current coaches and players.  I wanted to stand by the runaway, and get some low-fives from Blackhawks as they walked up to the stage.  But when we walked in, we could see neither the runway nor the stage.  I videotaped the ceremony, but it was clear from where we stood that there was no way to get a good shot of any of the Blackhawks.  Still I videotaped away, and will edit my clips at some point.  

The main thing for Marinela and me was soaking in  the electric atmosphere, and place was definitely rocking.  Jim Cornelison sang the National Anthem so loudly, we felt his voice reverberate in our chests, flush our cheeks, and pierce our eardrums.  Jonathan Toews took a couple of selfies, apparently reluctantly, once at the podium, and that in itself was an awesome, contemporary thing to do.

Blackhawks Convention (2) Coveting Red-and-Black

 

 

 

Man, I coveted this Blackhawks car, which was up for auction apparently.  It was casually parked at the front of the Hilton Chicago, and it was a pleasure to photograph and to pose for a couple of selfies.

Blackhawks Convention (1) Taking in Big Guns

So the Blackhawks Convention finally arrived, mid-summer, a few weeks after a disappointing Game 7 OT loss to the Kings in the Western Conference Final.  My sister Marinela was gracious to invite me to come for three awesome days of nothing but Blackhawks.  The Hilton Chicago was awash in red, and it was a matter of waiting for the 5 PM opening ceremonies.  It was a splendid summer afternoon downtown, and the hotel windows were draped with our big guns.  So off I sidled outside, taking in these life-size posters and admiring the commemorative Duncan Keith sweater for the convention.