original wrote:
Take away the beautiful women and men have less desire to succeed in X activity.
Oh come on. The podium girls have eff-all to do with any pro cyclists motivation to reach a TdF podium.
Most sports have no podium girl equivalent. Guys compete because they want to clobber the shit out of each other. And if women are a factor, it's more about the women you're allowed to have social interactions with, not podium girls.