Cycle of Change: THE RISE OF WOMEN S CYCLING part II
ANYONE REMEMBER TWO OR THREE DECADES AGO, when women who turned up at a cycling club bunch ride were told to come back when they could ride fast enough to stay with the men, or when women who wanted to race often didn’t because they felt too intimated by the often aggressive racing style found in the men’s grades? Then there were those who raced (and hard) and wanted to race at the top level, but found there were few elite pathways and certainly not much to be made in prizemoney, which was in no way equal to the men.
Riders like lifetime elite track rider Anna Meares and lifetime club road rider Liz Wilkes sure do – but both agree that things have never looked better for female riders of all levels and ages. Rider-turned-director sportif for women’s team Butterfield Racing in Adelaide, Madeleine Steele, believes that is a result of some left field thinking.
The recently retired most successful track rider ever,
