Women’s cycling is becoming more and more popular, and the boom is also happening in Germany. A new race will take place in Stuttgart under the direction of Olympic champion Lisa Brennauer.
If you ask Lisa Brennauer about the impressive upswing in women’s cycling, she simply refers to parking lots. Nowadays, there are large coaches, campers and trucks parked there before the races.
A difference to the men is hardly noticeable. “In summer we used to have to roast on folding chairs in the heat,” remembers Brennauer. Those folding chairs weren’t that long ago, not even a decade.
Minimum wage is 32,000 euros per year
What has happened in recent years is remarkable. The TV presence is x times as high, the prize money has been adjusted to that of the men, and there are a large number of new sponsors. Women riders have rights that women in other sports dare not dream of. There is a minimum wage, which is currently 32,000 euros per year, and there is also a kind of old-age provision as well as paid parental leave.
However, there is a catch: the listed achievements only apply to the World Tour, the highest level of the sport. The world looks very different underneath, which is why Brennauer emphasizes: “A lot has been achieved, but there is still a lot to do.”
Brennauer is brimming with optimism
Brennauer is part of the boom. The Olympic champion is the sporting director of the Grand Prix Stuttgart, a new race that celebrates its premiere on July 16. Some people have to pinch themselves that there are still new bike races in Germany. Brennauer is brimming with optimism and sees the race as an opportunity, not a risk. “Hopefully this is the beginning of more international women’s cycling in Germany,” says the 34-year-old. TV will also be there, with SWR broadcasting from 2 p.m.
The Tour de Berlin is celebrating its comeback in the capital after more than 30 years. The Thuringia Tour, for a long time the last bastion of sport in this country, wants to be part of the World Tour next year. “The difference from when I started cycling in 2001 is huge. It doesn’t matter which area you pick. The infrastructure, the salaries, the organization of the competition, the visibility. A lot has happened there, and in the last two Years ago there was another explosion,” says Brennauer.
Last year she ended her career in Munich. She is proud to have been part of the movement that has brought the sport to where it is now. It was by no means easy. The powerful Belgian team boss Patrick Lefevere was asked two years ago if he would like to set up a women’s team as well. “I’m not welfare,” snapped the 68-year-old. Today he has a team for which the experienced Romy Kasper drives.
“Can still do sports more professional operate”
Lefevere had to be forced to rethink. That means he had to feel it financially. According to his statements, a co-sponsor withdrew and from then on supported another team and justified this with the greater importance of women’s cycling there.
There was no single accelerator for development. Rather, various players in the market have pulled together. “The UCI moved with the introduction of the World Tour, the minimum wage, protection in the event of pregnancy. The teams have really stepped on the gas, new sponsors have been added, the riders can now do the sport even more professionally,” explains Brennauer. Race organizers went along, since 2022 there has been a Tour de France again, before that the first Paris-Roubaix Femmes. In addition, there is a significantly increased TV presence of all World Tour races.
The development was not only financially positive. A lot of knowledge was shared through the commitment of male teams. Races are discussed tactically with modern technology, performance managers and nutritionists are hired. Drivers can exploit their potential much better and experience greater support than before.
Of course there are construction sites. Last year, 23 percent of female drivers drove without a salary. “There is definitely this gap. You have the incredibly well-positioned teams in the World Tour and then it goes down rapidly,” says Brennauer. In addition, the development of the female drivers does not keep up with that of the racing calendar. The calendar is growing, but there aren’t enough riders at the right level yet. This takes time – and that is given to the sport.