Here’s a closer look at some of the women redefining leadership in cycling, and how their work is helping the sport grow.
Marion Rousse – The visionary behind the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
Few figures better capture cycling’s changing landscape than Marion Rousse. Once a professional rider herself and the 2012 French national champion, Rousse stepped into broadcasting after retiring from racing in 2015. Her articulate, grounded insights quickly made her a respected commentator, and, in 2021, she was appointed race director of the newly revived Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
Rousse’s appointment was a milestone, but her leadership has been what truly defines her. She’s spoken openly about wanting the race to stand on its own, not as an appendage to the men’s Tour, but as a world-class event with its own story, audience, and impact. “People have embraced us,” she told Cyclist magazine, “and we’re now fixed in the sporting landscape.”
Under her direction, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has grown rapidly in prestige and viewership. Rousse’s background as both racer and broadcaster gives her a unique understanding of what the riders need and what audiences crave. She designs routes that are challenging but not punishing, pushes for live coverage, and works closely with ASO to ensure that sponsors and broadcasters treat the race with the seriousness it deserves. Her success is proof that the presence of women in race organisation doesn’t just promote equality, it makes for better racing.
Cherie Pridham – Redefining the role of Directeur Sportif
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When Cherie Pridham first climbed into the team car as a directeur sportif, she probably didn’t realise she was making history. A former pro herself, Pridham’s career changed course after a crash ended her racing days in 2006. She soon became a team manager at Raleigh UK and spent years running Continental-level men’s and women’s teams before joining Israel Start-Up Nation in 2020, becoming the first woman to serve as DS in the men’s WorldTour.
Her tactical sharpness, calm presence, and ability to balance athlete welfare with performance demands have earned her respect across the peloton. Pridham now serves as Head of Sport for UAE Team ADQ, bringing her wealth of experience to the women’s WorldTour. Her move back into women’s racing feels like a full-circle moment, one where the lessons learned in the male-dominated structures of the WorldTour can be used to elevate women’s teams to the same professional standards.
Carmen Small – Bridging the gap between riders and leadership
Carmen Small represents a new generation of leadership in cycling: riders who transition seamlessly into management, carrying the culture and lived experience of racing into the next phase of their careers. The two-time U.S. national time trial champion retired from racing in 2017 and soon found herself behind the wheel as a DS for Ceratizit–WNT. From there, she joined Team Jumbo-Visma Women, and today she leads EF Education–Cannondale’s women’s squad as head director sportif.
Small’s strength lies in empathy. Having raced through the early, often underfunded years of women’s cycling, she knows what it’s like to juggle full-time training with part-time jobs, to manage long transfers and uncertain contracts. That understanding shapes her leadership style. She is known for being measured, transparent, and deeply rider-centred.
Her presence also signals a welcome evolution within the sport: the creation of meaningful career paths for women after they hang up their helmets. Where previous generations often left cycling altogether, today’s pros can look to people like Small and see a future that still revolves around the sport.
Beth Duryea – Telling the stories that keep the wheels turning
Not every leader in cycling works from the team car or the race radio. Beth Duryea’s influence comes through her role in shaping how the sport communicates with the world. As Communications and Marketing Manager for CANYON//SRAM Racing, and one of the original architects behind the team, Duryea’s work has helped transform how women’s cycling is presented to fans and sponsors alike.
Originally trained as a physiotherapist, Duryea began in support roles before moving into logistics and communications, where she found her calling. She’s helped establish the team’s voice as both competitive and community-driven, showcasing the riders as athletes and as personalities. That kind of storytelling is more than PR; it’s survival.
Her media strategy helped pioneer the team’s Zwift Academy partnership, which gives amateur riders a direct route into the pro ranks, proof that communications and talent development can feed one another. By elevating the narratives around women’s racing, Duryea has helped make it not just something to respect but something to invest in.
Rochelle Gilmore – Building teams and breaking barriers
For Australian Rochelle Gilmore, cycling has always been about creation. After years as a sprinter on the international circuit, she channelled her competitive drive into management, founding Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling in 2013. Her goal was unapologetically ambitious: to create the most professional women’s cycling team in the world.
Gilmore built a structure that mirrored the best of the men’s peloton, dedicated staff, strong sponsor relationships, and rider salaries that reflected their worth. Under her leadership, Wiggle High5 became a model of how women’s teams could look and operate when properly supported. Even after the team folded in 2018, its legacy endured: many of its riders and staff went on to lead other projects, spreading the same ethos of professionalism.
Beyond her own team, Gilmore has been a vocal advocate for equality and development, serving on the UCI Women’s Commission and supporting youth programmes in Australia. Her career shows that leadership in cycling doesn’t just mean holding power; it means using it to create opportunities that didn’t exist before.
The bigger picture
When race routes, sponsorship strategies, and broadcast decisions are made by people with a wider range of experiences, the sport becomes richer and more dynamic.
The change is measurable, too. The UCI’s Sport Director Diploma programme has seen a steady increase in female participants; thirteen women took part in the 2022 cohort, compared to none in its first edition. Slowly, the system is catching up with the talent already in the room.
Challenges remain, of course. Men still hold the majority of executive positions in pro cycling, and budgets for women’s teams continue to lag behind those of their male counterparts. But the energy is shifting. The same determination that carried these women through years of racing (or years of being underestimated) now drives them to reshape the very systems that once limited them.
As more women enter management, media, and event leadership, cycling gains something it has long lacked: continuity. Experience and knowledge remain within the sport rather than being lost when riders retire. The result is a stronger, more sustainable ecosystem that benefits everyone, not just women.
