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Follow us on GoogleThe 2026 Annual rider survey carried out by The Cyclists' Alliance has been published, with findings showing both progress and persistent disparities in the women's pro peloton. The Alliance presented the data, taken from 127 riders across six disciplines, highlighting key statistics and priorities for change.
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The WorldTeam riders are experiencing greater progress
Progress must be celebrated: WorldTeam has built strongest foundations for change
The survey does not only present areas where improvement is desperately needed, but also points out that progress has been made.
Read also
Understandably, the most obvious progress has been made at the top end of the sport, with 90% of WorldTeam riders on contracts over two years, with regular medical screening provided. Additionally, only 19% of WorldTeam riders reported that they had to cover their own medical costs.
WorldTeam riders also have reached a standard minimum wage of €38,000 (~£31 ,762/~$42,639). Some top riders are paid far more than that, with rumoured offers for the top riders reported to be around €1 million. (~£835,690/$1,121,775).
Disparity is huge between the levels of women's cycling
According to The Cyclist's Alliance, who shared extracts of the report on their social media channels, there are persistent disparities between levels of the women's peloton.
Read more below the photo!
The Cyclists' Alliance spoke about the report on their social media channels
Among the ProTeam, and even more so Continental, riders, things have not progressed quite as quickly or as far. Whilst ProTeam minimum salaries have been introduced, 75% of Continental riders receive no salary from their team.
75% of Continental riders racing with no salary, report finds
Some more of the statistics from the Continental riders are shocking to read.
52% of riders at that level report uncovered travel costs, 33% report unpaid expenses, 56% negotiated or signed contracts without legal assistance, and 79% are on one-year contracts. In the WorldTeam riders, only 10% reported single year contracts.
The disparity has a huge effect on the rides, with 73% of Continental riders citing financial pressure as key reasons of early career exit.
Some things all riders agree on, no matter the level
Some issues reflected in the report were important to all riders, no matter the level. The main two were improving safety, and increasing coverage.
For 49% of all riders a high priority was greater visibility of racing, and coverage of value for sponsors and fans.
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Grace Brown is the president of the Alliance
The Cyclists' Alliance already ran a campaign on the lack of start-to-end coverage of women's races, highlighting what fans missed in Paris-Roubaix, and Stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes aves Zwift.
The report said, '49% of respondents want greater visibility for women’s races to grow audiences, sponsor value and long-term investment among their top 3 advocacy priorities.'
Everyone wants higher levels of race safety
Most overwhelmingly, the high majority of respondents in the survey saw lower risks within the peloton as a high concern. The statistics show the importance of this issue.
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The women would like greater race safety
71% of riders identified dangerous rider behaviour as a concern, 68% identified poor road surfaces, 65% identified road furniture, 62% identified unsafe final kilometre, and 48% identified dangerous vehicle driving.
The riders voted for greater safety protocols, with 31% in Continental, 52% in ProTeam and 74% in WorldTeam thinking it was within the top three issues of the sport.
Six top priorities listed
The report included a list of the top 6 advocacy priorities for the alliance.
Read more below the photo!
They are as follows:
- Financial Security
- Race Safety
- Health & Welfare
- Safeguarding
- Development
- Broadcast Visibility
Clarice WebsterEditor
Clarice has been following cycling her whole life, wroting about Thibaut Pinot (among others) for her university magazine while earning her masters in Journalism. She is passionate about furthering equality in sports coverage, and has taken huge inspiration from pillars of women’s cycling like Beryl Burton, Marianne Vos, and Laura Kenny.
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Latest Comments
- Checking out the European course beforehand is smart. Hope she enjoys racing at home, whatever the result.jennifer1902-11-2026
- How does the starting order get decided in cyclocross? Eighth sounds impressive if she had to work her way through the whole field.cadencekingm02-11-2026
- The article’s timeline seems a bit muddled: it says this was the 2026 Koppenbergcross, then calls it her final race of 2025–Still, her progress is encouraging.pedalpowe2902-11-2026
- It’s lovely to see her smiling and thanking the fans. Taking things week by week sounds like the right approach after such a difficult year.patriciaw02-11-2026
- Eighth after starting on the back row at the Koppenberg is a strong ride. Good to see Fem building race rhythm without the pressure of chasing victories.tourdeforce902-11-2026
- I don’t understand how you can break vertebrae and not feel much pain there. Does that mean the collarbone injury was just more noticeable, or can spinal fractures sometimes cause very little pain? Hope he’s fully healed soon.sprocketspiny01-11-2026
- The recovery-score details are interesting, but they’re not a substitute for proper medical advice. Hopefully the team are keeping a close eye on him and letting the scans—not the urge to train—set the timetable.jennifer1901-11-2026
- Pogacar’s point about the safety gap between the Tour and smaller races is spot on. Riders are going faster than ever, yet some finishes still have awkward turns and road furniture right in the finale. Organisers need to take this seriously.gearguru3301-11-2026
- Two extra vertebrae fractures is a frightening discovery, especially after the concussion and collarbone injury. Glad he’s recovering, but it shows why coming back too soon would be a terrible risk.breakawaybikerd01-11-2026
- The team says it wants answers “as quickly as possible”, but speed shouldn’t come at the expense of a thorough investigation. Since Picnic PostNL commissioned it, will the full report be published? The team’s transparency will matter as much as who leads the inquiry.cyclechamp4530-10-2026