She wrote, “Significantly changing the culture of cycling won’t happen from the top down, but rather from the ground up. The presence of women changes attitudes and behaviors toward women, which makes the environment more welcoming for the next female mechanic, product manager, engineer, or executive. Rebecca Rusch, a four-time winner of the Leadville 100, has spoken of the need for female representation at events, in bike shops, and in boardrooms throughout the cycling industry. The absence of women tells aspiring racers: this is not a place for you. It was her first time attending the Leadville 100, and her first impression was that women were conspicuously absent from the race. You may recognize her name from stories in Outside, ESPN, and Bicycling she is an emerging elite cyclist pursuing the goal of becoming the first African-American woman in the professional peloton. Figuratively, it becomes difficult for women who aren’t racing to see a place for themselves in that environment.įor part of the day, Ayesha McGowan joined us in the CTS tent at the aid station. Speaking about representation in the entertainment industry, actress and activist Geena Davis said, “If she can see it, she can be it.” When more than 90% of the riders on the start line are men, it is literally difficult to see there are women present. Fewer women entering an event is probably better described as a problem of representation. Paying women less prize money than men for winning the same event is an example of inequality. In it, he used the term “inequality”, but in hindsight that may not have been the best term to use. In an article earlier this year, Jason Koop talked about a similar problem with the disparity between the number of men and women in some of ultrarunning’s most prestigious races. Women represented only 9.2% of the 1538 finishers (out of 1561 starters)*, and that’s a problem. Another coach, who was tracking down race results to confirm CTS Athlete Larissa Connors had won her second consecutive title, confirmed there were a total of 142 women finishers. Working an aid station at the Leadville 100 MTB last weekend, one of the coaches pointed out the women’s field seemed smaller than it used to be.
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