Hair pinned up, back straight on the velocipede and a smile at the general amazement, also a grimace of pride mixed with vindication against the constraints of the Victorian era. They were the first women on two wheels, back in the mid-nineteenth century, rejected by society, even by medicine, which argued that it was harmful to their health. But, determined, they did not stop pedaling to explain that the bicycle was an instrument towards freedom. The same occurred on the other side of the pond, where the famous suffragette Elizabeth Cady Staton wrote: “The bicycle is a tool that motivates women to gain strength and assume greater roles in society.” That was more than 150 years ago and, although society has evolved inexorably towards equality, cycling practiced by women is far from parity.
Although men’s professional cycling has a long tradition, the International Cycling Union (UCI) did not introduce the women’s world ranking until 1994 and did not create the Women’s World Tour until 2016. A delay explained in numbers as revealed by the organisation The Cyclists Alliance: in 2023, 25% of professional female riders did not receive any salary and 78% of the peloton, including the elite, had a second job. A red flag that the UCI is trying to put right, since it imposed the minimum salary for World Tour riders – second division teams are not obliged to do so – from 2020, which was 15,000 euros. In 2021 it rose to 20,000; in 2022 to 27,500; in 2023 to 32,100; and, this year, it is at 35,000. Next year, the number will be 38,000, which is lower than the 44,150 for men.
A difference that is revealed by some teams, such as Lidl-Trek and DSM, which announced that both men and women would receive the same minimum wage. “Measures such as closing the wage gap are crucial to continue professionalising the sport along with its commercial growth, providing female athletes with the same resources as their male counterparts so that they can earn a genuine and comfortable living doing what they love most,” says Marloes Poelman, Head of Finance and Operations at DSM. This is how Josu Larrazabal, director of Lidl-Trek, sees it. “Women’s cycling needs support and stability, so equalising minimum wages is important so that it can develop and the minimum level can increase.” That is why Lidl – the team that won the Giro this year and came third in the Vuelta with Elisa Longo Borghini – is also trying to extend benefits, as the UCI says that, in the case of pregnancy, they must receive their full salary for six months. “We will keep the file until she returns. It is about creating a safe environment for the cyclist,” Larrazabal emphasizes.
There are many more women on minimum wages than men, just as the best female riders earn around half a million and the boys are around four million, as well as Pogacar who earns twice that amount. “The men come from a market made up of World Tour riders, with experience and top level, professionals. In terms of women, many come from juniors because cycling is not so advanced. There is not such a wide pyramid,” explains Larrazabal. There are not so many races or followers either. The Tour audience reaches more than 950,000 spectators on average for each stage and the France Femmes avec Zwift – the women’s Tour – stays at just under 160,000. “Women’s cycling is growing rapidly as can be seen from the audiences. Although there is still a long way to go for elite races to become professional and achieve true equality. But we are going in the right direction,” says Poelman. “Yes, it is growing and there are races that are being promoted. The classic cobblestone ones, the big three…”, says Larrazabal, while accepting: “although they are not at the same level; that will take time and it is a path that has been started and we hope will be one of no return.”
This contrast is also evident in the prize money, since in the Tour, for example, women receive 10% of what men do. Although the Tour of Flanders recently announced the equalisation of prize money between men and women: 50,000 euros for both categories. Another step forward. “But other important measures can be taken by improving safety standards, the economic model that supports this professional sport, television coverage, accommodation for team staff and facilities at the races, as well as modernising the calendar so that the men’s and women’s events coincide and complement each other better,” says Poelman. That and, of course, the teams must truly support women. “It is good that all the big teams have a women’s division, but what we need to do is provide it with the same structure as the men’s. There are teams in which the women have the same number of women as the men’s. jersey, but they are different procedures and structures,” Larrazabal reveals.
Lidl-Trek, however, also believes that women need to take another step forward: “A change of mentality is required on the part of female riders. The path to equality is not just about paying the same, but about proactively raising the standard of everything. If you are paid to ride a bike, you have to be consistent. You have to work harder.” Something that is accepted by the peloton, as one of the best female cyclists of the moment, Lotte Kopecky, explained not long ago: “It is good that the prize money is the same. But we do fewer kilometres, I think we still have to work as hard as men.” In 2025 everything will be a little more equal, especially in the Lidl-Trek and the DSM.
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