The Cyclists’ Alliance (TCA), that describes itself as “the only independent organisation representing the views and interests of female professional riders”, has followed Rapha in publishing a lengthy document criticising the UCI, accusing it of failing to create a “stronger structure for women’s professional cycling.”
The document is in response to a recent consultation from the UCI inviting key stakeholders to submit their views on topics such as the sport’s calendar, financial situation, safety and other areas. As well as the many criticisms, TCA offers a number of suggestions for growing women’s professional cycling, including vast improvements to the sport’s structure below WorldTour level, better distribution of races on the WorldTour calendar throughout the year, and exploring multi-day events for spectators to maximise revenue.
Just last week, Rapha’s CEO Fran Millar was keen to remind the governing body of the brand’s ‘Roadmap’ for change, first published way back in 2019 and recently updated. In Millar’s opinion, few of those ideas have come to fruition, accusing the UCI of prioritising “self-preservation over growth”.
Addressing the perceived slow progress of women’s racing, Millar said: “The Women’s Super League, the NWSL, the Hundred, the F1 academy, and the Women’s Rugby World Cup are all examples of what can happen when the people running those sports stopped making excuses about audience size and started making the content that grows one.”
Similarly, TCA argues that the UCI is failing to take advantage of “untapped” opportunities in women’s professional cycling.
One of the first suggestions in the document – under the section titled ‘maximising opportunities for revenue generation from races’ – suggests running “festival-style events built around races”.
“Whilst the operational delivery of such events rests primarily with race organisers, the UCI has regulatory authority (through its control of calendar inclusion, event licensing and organiser specifications) to direct or incentivise organisers to adopt commercial practices that benefit the sport”, says TCA.
“We see this as a vital element of broader collaboration between the UCI and organisers for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
The organisation cites the success of events such as the 95th Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Atlanta last year, with between 60-70,000 people attending weekend events during weekend festivities in the lead-up to the game itself on the following Tuesday.
“Research consistently identifies women’s sport as inclusive, family friendly and culturally relevant. These qualities reinforce the potential for multi-day festival events to drive increased revenue”, TCA adds.
Under the ‘calendar and participation’ section, TCA says that women’s racing needs “a more balanced, resource-conscious, climate-conscious and welfare-conscious calendar”, noting that a third of all races on the WorldTour calendar take place in May and June, putting riders at risk of burnout and injury. The document also criticises the UCI for failing to support key development races, citing the cancellation of the Tour de l’Avenir Femmes.
When it comes to rider safety, health and welfare, TCA has urged the UCI to implement GPS tracking and rider location technology as “an urgent safety priority”, wants to see the introduction of protective clothing materials, and wants more consistency when it comes to safe course designs. TCA argues that rider health and wellbeing is largely ignored unless this is in relation to doping, saying it is “…gravely concerned that the UCI Medical Commission has not responded to our numerous offers to support its stated goals of providing education to riders and staff.”
In March, TCA revealed that it was facing a funding crisis itself, launching a crowdfunder titled ‘Save The Cyclists’ Alliance – the future of women’s cycling’.
The union’s president, Grace Brown, wrote: “Without immediate financial support, we will not be able to continue our work.”
The crowdfunder has a target of €100,000, and has raised just over €20,500 at the time of writing.
30 thoughts on ““Structurally weak”: The Cyclists’ Alliance joins Rapha in condemning UCI for lack of progress on women’s pro cycling, suggesting “festival-style events” built around races to grow sport”
I have two criticisms of professional women’s stage races :
The tactics always seem to be negative. Meaningful breakaways never seem to happen and the stage usually ends in a bunch sprint.
Maybe more aggressive tactics need to be encouraged and stage terrain more conducive to breakaways.
There is a lack of strength in depth. Maybe this is also a factor in the lack of successful breakaways?
Improving the lower levels of the structure to identify and nurture fresh talent would be a good move.
Does money need to be shared out further, to increase opportunities to become full time professional cyclists.
The routes of the stage race are usually without ITT’s and with back end heavy GC stages. No real differences develop at the beginning, no one is forced to take risks, even those who will not have a chance in the last stages. However, they will not start kamikaze actions when they are some seconds behind, they still believe.
And for example Les Praeres and Angliru back to back are simply too hard. Les Praeres should be on an earlier stage.
We were just talking about Tadej winning all 5 monuments and the TDF in the same year. So, not sure about your point regarding strength in depth.
There have been some usual winners and some surprise winners in the women’s races this year (Franzi Koch, Paula Blasi – FYI – taking over the crown for best post-race interview). There is some negative racing, but I think ~50% of the time it’s punished by a breakaway winner.
Overall, I simply think there is a lot of money left on the table around women’s racing. It’s an excellent spectator sport with great competitors and back stories. I was at LBL this year and I think most people are there to see Tadej and Seixas and Remco … it’s the personalities that draw. When they pass by 75% of the spectators leave. When the female personalities get that widespread popularity, the crowds and money will follow. So, one criticism of women’s cycling is the racers are a under-hyped. They do audacious stuff, it just doesn’t get the hype.
why on earth would I give my time and attention to ‘pro sport’ that :
*Functions as a billboard for genocidal regimes, companies that sell bike to cops and countries that wreck our only climate
*Treat trans people like dirt
*Just have some abysmal and mediocre suited freak at the top creaming all the money for themselves
I just don’t care. I’d rather watch a bunch of 10 year olds race balance bikes around a play park for fun than give these weirdos my time and attention. Stuff em.
