The British Cyclo Cross Champion, Helen Wyman, has sent a series of tweets outlining her frustration at the inequality of prize money for male and female cyclo cross races.
“(A) Good example of the strange set up is only 36 Men finished on lead lap in WC Namur. But top 50 got paid. 37th to 50th all got €300 each. In same Namur WC event, 39 women finished on lead lap, only 25 got paid prize money. 50th placed man at -4laps got paid €300. 11th place woman got €220.”
She also tweeted about the absurdity of the female cyclists not being allowed to park in the same Elite Parking section set aside for the male cyclists, as she said, “All in the same Namur WC where women couldn’t park in Elite Parking”
Wyman did highlight that she has received support from various quarters, including top American cross rider, Jonathan Page.
Although many sports and sporting events have large disparities in prize money between the genders, a number of sporting events have introduced equal prize money. The New York Marathon introduced it in 1984 and the Australian Open in 2001.
Wyman highlighting the issue may be the start of cyclo cross addressing the imbalance.
