Femmes and fortune
When the UCI announced its ambitions for an all-new Women’s WorldTour at the World Championships in Innsbruck in 2018 there was quite a bit of scepticism. It seemed wildly optimistic to imagine that by the start of the 2022 season 15 teams would have signed up to be part of a club that brings guarantees about gaining entry to certain races, but which also requires its members to make financial commitments that, just a few years ago, would have been considered beyond the pale.
In particular, the UCI’s declaration that by 2023 minimum salaries on WorldTour teams would be €30,000 struck many as a fanciful aspiration. At the time, a lot of women’s teams were professional in name alone. Two years earlier, Jessie Walker, a 22-year-old British rider, had left the sport after a ‘frustrating’ 2016 season with a ‘professional’ Italian team that was ranked 15th in the world.
‘My feeling is that the next ten years of growth in women’s cycling is tied to the success of the Tour de France Femmes. It really needs to capture people’s attention’
‘I’ve never had any financial support from any team, so racing is basically a full-time hobby,’ said Walker at the time.
Yet here we are in 2022, with 14 Women’s WorldTour teams – one short of the target – including six new squads. Each has a minimum
