Will Women’s Bike Racing Ever Find Equality?

Posted by BrowneEyeMedia on Aug 10, 2010 in Versus | 0 comments

It’s the age-old issue – equal pay for equal work. For bike racing this is a touchy subject as men and women’s prize lists are rarely equal. Not only is the pay rarely equal but the race distances are also significantly shorter. Local race promoters are stuck between a rock and a hard place: The women’s fields in comparison to the men’s fields are smaller so it’s hard for race promoters to pay out 10 deep when there may be not that many more ladies in the race. Of course, at women’s NRC races the fields are bigger but again the distances and pay are not equal.

The upcoming Atlanta 100K race dramatically showcases both of these inequalities. The women’s event, which is NRC categorized, is a 10-kilometer race with a $2,000 pay-out. The men’s non-NRC race is 100 kilometers and pays $10,000. The Atlanta 100K race offers a dramatically shorter race for the women. Is this unfair for women or just the harsh reality of participating in a sport that is on the fringes here in the States?

Read the full post at Versus.com.

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