As I am, now, a semi regular racer in the discipline, I feel more and more enthused by what I'm seeing at the top and the grass roots of the sport (pun intended)
I'm also a fan, I love to watch the races either streamed from the UCI you tube channel or chasing streams from European broadcasters such as Vier and Sporza. It is great that the UCI World Cup races have the women's race streamed live in it's entirety. This alone is a big step forward in the promotion of women's CX and as it's also the playground of one Marianne Vos, arguably the greatest all round cyclist ever, male OR female, it's a great shop window for the sport. But it's not just about Vos, there is a strong field with riders from the US, the UK and continental Europe. We are seeing great performances from Katie Compton in the World Cup, Eva Lechner getting better and better, leading to second place in the world championships in Hoogerheide, and, with a bit of patriotic glee, the fact that the GB girls, primarily Helen Wyman, Nikki Harris and Gabby Day, are so good that we are the top ranked nation in the world for Women's CX.
All of this is great, even remembering that Helen and Nikki are two of this countries best sportswomen of which the majority of the population have never heard.
It can be better.... and it's getting better.
There are still things that could be so much better. The scheduling of the elite women's races, the treatment of the women's field at some races (no space for parking with the men, etc) and prize fund inequality being some of the key areas.
To this end, it was great to hear in November that the new UCI president, Brian Cookson, had followed up on his promise to include women on each main UCI commission and had appointed Helen Wyman to the CX commision. This is not to say that the commission was not already moving forward. Amongst the members is Geoff Proctor from the US who is instrumental in things like the Euro Cross Camp each year, where young riders, both male and female, are brought across from the US to gain valuable experience in european races during the busiest part of the CX calendar. This is great for the development of young women in the US cross scene.
It is worth noting that the US cross scene is leading the way in many of the areas already mentioned. Equal prize funds and treatment are already commonplace. CX may have it's history in Europe, but the Americans are really showing us a lot of the future of the sport.
It was great to hear Corey Green talking to my friend, Scott Dedenbach, on a recent Bike Shop Show podcast about the fact that the 3rd day of the Cincy3 day CX event next season would be the first "Americas" Continental championship, but for me, the news that they were planning a separate race for the U23 women was the most notable step.
But the final, and most important piece of news in the last week was the, much teased, announcement from Helen Wyman that the iconic KoppenbergCross event , a part of the Bpost Bank Trofee series, is going to have an equal prize fund for both the men's and women's races for the first time at a C1 european CX event. This is massive, and yes, I know it means we are lagging behind the 'mericans. But it shows we are catching up and it's NOT a "top down" thing. this came about with racers and organisers and sponsers simply talking about what could be done. and in the light of recent comments from some quarters of Belgian CX and the SuperPrestige series still refusing to actually have a final classification for the women, it's HUGE that this is a Belgian race, and an iconic one at that.
The full announcement is here on Helen's website. It is worth noting that the title sponsor of the new format event, Twenty20 cycling is a small US business with a couple of bike shops in Baltimore and Columbia,MD but with the commitment of Kris Auer in supporting local CX in Maryland and now sponsoring a Belgian race, it is clear that, once again, we can learn a lot about how CX CAN be from the Americans.
Helen has also given a great interview to Sarah Connolly from Podium Cafe on the background and significance of this announcement and her part in making this happen.
Click through to all the links in this, please, go and read all of the articles, listen to the podcast, support the people who are making the sport a better place for the women that are coming into the sport now. One of the things that I love about MY racing, is the junior and U23 women who I regularly race against, coming out week after week and giving their all in races in all weathers.... I'm a Veteran.. I'm just enjoying myself and my racing, but these girls are the future of the sport, and it is looking like a better and better future.
Postscript:
I also just want to thank Helen Wyman directly. When the announcement was being teased, Helen and Stef Wyman put the word out to podcasters, bloggers, journos, etc to pass details to get the news at the first opportunity. I asked lightly if my little blog counted and got the following response:
Helen Wyman
This level of care about, and engagement with, the fans of the sport is just one reason why I'm confident about the future of women's CX and, with Stef Wyman and the Matrix Vulpine team, the future of women's cycle sport in general is in great, great hands.
