Following her record-setting third Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes victory on Sunday, Demi Vollering has made the case for women's cycling to get more time on television.
The men's race, run earlier in the day and won by Tadej Pogačar for a fourth time, enjoyed live coverage for 150km of its 259.5km length. In contrast, a relatively small portion of the women's race was aired on television, with only around 45km broadcast.
Speaking at a press conference following her triumph in Liège, Vollering said that the race, which ran its 10th edition at the weekend, indicates how far women's cycling has come while also reminding us that there's still progress to be made.
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"For me, Liège is the race where it all began. As a club rider, this was the first area where I rode in the hills," Vollering said, according to WielerFlits.
"One day, I was riding up the Redoute with my friends, and at the top of the Redoute, one of my friends said: 'Can you imagine men riding up this climb in a race?' I thought then: 'Wow, I can see myself riding up that climb too,' but back then there wasn't a women's race at all. The first edition for women wasn't until 2017.
"That is also a good reminder of how far we have come in women's cycling, but also how far we still have to go. I actually don't even know if you could see the attack on the Redoute. Could you see it? I believe the livestream had only just started then.
"Before that, the race was already so interesting. That is why I think we must keep fighting for the future of the sport."
Vollering's winning attack, which came on the Côte de la Redoute 35km from the finish line, was captured on television, though much of the action beforehand was missed.
The European champion, who added the win to victories at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Tour of Flanders and La Flèche Wallonne this Classics season, was asked when the best time is to air a women's race to maximise the impact.
"That is, of course, a difficult question. We used to start really early, but back then, the livestream was longer. Now our livestream is quite short, because I think they only start broadcasting once the men are finished. But I don't think it needs to be very difficult.
"If we keep the start times as they are now and you set up, for example, two screens for the men's race and the women's race alongside them, and switch between them a bit, then that should be easily possible.
"Especially in the men’s race: as soon as Pogačar is gone, everyone knows what is going to happen. So why not switch between the two races a bit? That’s what I think. But there are certainly people who think differently.
"It is especially important that we keep talking about it. I hear from so many people that they are disappointed about how little is being broadcast live. I am actually just repeating what I hear. I see that a lot of fans want more. So I hope that we will get more broadcasts in the future."
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