When the winner crosses the finish line of the Tour of Flanders, he’ll pocket €20,000. A few hours in advance the winner of the ladies’ race will win just €1150. Apart from some of the large races inside the UK, along with the Tour de Yorkshire and the Women’s Tour, the women’s prize fund is most effective a small fraction of the men’s in equivalent road races.
Although the girls’ racing calendar includes some Monument races like Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege that replicate the guys’ race, there are nonetheless a few critical activities that girls cannot compete in – significantly the Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix.
ASO, the organizer of both of those races, has stated actually that there are not any plans to maintain any girls’ versions of these events.
While one-day race La Course is staged all through the Tour de France, ASO director Christian Prudhomme has reiterated that a women’s Tour de France might be logistically not possible. As for the Queen of the Classics, the timetable for Paris-Roubaix is already full for the reason that a junior men’s race additionally takes vicinity.
UCI President David Lappartient has referred to as on ASO to do extra to increase women’s racing, notably to cozy assured television coverage for the girls’ races it organizes.
During a recent public assembly at London’s Look Mum No Hands wherein women racers mentioned racing conditions, Molly Weaver highlighted the need for higher TV coverage to draw greater sponsorship, and extra funds for UCI WorldTour groups to pay all their riders at least the minimum salary (€15,000 according to annum) when the guideline comes into force in 2020.
Currently around half of the female professional racers are paid €five,000 euros pa.
To address problems in women’s professional cycling the Cyclists’ Alliance become shaped in 2017. Started by way of Iris Slappendel, Gracie Elvin and Carmen Small, the organization objectives to symbolize aggressive, financial, and personal pastimes of woman professional cycle racers, and offers a voice to ladies while bargaining for improved situations.
Women’s expert cycle racing is many years more youthful than the guys’ sport, so it isn’t sudden that there is lots of catching up to do.
Just as with the men’s racing, media insurance of the sport is prime in giving ladies’ cycle racing a wider enchantment, and attracting sponsorship to be able to eventually translate into extra assets and better working conditions.
With 45 UCI women’s teams, there may be energy and intensity in girls’s racing, and this can permit for a -tier gadget of big WorldTour groups and smaller Continental Teams, therefore allowing an simpler access into pinnacle degree women’s racing for aspiring racers and teams.
A range of movers and shakers in women’s biking have given their personal evaluations to Cyclist on wherein we are in ladies’s racing.
‘I agree with a Paris-Roubaix would be an high-quality addition to our race calendar. We have proved that we’re able to taking over worrying courses along with Strade Bianche and Flanders and that they have continually been interesting to observe.
‘I even have watched Roubaix for many years now and have loved the brutality and drama of the race and would love to experience it for myself.
‘I don’t agree with that the women’s peloton needs a 3-week stage race. The appeal of ladies’s cycling is the excitement and drama that the shorter and more intense race lengths convey.
‘We have a extraordinary 10-day stage race [Giro] already on our calendar which brings massive quantities of enthusiasm and suspense protecting all one-of-a-kind terrains.
‘However, I did love racing along the Champs Elysées and would really like it if we got the risk to race along it again.
‘I love racing on days while the men are because it way we get to enjoy the ecosystem that the guys’ peloton brings;, however, we can also discover ourselves competing for interest.
‘In races that stand on my own, we get total reputation from all media structures, organizers and fanatics which makes us experience unique and also offers us the opportunity to show off our sport.
‘The Ovo Energy Women’s Tour as an instance is at a unique time of 12 months to the men’s race, so we benefit from the wonderful organization and media structures.’
‘In the time that I was racing professionally, the changes I noticed were longer, higher organized races, more media interest, greater depth and energy within the field, greater professional teams, and higher salaries.
‘There was a variety of goodwill in women’s biking, and that made the sport very special to me. I nevertheless like to be concerned due to the fact there are such a lot of people running in girls’s biking out of passion. But sure, we certainly do our job in much less most advantageous situations than the men.
‘Since forming the Cyclists’ Alliance we’ve got no longer seen many attempts by ASO sincerely, but we have visible moves to alternate things by using the UCI.
‘I assume our 2017 survey has opened people’s eyes at the UCI. We see specifically inside the “more recent” cycling countries like the UK, USA, and Australia that they’re making a variety of attempt to improve the races, however also Flanders is doing a right job too.
‘If I may want to change one issue in ladies’ biking it’d be greater TV/online coverage and stay streaming of races.
‘I could additionally want to see that greater woman cyclists are privy to their rights, and we try to teach them on this. It’s OK to speak up.’
‘When I raced, the Women’s Tour was one of the high-quality, organized races, and had accurate prize money. I also favored Yorkshire. The organization was perfect. Sadly, I cannot say the equal for the Giro.
‘The organization became great however the standard of lodge might have been better, and the prize money changed into ridiculous. My heart is in it because it’s in Italy, but I suppose they may improve the race.
‘There is no policies approximately prize money in that class of race, so organizers are loose to invest the cash how they want. Sometimes they invite multiple small Italian teams. I don’t suppose it’s exact for the girls because they arrive at the Giro for a ten-day race and after some days they have to grasp onto the bike due to the fact they are not in a position to complete.
‘It’s a waste because the organization has paid for them to come back. I suppose it’s miles better to have a couple of teams fewer inside the race and then the cash stored can be used for greater prize cash.
‘They display the Giro on RAI TV, and as human beings are already looking TV for the Tour de France, we get a gap for about 15 mins. But it depends on what they display and the way you show us, for human beings to be involved.
‘Last 12 months they confirmed Zoncolan and positioned out a whole lot of publicity approximately it, but they merely showed a very quick video, and people didn’t understand the race. You need to show tiers with a group sprint, displaying the women doing a lead out.
‘I might display a circuit race or a few laps around a village so that people can see you. To position a finish line in a well-known village after 130km, and do laps of the town can get human beings concerned a piece greater.
‘Being a Sports Director is an excellent and utterly new revel in, and I am studying plenty. I genuinely recognize Ina [-Yoko Teutenberg, Trek-Segafredo sports director] assisting me and sharing her experience.
‘Also, due to the fact I raced with all the women final year, I realize all their skills and this is very helpful in the task.’
‘As part of the Cyclists’ Alliance, I were a big propose for minimum salaries and truly think that that is an important step for girls’ cycling. If you may prove to each a race sponsor and a group sponsor that it is worth equal prize cash and better salaries, due to the fact they will get hold of higher exposure thru stay streaming, then we can without a doubt alternate the surroundings for women’s cycling.
‘As a rider who lives for the Spring Classics, I am a definite yes on wanting to race a women’s Paris-Roubaix! My personal bias aside, I think it must be the subsequent massive purpose for girls’ cycling.
‘While the Healthy Ageing Tour [which is on at the same time] is a top-notch race and merits extreme UCI popularity, I assume that it is the ideal race for decrease degree teams to compete in. Because of the big Women’s WorldTour calendar we’ve visible a few incredible decrease level races lost due to the fact the larger teams don’t go to them, and the smaller groups are forced to gain invites to WWT races.
‘I think the improvement-level riders are having to make too huge a bounce from their countrywide degree races to the WWT. I want to see the tiered machine of racing and teams so that there are more significant opportunities for all to race enough.
‘The Ovo Women’s Tour has been a stand out event since it commenced. The inclusion of equal prize cash got here after they furnished insurance, splendid employer, race promotion, and same opportunities for all teams to compete. Prudential RideLondon was also one of the first to offer equal prize cash and include stay insurance, but we would like to look an extended path inside the destiny and now not only a metropolis circuit.
‘In Australia, the Santos Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race do a simply outstanding task.’
