Team BikeExchange has shifted the minimum salary of riders on its Women’s WorldTour squad to match the rate mandated for the WorldTour riders on its men’s squad.
"GreenEDGE cycling has always been a big promoter for women cycling since day 1 and this year, since the beginning, we made another step forward to support the growth of our sport by matching the women’s minimum salary to the men’s one," a representative of the team told Cyclingnews.
Trek-Segafredo has already made the move to equal or exceed the minimum salary requirements for the men’s WorldTour, which is approximately double that of the minimum requirement for women’s WorldTour teams.
“For me, now I can support my family back home, I can invest in my future, I can do more things now with the extra cash, it is really good. We put in the same amount of work as the guys, we are dedicated and committed just as much as the guys, we put our life on the line just as the guys do,” Teniel Campbell told The Cycling Podcast Féminin.
“It is really a good thing. Hopefully next we see more live broadcasts so my family and friends can watch the races more but I think it is heading in the right direction little by little.”
The UCI has introduced a new two-tier teams structure - Women’s WorldTeams and Continental Teams - as part of the reforms for the Women’s WorldTour that began in January 2020. Increased financial requirements for the top-tier of teams included a minimum salary along with social insurances and benefits such as maternity leave.
The governing body has said it intends to gradually increase the minimum salary requirements for the Women’s WorldTour in future and the goal for the minimum salary for the Women’s WorldTeams would be to equal the men's Professional Continental by 2023.
However, Trek-Segafredo and Team Bike Exchange, have gone faster and further.
The Women’s WorldTour salary schedule, published on the UCI website, currently shows a base salary of €20,000 (employed) or €32,800 (self-employed) in 2021 and a jump up to €27,000 (employed) or €45,100 (self-employed) in 2022.
As of 2020, the minimum salary for the men’s WorldTour was €40,045 (employed) or €65,673 (self-employed), while the minimum salary for ProTeams was €32,102 (employed) or €52,647 (self-employed) per year.