“”””but they’re elite!”””””
I do not care. You don’t get elite athletes from all round the world competing in these things, just a handful of primadonnas from well to do countries who kid everyone that they’re the greatest thing since a sourdough loaf. I have more interest in some kid from India who rode hundreds of kilometres to get home during a pandemic than some preening loser in a sponsored jersey who gets paid to ride a bicycle.
Well apparently you are giving it your time and attention, why are you bothering to comment on something that you hold in such content?
Such as Binyam Girmay, son of a carpenter from Eritrea who took the green jersey in the Tour de France in 2024, or Nairo Quintana, twice GT winner and twice runner up in the Tour de France who honed his skills cycling from village to village in his poor region of Columbia selling vegetables? Maybe our own Bradley Wiggins, who went from council estate lad to Olympic and Tour de France Champion?
Now toddle off and find something in which you are interested to comment on, you’ll find it a much more fruitful use of your time and much less of a waste everyone else’s.
No. I give this website time and attention because it’s about bikes. ‘Pro cycling?’ Get a grip and a real hobby. I couldn’t care less for your table crumbs examples, as if like a handful of examples outweighs systemic discrimination. I am actually howling with laughter that you simp for profit making companies for free. The cyclists alliance know you are a dinosaur on borrowed time and so do I.
‘Dinosaurs’ or trolls – which is better? There’s only one way to find out…
That makes you a rather expensive date hereabouts, but if you’re OK with going Dutch then I can oblige:
this is genuinely more enjoyable and interesting to me than some discovery channel owned horrorshow in which corporate propaganda is pumped into my organs and really tedious people ride stupid flash bikes I don’t care about.
Who are the “cyclists alliance” and would they like to borrow an apostrophe?
At a rough estimate at least 75% of this website is about pro cycling in one form or another and the vast majority of bikes and gear reviewed are what silly people like you would call “stupid flash bikes”. You perhaps should have looked a little more carefully at the content before jumping straight in to your pathetic attention-seeking little rant.
Schrodinger’s (road) cyclist site: too much sport for some, too much gravel / general issues for others, is both too light and heavy, simultaneously cheap (shilling for companies / failing to act as an advocacy organisation / organise activities) but also has the temerity to suggest you could pay to avoid ads…
Doesn’t even come with a front basket mount or power meter.
If it means they can finally afford to fix all the bugs from the replatformopalypse, I say bring on the shilling!
I am actually cackling at someone having tears streaming down their face at their stupid sport being ridiculed that theybare begging me to stop and reconsider. Get a grip, you actual loser. Begging someone else to stop commenting on a website, it is pathetic.
Have you spoken to a doctor about getting treatment for these hallucinations?
have you, for monitoring a news website for new comments on a story that is nothing to do with you?
Hmm – not quite sure you’ve really grasped how websites work there…
In any case, given your previously expressed feelings on the subject, presumably the story is nothing to do with you either.
Much ado about “nothing to do with you”.
I can’t help feeling that there is something less to this than meets the eye.
Pointing out that your comments are stupid and worthless and pointless in your own stated terms (“I hate professional cycling so I’m going to spend my time telling everyone about it under an article on professional cycling”) is not quite the same as begging you to stop commenting. By all means carry on commenting if you wish to carry on making a complete fool of yourself, it’s no skin off my nose, I just feel sorry and embarrassed for you is all.
The article is about professional cycling being an embarrassing sham. Keep simping for a sport where a bunch of grown men wear billboards for oil companies if you like. But guess who is actually the embarrassing person here? Not me. Get some actual interests.
I though road.cc had patched the recent vulnerability that allowed bot accounts to be opened and spout AI generated bollocks?
Well I’m here for the awful puns, pictures of squirrels and to live vicariously through pictures of your workshop/toolkits…
no one put a gun to your head and made you read my posts, let alone reply to them. You and no one else my boss and gets to read me orders about what I can comment. If you don’t like it then tough, I couldn’t care less.
“You and no one else my boss and gets to read me orders about what I can comment.”
Actually, the site does have moderators who do get a say in what you can comment, and continually calling people “Losers” and “Simps” is not the way to stay on their good side …
That proves pretty well that you haven’t read the article at all; it is in fact about demands to make women’s professional cycling more popular and suggestions as to how this can be achieved and thus you’ve made an even bigger fool of yourself, something one wouldn’t really have thought possible.
Its a shame that i have read between the lines for you, but here it is: this is the polite way of telling the uci that they are sick of them doing nothing. If you so thick that you think this is a bunch of people just asking nicely then that is a you problem
“Demands” is not synonymous with “just asking nicely”. You should perhaps eschew trying to read between the lines until you’re capable of reading what’s actually on them.
It surprises me not a jot that some off their head cultist like you would plead that someone else stops bad-talking their swiss sugar daddy and leaves their fancy pyjamas wearing sports personalities alone.
I pray to god you will actually get some kind of life beyond how these people do in their stupid races.
What kind of weird pyjamas do you… actually, on second thoughts, don’t answer that…