I went to Paris-Roubaix Femmes and was shocked at how it is still treated as secondary to the men’s race

At 4pm French time on Saturday afternoon, all eyes should have been on Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, as the race reached its crescendo point. Emma Norsgaard had just made what could have been a race-winning attack from the group of favourites, and all of the biggest riders in the world were at their limit, from Lotte Kopecky to Marianne Vos, waiting to see what would happen. Just 15 minutes later, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot would launch her victorious move, and write her name into the history books. Everyone was gripped - there was just 32km to go, one of the moments of the year was approaching.

Not all eyes were on one of the biggest women’s races of the year, however. 150km to the south, the star riders for Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix were filing off stage in Compiègne, as part of a team presentation for the men’s race. As one of the biggest events in women’s cycling was taking place - owned and operated by the same race organisers, ASO - a promotional event for the men’s race was taking away attention, distracting some. It meant the male riders couldn’t watch much of the race, but also gave an opportunity for fans, journalists, casual observers, to completely miss the women’s event. It seems ludicrous.

Adam Becket

News editor at Cycling Weekly, Adam brings his weekly opinion on the goings on at the upper echelons of our sport. This piece is part of The Leadout, a newsletter series from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. As ever, email adam.becket@futurenet.com - should you wish to add anything, or suggest a topic.

If you were to head to one of Europe’s biggest sports newspapers on Saturday afternoon, you would not have seen a single piece from the Roubaix Velodrome about Paris-Roubaix Femmes. Instead, there were interviews from Compiègne, where attention was directed instead. This is not to blame individuals; but why were people given a reason to miss the end of the women’s race? There might be mileage in a Tadej Pogačar interview, always, but could that not have happened at a time other than Saturday afternoon, while Paris-Roubaix Femmes was happening?

We are now in the fifth year of Paris-Roubaix Femmes, and it has quickly become one of the races of the year; it is a huge event, and genuinely a thrill to see the world’s best women tackle much of the same route as the men have for well over 100 years. The organisation is great, and it’s truly special that this race is happening at all. It is, it should be said, so much better than many other races in terms of gender parity.

However, there is still a long way to go, and moments like the team presentation don’t help the perception that the femmes are treated as secondary to the hommes. This isn’t new, obviously, professional cycling remains an incredibly patriarchal world, but it is more than a little on the nose to be confronted with it this blatantly.

Unlike almost every other one-day race where there are men’s and women’s versions, Paris-Roubaix’s two different editions happen on separate days. This is not automatically a bad thing - I love that both are allowed to exist in their own right and breathe, and it certainly makes it a lot easier to cover, trust me. However, this is where a lot of the disparity comes from.

The women’s race, on the Saturday, happens on the same day as the official sportive, the Paris-Roubaix Challenge, which you could never imagine happening for the men’s race, such is the organisation around it. It isn’t necessarily an issue, but imagine if something did happen - a medical emergency or something similar could easily delay the race.

The fact it occurs on the Saturday also means there are so many fewer fans out on the course for the race. Sure, it is a great excuse to make a weekend of it, and why wouldn’t you watch both? But people always choose the easier option, or tradition, and it means that the roadsides are so much fuller on Sunday for the men (not that that’s always a good thing) than they are on Saturday for the women, and this is a shame. At the Tour of Flanders, both events happen on the same day - the women after the men - which makes it a nightmare to cover or watch both, but does mean that many of the same fans on the road watch both.

The other crucial point of disparity between the men’s and women’s race is the distance and the sectors that the race tackles. The women don’t ride the Arenberg Trench, probably the most famous part of the race, with its tunnel of trees and brutal cobbles, but they have proved up to the rest of the course, so why not? The answer at the moment is said to be logistics, with the start in Denain deemed too close to the Arenberg, but the route or the start town could be changed. It seems odd to have Roubaix without the Arenberg; it is not too hard for the best riders in the world.

I came away from Paris-Roubaix Femmes enlivened by the brilliant action and racing, but on reflection, a little disheartened by the feeling that it was second tier compared to the men’s race the next day. Why was the press room - still male dominated, it should be said - a third emptier on Saturday compared to Sunday? Change is needed - everyone should be watching the femmes.

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