Women in pro cycling have long fought for better pay, race opportunities, and safety. So far, it's been a difficult battle: 50 percent of women in the sport still earn only $11,800 or less per year, 17 percent get no salary at all, and a little more than half work second jobs to make ends meet.
That's according to a survey released this week by the newly formed Cyclists' Alliance. Founded by former pros Iris Slappendel and Carmen Small as well as active racer Gracie Elvin, the group aims to advocate for women in cycling and improve their status within the sport.
“I think people in men’s cycling don’t realize what the women are going through,” Small said. “We’re not even treated the same under the rules.”
In one of its first moves, the Alliance carried out a survey of women who race professionally. The results highlight just how far women racers have to go, especially when it comes to the economic gap between them and their male counterparts.
Despite the grim statistics, the survey found that more women are racing today than in years past. Yet only 11 percent make more than $35,500 a year, roughly equivalent to the UCI’s minimum wage for male Pro Tour riders. There is no minimum salary for women.
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The survey, sent out in two parts early this season, got responses from almost 300 women across every UCI-registered team, representing more than 20 countries.
The findings, which the Alliance presented to the UCI earlier, also outlines some demands that pro women have—primarily, access to health insurance. Second to that was post-career job placement or education. (Forty-eight percent of women pros have at least a four-year university degree, 19 percent have at least a master's degree, and 35 percent are currently enrolled as students.)
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There isn’t much disagreement that women in cycling have a worse economic outlook than men. When Brian Cookson won the UCI presidency in 2013, one of his commitments was to improve women’s racing. But progress proved fitful. Cookson lost his reelection bid last fall to David Lappartient, who also made women’s racing part of his campaign platform. Still, much remains to be done.
To begin with, there is simply less money in women’s cycling, which the Alliance thinks can begin to change by more effectively marketing the sport. Small, however, is optimistic about improving women’s racing even outside of equal pay. Along with a minimum wage, the Alliance identified several issues that women say are most important to them, including improved safety at races, better representation at the UCI, and better professionalism and accountability at UCI-registered teams.
“Iris recently had a meeting with David, and they had a really, really great conversation,” she said. “I think he was a bit shocked with the findings, but he was responsive.”
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First on the agenda, Small said, is simply getting a collective bargaining agreement between the Alliance and the UCI, as well as national federations. Then it plans to move on to safety, regulations, minimum wage, health insurance, and other issues.
Of course, there’s no guarantee of success. The men’s side of the sport has tried for years to form an effective union and largely failed. For Small and her co-founders, it was clear that different realities and priorities meant that women need to fight for their own way forward.
“Doing the same thing as the men doesn’t work for us,” Small said. But she added that news of the Alliance’s formation was met with “an overwhelming response,” and not just from riders. Fan interest was so high that the founders added a donate button to the Alliance website. With encouraging signs from riders, fans, and even the UCI, Small said she is hopeful for the future.
“Everyone wants to see women’s cycling improve,” she said.
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Joe Lindsey is a longtime freelance journalist who writes about sports and outdoors, health and fitness, and science and tech, especially where the three elements in that Venn diagram overlap.
