The controversy over gender equality, or lack of it, in cycling appears to have hit new levels recently, as there have been reports that the IMTTO are considering reducing the scale of points given to female riders in the ranking of teams.
The reports state that IMTTO, the International Mountain Bike Trade Teams, Technical Support and Race Organisers, wish to distribute fewer points to females in the classification of the World Cup.
This could have a disastrous affect on the number of women involved, as if less points are dished out for female members, teams may be less inclined to include girls, whereas currently they can earn valuable points for the team standings. In the long term this could lead to female riders losing out on valuable support and contracts, as their importance as a part of the team would not be so significant.
In response to the reports, female riders put on a protest at the recent UCI Mountain Bike World Cup at Hafjell Bike Park, Norway, with blue armbands worn by both female and male participants during competition to display disagreement with the proposed plans.
At first it was thought that UCI, the International Cycling Union, was behind the plans, but this was later changed to IMTTO by VeloVert.com.
The news has provoked much discussion, with GirlMTNbiker indicating the possible reasoning behind the potential plans on their Facebook page.
“Rumours suggest that the UCI are under pressure from TV production companies in order to make the races more ‘extreme’ and entertaining for TV viewing,” they posted, before it emerged the plans may be connected to IMTTO rather than UCI.
Rider Farah Ahmed replied to the thread, saying: “Word is that it is a proposal by a number of the team managers rather than the UCI themselves.”
With no confirmation as yet as to the validity of the reports, Sportsister hopes there is no truth in it but will be keeping an eye out to ensure any changes don’t fall under the radar. Watch this space.
Jessica Whittington, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
