Following the classics season, the stage race season kicked off on Sunday with the start of the 12th Vuelta Femenina a España, from the coast of Galicia. 126 riders representing 18 teams and 30 different nationalities set out to tackle 7 stages and 819.5 kilometers of racing.
A sign of the growing popularity and respect for women’s cycling, the famous Angliru climb, with its steep gradients, will be on the program. While at the top of the pyramid, women cycling seems to be going well, there is still a long way to go to consolidate the benefits made in previous years for female athletes : increased TV coverage over the past five to ten years, a minimum wage for female riders in both professional divisions, and paid maternity leave.
And like their male counterparts, women’s teams are fighting to ensure their survival year after year, but this rapid growth must be supported by solid foundations, particularly at the lower levels of competition. This is a message the MPCC has been advocating for several years. Thus, 8 of the 18 teams competing in the Vuelta are committed to our cause, as are 14 of the 126 riders who started the race.
This is still too few to carry the voice of women’s cycling that is aware of the challenges it faces : its organization, its structure, and a stance that remains as uncompromising as ever against doping. For all these reasons, we enthrust teams and riders who are not yet members of our movement to join us in taking on the many challenges ahead.
