Over a quarter of female pro cyclists outside Women’s WorldTour receive no salary, as new report highlights growing gap between Tour de France stars and “Wild West” lower tier – weeks after British squad collapsed following Tour invite snub

The thrilling racing, staggering roadside crowds, and all-round jubilant atmosphere of this year’s Tour de France Femmes – standing for the first time apart from its Hommes equivalent in what has turned out to be a very successful post-Olympics August slot – is the clearest indication yet of the rapid growth of women’s cycling since the race’s rebirth two years ago.

However, the lonely, if fiercely determined, sight of Uzbekistan’s national road race champion Yanina Kuskova fighting her way to the Tour’s final weekend, the last woman standing of what was in Rotterdam a seven-rider Tashkent City team, only serves to underline the challenges still to be faced as the sport continues its unprecedented development – and the growing gap between the Demi Vollerings at the top and those struggling to keep pace, literally and metaphorically, at the bottom.

The ever-yawning chasm between the Women’s WorldTour, the primary beneficiaries of the new exposure and therefore finances heralded by the return and success of the Tour Femmes, and women’s cycling’s lower tiers has been confirmed in a new report by The Cyclists’ Alliance (TCA), a foundation set up to provide support to female professional cyclists during and after their careers.

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According to the group’s 2024 Annual Rider Survey, which details the views of 100 female pros from 45 different teams and 20 nations, overall salaries are continuing to trend positively since 2018.

That trend, undoubtedly a consequence of the excitement and publicity generated by the Tour de France Femmes (4.3 million viewers in France alone watched the race’s climactic stage on the Tourmalet last year), is most clearly exemplified in the reports that the winner that day in the foggy Pyrenees, and of the 2023 Tour overall, Demi Vollering is set to become the first million euro rider in the sport’s history when she jumps ship from SD Worx to FDJ Suez for 2025.

(A.S.O./Thomas Maheux)

And since the minimum annual salary of €15,000 was introduced in the Women’s WorldTour in 2020, wages have kept increasing, with the average yearly earnings of riders in women’s cycling’s top tier now amounting to €85,000, a figure that could well increase once Vollering’s handsome new contract is finalised.

However, the TCA report also found that beyond this rarefied air at the top of the sport, things are looking decidedly less rosy in a world where an expanding calendar and greater pressure leads to stretched budgets and resources.

According to the 2024 survey, 27 per cent of non-WWT riders still receive no salary or income, while anecdotal evidence indicates that many riders – including those racing this year’s Tour de France Femmes – are even paying their way onto squads, creating an environment where a wealthy background outweighs talent and denies opportunities for others.

Meanwhile, over half of the non-WWT peloton (55 per cent) earn less than €10,000 a year, and 50 per cent of riders are on one-year contracts. Only 44 per cent of riders sought professional assistance when negotiating or signing their contracts too, a figure that gives rise to the theory that the lower tiers of women’s cycling are ripe for exploitation.

 (A.S.O./Charly Lopez)

One in four members of the entire women’s peloton currently have a second job to supplement their income alongside racing, with 53 per cent relying on cycling as their sole source of income.

86 per cent of riders, according to the survey’s findings, have either completed or are enrolled in third level or post-secondary education, down from 98 per cent in 2023.

Beyond finances, when asked about their experiences as a pro, one in five said they feel unsafe in their team, a number that has doubled since 2023.

"While we are encouraged by signs of progress, the 2024 survey clearly shows that the journey to equality in women's pro cycling is far from over,” TCA president Iris Slappendel said in a statement.

“The growing divide between World Tour riders and those in other tiers highlights the need for systemic change.

“Recognising these issues, TCA raised concerns with the UCI and sent a letter with several recommendations for change. We remain committed to advocating for all riders, ensuring that every woman in the peloton has the support and resources she needs to thrive.”

(A.S.O./Charly Lopez)

Speaking to Rouleur earlier this month, TCA programme manager Deena Blacking also said that more support is needed for those operating in what she calls cycling’s “Wild West”, an environment where zero regulation on salaries leads to the reality of ‘pro’ cyclists riding grand tours unpaid.

“The riders filling those spaces coming up the pathway are on Conti teams where it’s the Wild West,” Blacking said. “Many riders don’t get paid and some riders end up working multiple jobs, trying to study, but being expected to behave like they’re in a WorldTour team.”

> “We have sadly raced our last race”: British cycling team who had 14 bikes stolen at Tour of Britain collapses, two months after overnight raid described as “absolute hammer blow to our over-achieving team on a stretched budget”

The growing disparity between the haves and have nots of the women’s peloton was underlined earlier this month by the shock collapse of the British team Lifeplus Wahoo, which was partially a consequence of ASO declining to invite the squad to this year’s Tour de France after they raced the 2022 and 2023 editions.

Lifeplus Wahoo, which started out as the Drops Cycling Team in 2016, has been a constant fixture on the domestic and international racing scene over the past nine years, providing a platform for promising British stars such as Alice Barnes, Alice Towers, Joss Lowden, Lizzie Holden, and Maddie Leech, and earning invites to, and securing good placings at, top-tier races such as the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold, and Paris-Roubaix.

(A.S.O./Thomas Maheux)

The team also took part in the first two editions of the revamped Tour de France Femmes in 2022 and 2023, with Maike van der Duin sprinting to three top six placings during the 2022 edition, and Ella Wyllie finishing 16th overall last year.

However, according to the team’s co-founders Bob and Tom Varney, the controversial failure to secure an invite to this year’s Tour led to the loss of sponsor bonuses, while the squad also failed to attract a title partner willing to stump up the budget required to cover the minimum wages necessary to compete from next year at women’s cycling’s new second-tier ProTeam level.

“Despite securing a full stable of premium product partners for 2025, we have been unable to sell the naming rights for a figure commensurate with the budget required for a UCI Pro Team Licence application,” the team bosses said, while also citing the rising costs of running and maintaining a team and the after-effects of having 14 bikes stolen at the Tour of Britain – described at the time as “an absolute hammer blow to our over-achieving team already on a stretched budget” – as factors behind the squad’s sudden demise.

“Our aim has always been to progress to Pro Team level and ultimately become a World Tour team,” they said.

“With uncertainty surrounding the viability of the project at Continental level, we no longer have the appetite to struggle to deliver our professional vision on a minimum budget at this largely unregulated level.”