Vuelta a España Opening Stage Highlights the Need for Rider Advocacy and Safety
On Saturday, the final Grand Tour of the year kicked off in Barcelona, Spain. La Vuelta drew attention due to its position on the cycling calendar and an incredible start list including Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss, Primož Roglič, Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal, and Filippo Ganna. Yet Sunday’s headlines were dominated not by racing results but by the dangerous conditions riders faced – wet roads, oily surfaces, and near darkness. Evenepoel voiced his frustration, stating: “Sometimes we stay an amateur sport. How much more of this do we need to put up with? They treat us like monkeys.”
Discontent in professional cycling has been growing for years and surfaced multiple times in 2023. In May, at the Giro d’Italia, the men’s peloton activated the extreme weather protocol and neutralised part of stage 10. In June, at the CIC-Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées, the female peloton protested unsafe conditions and refused to race the final stage. Despite these events, no consistent, collective voice exists within the peloton.
Rider Advocacy and the Role of Unions
Former professional cyclist and Tour de France stage winner Dan Martin summed up the situation after Saturday’s TTT: “The embarrassing broken record that is professional cycling. The rain was forecast. The sunset time was known, as was the course. Complaints come after the event. Feel sorry for the riders affected but this won’t be the last time.”
But why shouldn’t it be? A new Joint Agreement for cyclists is currently under negotiation. Riders and union officials must consider what should be included and how strongly they are willing to fight for change. This is the critical moment to campaign for safer conditions, fair wages, and improved protections.
Key Issues for Female Riders
The Cyclists’ Alliance recently conducted a comprehensive rider survey identifying the top concerns for female riders:
- Ensuring all riders earn a minimum salary;
- Increasing race safety protocols;
- Expanding television coverage of races.
At a minimum, these issues should be included in negotiations between rider representatives, teams, and governing bodies: negotiated proactively.
Safety as a Bargaining Issue
Workplace health and safety is a legitimate bargaining issue. Riders could, for instance, write into the Joint Agreement the ability to stop work in unsafe conditions. Currently, action in cycling is reactive—responding to dangerous conditions after the fact, such as Saturday’s team time trial. This leads to inconsistent protection for riders.
Globally, sporting unions have demonstrated their ability to drive meaningful change. The NFLPA successfully advocated for enhanced concussion protocols, while the Rugby League Players Association recently negotiated improved protections, player transition support, and fair revenue share for NRL and NRLW players: CBA details. Unions in other industries, like Australian stonemasons, have historically won landmark worker protections: eight-hour workday in 1856.
Professional cycling can look to these examples to build solidarity and collective advocacy. Riders should have the same agency as employees in other sectors to refuse unsafe work and demand proactive protections.
The opening stage of the Vuelta was a pivotal moment for riders to advocate for safer conditions: an opportunity for a safer cycling world. Regrettably, such moments are often missed. Only through purposeful collaboration can riders and unions push for meaningful change.
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