Coverage for UCI Women’s Gravel World Championships. Where is the equality?

The ongoing battle for parity in women’s professional racing seems to be a case of two steps forward and one giant leap backwards. While this year we have been able to celebrate seeing professional women’s racing grow in audience with Le Tour de France Femmes 2023 attracting over 20 million viewers, the lack of television coverage for the UCI Women’s Gravel World Championship is a huge disappointment to fans, racers and sponsors. 

Racers take on the dry dusty descents of UCI World Championships in Veneto, northern Italy. [image @thomas_maheux]

Gravel racing, particularly formal gravel racing under the auspices of the L’Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), is a new sport. It is a chance for sponsors, governing bodies and cycling culture to do better. With gravel, there should be no need to fight against old traditions, beliefs and outdated cultures. 

Along with the fans and riders of the gravel racing community we are appalled that women’s UCI Gravel World Championship did not have television coverage and that while the men’s race was broadcast female racers did not receive equal coverage. 

A gravel rider’s viewpoint 

Klara-Sofie Skovgard represented the Danish National Team at the UCI Gravel Worlds on 7th October.  Earlier this year we had the pleasure of meeting Klara when she showed us around her home city of Copenhagen for a piece of content we created for Shimano. 

We caught up with Klara following the race to hear a little bit more about the rider’s feelings about the UCI’s approach to the Women’s World Championships. 

Klara-Sofie Skovgaard with her custom Scott gravel bike before the UCI Gravel World Championships [ image Signe Koch @signekoch]

“I feel very strongly about it!” Klara began, leaving no doubt as to the impact of the decision on the riders, “I am mostly a gravel rider, the sport is growing. For its future it is important that it has exposure. This is what is going to finance our contracts and to develop the sport.” Lack of exposure and coverage at this stage in the sport’s professional development could strangle further growth. 

Road stars added shine to gravel 

Leading up to the race there was a lot of excitement in the cycling press as both the men’s and women’s events were to feature stars of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes, “ When Wout Van Aert signed up for the men’s race it had a huge impact on getting road cycling fans to watch gravel, having women’s road professionals there could have had a huge impact in encouraging viewers for the women’s race.” 

Gravel racing has grown from amateur sport and this is only its second UCI World Championships (whether professionalism is going to be good for gravel is another conversation), the fan base for road cycling is naturally higher, but potentially could contribute to the growth of the gravel audience. “Seeing World Tour riders signing up we (gravel racers) thought, ‘wow this is going to get some coverage.’ There were global superstars on the start line. When the UCI said they weren’t going to screen it, it felt like a really big set-back for the sport.”

All in the timing 

As Klara-Sofie told us, fans and riders simply assumed both men’s and women’s races would have television coverage because, well, why wouldn’t it be a fair and equitable sport? “I was super excited for the event and I didn’t think too much about the TV. There was a lot of exposure building up to it, they (the UCI) only dropped the bomb that it was not being screened the night before the race.”  Riders felt that the last minute announcement may even have been tactical to limit the negative publicity and prevent any late attempt to insist on television. 

While the UCI announcement says that it was a decision taken by the Local Organising Committee the responsibility for ensuring equality goes right to the top of the organisation. The UCI’s own statement on diversity and inclusivity states that they are “focused on strengthening the position of women within the cycling family.” A lack of equal coverage speaks volumes about the endemic level of respect for professional women’s cycling within an organisation. 

TV coverage mandatory in 2024

As part of the UCI’s announcement that there was no coverage for this year, it stated that for the next edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships, it will be mandatory for event organisers to provide TV production for both the Men Elite and the Women Elite races. 

Mandatory television coverage next year doesn’t make up for the effect it will have had on individual riders or the growth of gravel this year. “From a racer’s perspective, it is really sad and a real setback for gravel racing. For my sponsors, it is a real shame. I have just signed a new contract with Scott Sports Denmark and for sponsors, it is a big deal to get your kit on television.” 

Riders line up for the start of the World Championships [image @lesmophoto]

There are many grass-roots sponsors who have been with gravel since the start, and having the opportunity to see their names and products on a global stage at the pinnacle of professional racing is an important moment which they have now missed out on. “It says so much about not taking women seriously. The whole top ten was from the Women’s Tour, we had the Tour de France winner on the start line! It felt like women’s professional gravel racing was all going in the right direction, but then it wasn’t.”

Looking to the future 

There is real passion and resilience in women’s cycle sport, “Women’s cycling is a wide spectrum, all disciplines support each other and women’s cycling in general. It was really amazing to see professional riders from other disciplines calling the UCI out on this. Fans were tagging the social media of the UCI to ask why it hadn't been shown.”  

Next year the UCI has no excuse. If they U-turn on their announcement of mandatory TV coverage they will be held to account by the riders, fans and the cycling industry, though that of course does not wash away the bad taste left by the lack of coverage this year. “I felt like women’s sport had come so far this summer with the Women’s Tour and now it has gone backwards again.”

Give gravel a chance 

It’s not often you can be a part of the birth of a new sport and the future for gravel is an exciting one, as Klara told us “No one knows what gravel can become or what we as professional racers can become.” Gravel racing and especially women’s professional gravel racing deserves the chance to grow as a cycling discipline without being hindered by the old inequalities that other sports are still trying to shake off.