The impressive boom in women's cycling

Tom Bachmann, dpa

If you ask Lisa Brennauer about the impressive rise of women's cycling, she simply points to car parks. These days, large coaches, campers and lorries are parked there before the races.

The difference to the men is hardly noticeable. "We used to have to fry around on folding chairs in the heat in summer," Brennauer recalls. Those folding chair days weren't that long ago, not even a decade.

Minimum wage is 32,000 euros per year

What has happened in recent years is remarkable. The TV presence is x times as high, prize money has been equalised to that of the men, there are a large number of new sponsors. The female riders have rights that women in other sports wouldn't even dare to dream of. There is a minimum wage, which currently stands at 32,000 euros per year, as well as a kind of pension scheme and paid parental leave.

However, there is a catch: the achievements listed only apply to the World Tour, the top level of the sport. Below that, the world looks very different, which is why Brennauer emphasises: "A lot has been achieved, but there is still a lot to do."

Brennauer brimming with optimism

Brennauer is part of the boom. The Olympic champion is the sporting director of the Grand Prix Stuttgart, a new race that celebrates its premiere on 16 July. Some people must be pinching themselves that there are still new cycling races in Germany at all. Brennauer is brimming with optimism and sees the race as an opportunity, not a risk. "Hopefully this is the start of more international women's cycling in Germany," says the 34-year-old. Television will also be there, with SWR broadcasting from 2.00 pm.

In the capital, the Tour de Berlin is celebrating its comeback after more than 30 years. The Tour of Thuringia, for a long time the last bastion of the sport in Germany, wants to be part of the World Tour next year. "The difference to the time when I started cycling in 2001 is gigantic. No matter which area you pick out. The infrastructure, the salaries, the competition organisation, the visibility. A lot has really happened and there has been another explosion in the last two years," says Brennauer.

She ended her career in Munich last year. She is proud to have been part of the movement that has brought the sport to where it is now. It was by no means easy. Two years ago, the powerful Belgian team boss Patrick Lefevere was asked whether he would like to set up a women's team. "I'm not the charity," the 68-year-old snapped. Today, he has a team for which the experienced Romy Kasper rides.

"Can do sport even more professionally"

Lefevere had to be forced to rethink. In other words: he had to feel it financially. A co-sponsor withdrew after his statements and from then on supported another team, justifying this with the greater importance of women's cycling there.

There was no single accelerator for the development. Rather, various players in the market pulled together. "The UCI pulled together with the introduction of the World Tour, the minimum wage and pregnancy cover. The teams have really stepped on the gas, new sponsors have come on board and the riders can now pursue the sport even more professionally," explains Brennauer. Race organisers followed suit, and there has been a Tour de France again since 2022, preceded by the first Paris-Roubaix Femmes. There has also been a significant increase in the TV presence of all World Tour races.

The development was not only financially positive. A lot of knowledge has been shared through the involvement of men's teams. Races are discussed tactically with modern technology, performance managers and nutritionists are employed. Female riders can realise their potential much better and receive more support than before.

Of course there are construction sites. Last year, 23 per cent of female drivers drove without a salary. "There is definitely this gap. You have the incredibly well-positioned teams in the World Tour and then it rapidly goes downhill," says Brennauer. In addition, the development of the riders is not keeping pace with the race calendar. The calendar is growing, but there are not yet enough riders at the right level. This needs time - and the sport is being given it.

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