No more Cupcakes.

An Essay by Black Sheep's Matilda Raynolds.

By Black Sheep Cycling

March 30^th, 2023

An Essay by Matilda Raynolds. Pro Cyclist and Global Partnerships Manager of Black Sheep Cycling

International Women’s Day. A day for businesses to put out cupcakes, likely organised by the females of the office, and to bring in a female guest speaker, likely speaking to a room full of women. I’ve always felt that the day we don’t have International Women's Day will be the one to celebrate. Where we no longer have to highlight the constant barriers women face just to be on an equal footing. I think this year's 'celebration' ground me a little more than others. I was more sceptical of brands coming out of the woodwork to celebrate that one day, putting up a rainbow flag and then taking it down the next.

I’ve always felt that the day we don’t have International Women's Day will be one to celebrate. Where we no longer have to highlight the constant barriers women face just to be on an equal footing.

My acceptance of being a woman has been, at times, jaded. Growing up with three brothers playing rugby league football, I will never forget the day I was told I could no longer play because I was female. Until that point in my life I’d never noticed a difference. I'd never noticed that I didn’t have any female role models, and didn’t notice I was looking up to men that were idolised in the media - who, with further investigation - were far from the heroes a little girl should be turning to.

Fast forward 20 years, and thankfully a lot has changed. Yes, women still only occupy 7.4 percent of new coverage compared to the men’s 81 percent - but the momentum is absolutely in our corner. In 2019, the US Women’s National Soccer Team's World Cup Victory ranked as one of the most-watched sporting events in history. In the same year, the 2019 Australian Open Women’s Final with Ash Barty also smashed records for any tennis player, male or female, in history.

The 2019 Australian Open Women’s Final with Ash Barty smashed records for any tennis player, male or female, in history.

And then we have the Tour de France Femmes. An event that had numerous false starts over the years, was relaunched in 2022. It was an overwhelming success, with a total of 20 million domestic viewers, and countless more around the world.

So you get it. Things in women's sports are on the up.

Women’s cycling has always been that good. That exciting. That dynamic. That entertaining. It’s just that we can now watch it. I strongly believe that live television coverage is far more important than any other attempt to achieve equality in sport, and it's here that we have to keep demanding progress. For me, there are still obvious hesitations from organisers and broadcasters that don't truly believe women deserve an equal platform. And until we see events and coverage such as the Tour de France Femmes or the Australian Open as the norm, rather than the exception, we risk this being just another fleeting trend.

Be wary of things like start times, simplified routes, and reductions in live feeds. All these small threads that are altered because of insecurity, or perhaps more worryingly, to meet quotas.

As a lover of women's sport, I would urge you to have the same demands. Be wary of things like start times, simplified routes, and reductions in live feeds. All these small threads that are altered because of insecurity, or perhaps more worryingly, to meet quotas. Be wary of those brands, businesses, organisations or spokespeople who use a quick torch to highlight the importance of women rather than a year-long floodlight.

When we negotiated our sponsorship of the Tour de l’Avenir in 2021, the U23 Tour de France, we demanded that we would only come on board if there would be the creation of a women's race.

It’s why Black Sheep Cycling dedicates an enormous amount of resources to developing our women’s initiatives. Resources committed to improving ourselves and the product we make, as well as resources committed to pressuring key stakeholders to do the same. When we negotiated our sponsorship of the Tour de l’Avenir in 2021, the U23 Tour de France, we demanded that we would only come on board if there would be the creation of a women's race. In 2023, the first Women's Tour de l'Avenir will be held, and will immediately become the premier U23 women's race in the world.

We have to push and pull, overly invest, and get knocked down and try again. Not only are there still so many barriers to overcome, but we are trying to make up for hundreds of years of inequality and far too many cupcakes.

WMN Initiative.

The goal of the WMN Initiative is three-fold. Help elite female cyclists realise their goals of a pro career. Increase female participation in cycling through our Ambassador-led rides. And create dedicated female-specific collections and content, produced by women for women.