Crowfunding campaign shows our races deserve to broadcast, says Anna van der Breggen

More than €26,000 was raised to add to the prize pot of the women's Strade Bianche, but the world champion rails against the fact only the last 22km were broadcast

Strade Bianche 2021 (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

World champion Anna van der Breggen has said while the riders of SD Worx are thankful for the money crowdfunded for the winner of Strade Bianche, her team-mate Chantal van den Broek-Blaak having crossed the line first, she hopes it will prove to the UCI and race organisers that women's racing deserve to be broadcast properly live on television, with only the final 22km of the women's Strade Bianche aired.

€26,000 was raised by a crowdfunding campaign launched by a fan after outcry over the discrepancy between the €930 on offer for the women's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner compared to the €16,000 for the man across the line first. At Strade Bianche a week later, the male winner was allotted €16,000 compared to just €2,256 for the rider who won the women's race.

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Hi. I'm Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor. I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.


Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).


I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.