British Cycling says it will work alongside organisers of challenge cycling events such as sportives to encourage more women to take part in them by overcoming the barriers that can act as a deterrent to signing up for such rides.
The governing body last year commissioned a study on how to get more females to enter challenge rides from Women In Sport, which has undertaken similar work on ways to raise participation levels for the Football Association and England Athletics.
The study, some of the findings of which have been published this week, was based on interviews with three distinct groups of female cyclists – recreational riders, those who had recently started taking part in challenges, and regular participants in challenges.
It found that barriers to signing up for events included fear that such an event “isn’t for me” or that something might go wrong on the day, and for some a lack of confidence about their abilities.
British Cycling, which says it wants to encourage 1 million more women into the saddle by 2020 and rund the Breeze programme of women-only rides, says it is now implementing Women In Sport’s recommendations.
British Cycling’s women’s cycling project manager, Becki Morris, commented: “Working with Women in Sport has provided us with valuable in-depth insight.
“We are determined to encourage as many women as possible to cycle, and the recommendations from this study which we can now integrate into our work are hugely positive steps.
“We have identified 11 sportives to work with this year to run a pilot project with the objective of gaining different female experiences to share more widely.”
She added: “This will hopefully work towards changing the perception of sportives that some women may have, and breaking down some of the barriers identified in the research.”
Heather Smith, Women in Sport partnership manager, said: “Our partnership work with British Cycling over the last year highlights how our project based approach can support an organisation looking to engage more women and girls.
“By helping to identify the barriers and motivators to women entering more formal ‘challenge’ rides, we explored the potential methods of persuading women to try by applying insights from our Understanding Women’s Lives and What Sways Women to Play Sport reports,” published in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
“To see how British Cycling have already begun working through the recommendations by referring to two Women in Sport summary documents is extremely encouraging and an example of best practice,” she concluded.
15 thoughts on “British Cycling aims to get more women riding’ sportives”
Not a woman… but I would
Not a woman… but I would welcome shorter distance sportives. My youngest son is very keen but his maximum comfortable limit is about 35k. Shorter distance events are few and far between.
Shorter distances may also encourage people with less confidence to sign up and have a go.
The problem is with sportives
The problem is with sportives is because most are a paid for event and people often have to travel miles to get there. If they make it too short then it won’t attract the normal sportive crowd. But alot of the sportives have a short route option anyway, so I’d argue the so called barrier of entry are with the person themselves.
Incidentally there were lots of women on the last two sportives I’ve been to this year.
But isn’t that the point?
But isn’t that the point? They don’t want to be attracting the normal crowd – they want to encourage a new crowd.
Most short courses on normal sportives are still 50km plus.
We have managed to find two localish events this year that were short enough or had a short enough option which were viable for my son – a 42km and a 24km. And he suffered on the 42. I don’t want him challenged too much in case he loses the enthusiasm and decides cycling is not for him 🙁
As he gets older and stronger then the longer distances will be doable and he may well become one of the normal sportive crowd.
Ban the sale of hybrids. That
Ban the sale of hybrids. That will get more people actually enjoying cycling, including women 😉
andyeb wrote:
My bike is a hybrid, and I enjoy cycling very much thanks.
(This is my bike. There are many like it but this one is mine.)
But parkruns are incredibly
But parkruns are incredibly popular among lots of women including my friends who dont like cycling much,because the distance is short enough to be a good but not impossible challenge they can bring their children,and the route is familiar so they feel comfortable doing it.With a sportive the minimum distance is often at the far end of a newbie cyclists ability/confidence, often through a completely unfamiliar route area and you get surrounded by people who can be less than supportive.
One of my friends did a sportive last year and was put off for life because some riders she encountered on her way were just so abusive towards her because she wasn’t riding the right bike in the right way with the right gear
Awavey wrote:
It is a very disappointing fact that many people who view themselves as cyclists are total tosspots.
I normally ride a top end Synapse.
Recently, while it was being serviced, I had a couple of rides on a decade (at least) old Marin hybrid.
I was astonished by how many viewer riders would acknowledge my “morning” as we passed, and, I kid you not, there were some who were openly scornful.
Sounds like there’s a gap in
Sounds like there’s a gap in the market for someone to fill with shorter events aimed more at a different demographic (or demographics). I’m surprised the bigger chain stores haven’t spotted it – or perhaps they’re too concerned with MAMIL credibility?
