How female cyclists are changing the lack of representation in their sport

If you’ve ever watched the Tour de France on TV, you will have seen how many kilometres of the race’s route are lined every year by spectators. You will have seen the cyclists supported en masse by face-paint, by banners in the yellow, green, white and polka dot of the four jerseys, caps flung from the publicity caravan adorning spectators’ heads, decorated haystacks and cyclists’ names chalked across the road. The oldest and most anticipated event of the cycling calendar, the popularity of the Tour de France cannot be exaggerated.

This summer undoubtedly delivered one of the most exciting races in recent Tour history with several front runners in close proximity for yellow right up until the final stages. The French watched on the edge of their seats hoping for the first winner since 1985, British fans backed last year’s victor Geraint Thomas to continue their winning streak, but in the end it was 22-year-old Colombian Egan Bernal who rode into Paris and fans’ hearts to secure both yellow and white jerseys, as the youngest rider to win the tour since 1909 and third youngest champion ever.

However, ‘Allez Egan’ was not the only sign I waved as I cheered on the riders in the rain of Stage 20: this year I held up the words ‘DONNONS DES ELLES AU VELOS JOUR -1’. The phrase, ‘Give the Girls a Bike’, is the name of an initiative who aim to encourage more women into cycling and promote female representation in the sport. Their project ‘Day -1’ refers to a team of 13 female riders who rode every single stage of the 2019 Tour de France, the day before the male professionals. Without TV coverage, without support cars, without spectators and certainly without a publicity caravan, these women aimed to draw attention to the lack of female representation in cycling. The official DdEaV website describes how there is currently no Tour de France for female cyclists. Although La Course, which is run by TdF race organisers ASO, has been held since 2014, it is only ever one stage of the male professionals’ route and DdEaV describe it as just ‘a first step’ in the right direction.

These female cyclists aren’t even struggling for equality in the sport, they are fighting to promote their own existence

The lack of representation, however, is a problem hand in hand with the lack of female involvement in cycling. Astonishingly, in comparison to the popularity of the sport countrywide, only 10% of those licensed with the Fédération Française de Cyclisme (FFC) are women and in the stage of the TdF open to amateurs, L’Etape du Tour, female cyclists represented a miniscule 7% of 2019 entrants. As stated on the website, since the majority of these women get into cycling because of a brother, father or husband, DdEaV’s aim is, therefore, to begin to even out the imbalance, while creating a female club in which the women pedal and sit at the drawing board.

In fact, translating their information on Jour -1, DdEaV explain that they are taking advantage of the TdF’s spotlight, ‘to promote the existence of female cycling’. Note, these female cyclists aren’t even struggling for equality in the sport, they are fighting to promote their own existence. As if women on bicycles have been dismissed as athletes and ignored completely by not only France but all media. The vocabulary which describes their adventure ‘to complete the Tour de France 1 DAY before the professionals’ likewise highlights the mismatch in representation by equating ‘professionals’ to mean ‘male professionals’. So where are the women in cycling?

Unfortunately, if you’ve watched the Tour and been witness to the colourful array of spectators, you will also have noticed that the only women featured on the television and seemingly in the whole operation of the race, are the dolled up Podium Girls handing out flowers and kisses to the winners of each stage. Many have called for the race organisers to abolish what they have labelled as a ‘sexist tradition’ and the Spanish Vuelta a Espana replaced Podium Girls with men and women from 2017, however, the Tour de France is yet to follow suit. The sport, at least as it is portrayed by the media, is utterly male-dominated so it is no surprise that female involvement in France is lagging.

As an avid Tour de France fan, I felt so guilty for not hearing about Jour -1 earlier

When thinking of French cycling, women are hardly part of the picture, but perhaps DdEaV’s photo of 13 women holding bouquets above their heads in victory before of the Arc de Triomphe is the image France has been waiting for. These incredible women not only completed the same course as the male professionals, proving that one stage of the tour for women isn’t enough; but the initiative also invited amateurs to join them at every stage. Donnons des Elles au Velos created a community of female amateur cyclists and it continues to encourage participation in its casual and competitive projects for women of all age groups.

As an avid Tour de France fan, I felt so guilty for not hearing about Jour -1 earlier. In 2017 France TV dedicated 75 minutes to the project during the broadcast of the men’s race, attention which DdEaV celebrated on their website. But more needs to be done, if women’s cycling is to progress to anywhere near the standard of men’s. The women’s football and netball World Cups this summer have shown us that coverage of women’s sport is not a courtesy in the name of diversity, but deserves as much attention as men.

Women will continue to play sport, women will continue to succeed in sport with or without the financial support or media coverage of their male counterparts, so let’s spread the word that the media won’t: Donnons des Elles au Velos! A woman’s place is not on the podium giving out flowers to the male winners, a woman’s place is on the podium with her own medal around her neck. A woman’s place is on the bike.