Riders’ union The Cyclists’ Alliance (TCA) has introduced a new ‘Rider Hotline’ service for 2022, intended to be a single point of contact for riders to file complaints, report concerns, or seek advice on a range of ethical, personal or practical issues.
All queries submitted through the ‘hotline’ – currently a contact portal on The Cyclists’ Alliance website – go directly to TCA’s ethics officer, Judith Van Maanen. Queries remain confidential and can be varied in nature.
“Riders can connect with us regarding ethics issues, health and wellbeing issues, legal issues, tax issues, visa issues, insurance issues, agent issues. In fact, anything,” Van Maanen said.
“We’d prefer that a rider in need reaches out to us without hesitation, and we can inform them of their options, discuss possible actions and guide them along any next steps they wish to take. Each circumstance is bespoke and sometimes it’s very useful to chat through a situation.”
The Cyclists’ Alliance can then offer support through their own channels, such as with legal assistance or advice on ethics procedures, or refer riders towards external specialists and services.
“We can also simply be a supportive partner, to listen and understand the situation,” Van Maanen added.
Whilst offering advice and support to riders has always been part of The Cyclists’ Alliance’s operations, they decided to set up the Rider Hotline at the start of 2022 as a singular point of contact for riders.
“The purpose of the TCA Rider Hotline is to facilitate connecting with the TCA’s ethics officer directly,” Van Maanen said. “Riders could always contact us, but most likely their email would first be read by our staff member who manages the email account who would then delegate it to the right specialist within the team depending on the service required.
“By creating a ‘Hotline Page’, riders would know where to go without a doubt, when they are seeking advice, especially in a crisis situation.”
The Cyclists’ Alliance has previously supported riders in a range of difficult situations, including Sara Mustonen, one of the riders who lodged complaints against Health Mate-Cyclelive team manager Patrick Van Gansen.
“I was facing a situation within my team from which I felt it wasn't right, but I didn't really know where to go or what to do. The Cyclists' Alliance was quick to help.” Mustonen has said.
The Cyclists’ Alliance could not comment on what level of engagement the new service has had so far, but are hopeful it will aid them in continuing to support members of the women’s peloton.
“The Rider Hotline is still a relatively new tool that we’re working with, and we hope to make it more known to TCA members and those considering joining TCA.
