Eneco Tour organisers quickly adjust prize money gap after Charlotte Kool's criticism

On Wednesday morning, there was a post from Kool on her Instagram page about a passage in the Eneco Tour roadbook. It stated in black and white: the winner of the men’s prologue earned 1,490 euros on Tuesday evening, while the women’s winner received only 220 euros.

"Same start time, same distance, and same energy," Kool wrote, adding: "I wonder if the women get a discount on energy in the Eneco Tour."

When confronted with that statement, Kool said after the first stage: “It’s not about the money for us; that’s just a small bonus. It’s more about the principle—that it’s a little strange.”

Because, as she explained: “It was said with a bit of a wink, because it’s obviously a bit hypocritical for the Eneco Tour to promote the idea that men and women are on equal footing here, when there’s such a difference in prize money.”

On Friday, the Eneco Tour announced that it would, after all, adjust the prize money. “This is top-notch. I’m so happy that they’re addressing this and implementing the change right away. It shows that the Eneco Tour truly considers women just as important as men,” said Kool.

"When the partnership was established, Eneco and the organisation agreed to base their work on innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity. The combination of a women’s and men’s race within a single event is an important part of that, as is giving the men’s and women’s races equal prominence," a press release from the organiser states.

"Both parties would therefore align the prize money in the coming years. When setting the original prize money, the organisation followed the applicable scales of the International Cycling Union (UCI) for the category in which both races fall. Those scales specify different amounts for men and women."

Charlotte Kool’s social media post illustrated that the discussion about prize money equality in cycling was even more urgent than we had thought.

"That prompted us to accelerate this process. Eneco and the organisation have now jointly decided to raise the prize money for women to the same level as that for men," the organization stated.

Race Director Roxane Knetemann adds, “We’re organising the women’s and men’s races together and want to give both the same attention. The same performance deserves the same platform," she continued.

"That’s why we’re already ensuring that all teams receive adequate expense reimbursement to compete here—something that isn’t standard practice at all races. But prize money is also an essential part of that. It’s great that we’re able to make this happen together with Eneco for this edition.”