Professional cyclists are among a number of female athletes around the world who have responded to a recent advert starring American actor Sydney Sweeney, which they say sexualises women’s sport. Double Tour de France champion Demi Vollering, Olympic athletics champion Sophie Capewell and gravel professional Maddy Nutt have commented that it undermines progress in normalizing women’s sport. The ad, for a sports betting company, stars Sweeney, showing her naked except for strategically placed sports equipment. It had a huge reach, Sweeney posted part of the ad to his 25 million Instagram followers and it has since become major international news amid criticism from across the sporting world. Latest videos from Cyclingnews “Maybe it’s good that it started a conversation,” Vollering wrote in an Instagram post. “But it’s also sad that women still need to have this conversation. For too long, women have fought to be seen for what they can DO, not just what they look like.” And I think a lot of women are just tired of that. Especially in sport, because sport can teach us something completely different about our body. No: How do I look? But: What can I do? You may like “And being strong doesn’t make you less feminine. You can ride a bike until there’s nothing left in your legs and still love putting on a beautiful dress. You can have muscles and feel feminine. You can be powerful and vulnerable.” Capewell spoke to the BBC and said: “It’s almost as if people are missing the point, they don’t fully understand why people are upset about it.” “20 years ago I wouldn’t have been surprised,” Meanwhile, Nutt posted a video on social media in which she wrote, “Dear Sydney Sweeney, this is what an athlete looks like,” along with footage of her running and training. Nutt, who won the Traka 560 and was second in Unbound XL this year, later spoke to Cyclingnews about the issue. “At first it was a shock to see it because it was quite unpleasant,” he said. “I thought we were past the sexualization of women in sport, I thought we were at a point where people were starting to really respect female athletes and view women’s sport with a much higher level of prestige and appreciation. What to read next “If this had been 20 years ago, I wouldn’t have been surprised. It’s pretty vulgar content, and yes, sex sells things, it’s a clever ad, and the fact that it got so much reaction obviously increases its reach even more. “But I think from the other side, as a female athlete, it’s an opportunity to really say no, this is what women’s sport looks like, and turn it around and make it an opportunity to shout about women’s sport and how it’s really progressed.” Sweeney’s ad is no different from any athlete who might have posed almost naked, but Nutt sees a crucial difference. “An athlete showing off their athletic body like that is like a body positivity thing. Showing an athletic body is empowering, whereas this ad was obviously entirely sexual and not an athlete. This just appeals to that audience that the betting app wants to appeal to.” season, Il Lombardia. Subscribers get unlimited access to exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features, and industry-leading tech insights. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go. Join today.