I’ve attended a few events
I’ve attended a few events where I have found some elements to be very unfriendly or unapproachable. The worst was at a cyclocross event. We all entered (wife, 2 x boys and I ) and we were not made to feel welcome at all on our mountain bikes. Some of the officials even took the mick out of my wife whilst she was racing. We won’t be doing that again.
More recently I turned up at a local TT event to have a nose. No one said a word to me – when I made eye contact with a smile, people just looked away. The organisers didn’t say hi or advise what was going on either. So I stayed for about 10 minutes and then went home.
We’ve done a few other events and they have been very much more friendly and all the mountain bike events have been great – even when we ended up as complete beginners racing elites and getting in their way – they were still friendly and supportive as they whizzed by – or at least they weren’t rude 😉
Interesting that Awavey mentions parkruns as my family is very much involved in a local parkrun and there is a friendly, inclusive atmosphere. We have also visited other parkruns and found them to be much the same.
No conclusions here – just observations from some experiences.
Podc wrote:
Just out of interest, did you complain to a commissaire or the organisation running the event? In my experience people running cyclocross (at least in Yorkshire) are very serious about it being a sport for all, and will crack down on any behaviour that is aggressive or unwelcoming.
Lots of people people, kids and adults alike, race cross on mountain bikes, so I don’t know why they should take the mickey. My wife has done a winter cross season on a hybrid in the past.
I don’t know how old you kids are, but I think sportives, or any long distance event, runs the risk of being boring for kids. I get bored after a few hours in the saddle myself! If they don’t already, I recommend they turn up to some sessions at a Go Ride affiliated club. These should be fun, short and will teach them some skills, while meeting a group of other kids who are interested in bikes.
Chris James wrote:
Yes – we exchanged a few e-mails after the event and they were very apologetic.
I’m a bloke but I’ve never
I’m a bloke but I’ve never been to a sportive, mainly because I have a young family and at weekends we tend to do thing together and the few times I’ve looked into it there just Isn’t much for the rest of the family to do – maybe I didn’t look hard enough. I suspect that a lot of the missing women are looking after the kids at home.
I’d agree that having some shorter distances, figure of eight courses so you can bail out halfway through if you’ve bitten off more than you can chew and someting to engage the children, like stamps to collect on the way round would be a big help.
such an event “isn’t for me”
such an event “isn’t for me”
A quality piece of insightful research just there…
This may include people that can’t ride a bike, feel too old, don’t like cycling and on and on and on.
Opera isn’t for me, I don’t suggest they throw in some drums, electric guitars et al to make it more inclusive.
People need to grow up!
Sportives are what they are.
Sportives are what they are. They really leave me cold. There are too many knobbers, who think they are in a race for my liking. I’ll do the PRLS, because it’s a good way to make money for charity, on account of its higher profile. I like doing the Isle of Wight Randonee ( it’s free, except for my voluntary donations), and it’s a Randonne, not a sportive. I work for B.C. on a casual basis ( as a Skyride leader). There are plenty of short duration/ distance rides available, through goskyride, or Breeze. There is no mandatory helmet rule anymore ( unless you are under 16 years old, or a ride leader). I’m main ride leader on a little 4 mile Skyride Local, this Sunday ( lots of people have already signed up, I expect a few to turn up ‘on spec’). I imagine a few of the riders on this ‘starter’ ride will go on to try sportives at some point. I’m also leading another Skyride local on the 5th of June, which is a bit longer, at 13 miles. There are rides which go up to 60 miles, later in the year. So we have a whole range of non ‘sportive’ rides available. I’m not sure why B.C. feel the ‘need’ to encourage anyone to do Sportives.
I’ve only taken part in a few
I’ve only taken part in a few sportives, the Strathaven round 50 and the Wooler Wheel which has distances from 30k to 170k. Both have been inclusive and supportive to all. I did my first sportive in Strathaven on my hybrid. Yes, there is bike snobbery out there with those who won’t talk to you if you’re on the “wrong” bike but it’s not a gender thing. I’d encourage all ages, abilities and gender to give it a go. In my case it’s given me the confidence to go on scenic long rides where I normally wouldn’t go, as I know I’ve got mechanical back-up, I won’t get lost and there is food and water.