INTERVIEW
There’s no denying that Uplift is making a tangible difference for the women involved, and that’s fantastic. But when you step back and look at the cycling industry as a whole, from your perspective, what are your thoughts on the overall progress being made in attracting and retaining women as cyclists and as professionals? Are we doing enough, or are there still gaps to address?
This is a big question. We’re currently STILL navigating a turbulent period, but I firmly believe once stability returns, we’ll see substantial progress. I am confident that we will make bigger moves to do the ‘right thing’ - by right thing, I mean the right thing for businesses based on the opportunities ahead.
It’s important to clarify that Uplift
How can other organisations or individuals in the cycling industry support Uplift? Uplift is all free, no one pays any money, no one gets paid. I needed to make sure there were no barriers to people getting any support, but I would love one day to have some funding to get some more support - to help more women/ other diversity categories, and make Uplift available to more people, globally. I want to launch a male ally programme - I have had so
many, but I’ve got to pick off the things I can achieve, one at a time!
isn’t specifically about increasing the number of women who ride bikes - it’s about retaining and empowering women within the cycling industry professionally. However, women’s cycling often serves as a unifying factor.
Looking at recent statistics, the momentum is encouraging: Women cyclists were the fastest-growing demographic in the Garmin community in 2024, with a 9% increase in cycling activities year-over-year.
Strava recorded an 11% rise in women’s cycling participation.
Global search trends from Google indicated a 27.33% uptick in interest for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, underscoring worldwide enthusiasm for women’s road cycling.
Life Time UNBOUND Gravel, presented by Shimano, experienced a 19% year-over-year increase in women’s participation, showcasing growth across various cycling disciplines.
Rapha Women’s 100 participation surged by 40% last fall, marking its most successful year yet. And I mentioned Uplift’s promotions above. And those
also stopped women from leaving the industry. These figures indicate we’re headed in the right direction. In most cases, women are leading the charge on these initiatives. What am I trying to say? Hang tight, I am a strong believer that stability, then growth, is coming. There will always be gaps in anything - let’s chase progress, not perfection.
14 | April 2025
www.bikebiz.com
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