On Friday, I attended the Rouleur Classic event in London to take part in a discussion panel on the state of women’s cycling. Joining Cyclingnews on the panel were Drops Cycling team owner Bob Varney, new Drops rider Abby-Mae Parkinson and Voxwomen’s Laura Winter.
Women’s cycling has been fighting a long, hard battle to earn the recognition, professionalism and funding that it desires.
While half an hour is only enough time to scratch the surface, it is clear that there is currently a lot to celebrate in women's cycling. A lot has changed since I started working as a cycling journalist back in early 2012. Women's cycling enjoyed a good many races in the past but poor sponsorship meant that events were folding with alarming regularity and teams were struggling to stay afloat.
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For me, the 2012 Olympic Games proved a turning point in the slow demise of the sport and gave the women’s peloton a platform to show what they can do. All eyes were on them as they raced on a torrid day in London on the second day of competition. Marianne Vos came up trumps in a dramatic finale, and the race not only earned her a gold medal but gave the sport many new fans. Women's cycling now has a very passionate and engaged fan base. Work was needed to build on that success and the voice of Vos and others such as Emma Pooley, Nicole Cooke, Chrissie Wellington and Kathryn Bertine, with their Le Tour Entier project, and many more have helped push women's cycling back in the right direction.
The 2016 season saw the first-ever women's WorldTour, a 17-event competition that combined one-day and stage racing. That is set to increase to 21 events with the introduction of the Amstel Gold Race, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the Ladies Tour of Norway and the Holland Ladies Tour. While women's cycling is far from plush with funds, teams are increasingly stable and the news that Vos’ Fortitude Pro Cycling has secured the sponsorship of WM3 Energie for the next five years is a very encouraging sign.
The Women's WorldTour ensures that its races are held to a better standard and races such as Strade Bianche, the Women's Tour and the Tour of Flanders (plus several others) are as professional as the men's race. Prize money is also on the up in some cases with the Ride London Classique offering €25,000 for the winner. Money like that is still hard to come by in women's cycling, but it is a step in the right direction. The peloton it self also has more depth and is stronger than it has been in more recent times.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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