{"id":173361,"date":"2019-04-15T11:28:10","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T11:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=173361"},"modified":"2019-04-15T11:28:10","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T11:28:10","slug":"women-leading-women-why-it-matters-in-professional-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/04\/15\/women-leading-women-why-it-matters-in-professional-cycling\/","title":{"rendered":"Women Leading Women: Why It Matters in Professional Cycling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kicking off the racing season, Trek-Segafredo garnered a lot of attention for the fact that their new women\u2019s team is directed by two cycling heavyweights, who also happen to be women\u2014Ina Teutenberg and Giorgia Bronzini. The reason this is such a big deal? It is still pretty rare to see women in leadership roles, whether we\u2019re talking cycling or something else. Although the women\u2019s cycling scene is certainly coming into its own, management roles still tend to be mainly populated by men.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This needs to change. The dynamic at play when women lead women is unique, strong, and deeply effective. And there are historical precedents, even in cycling, to back that up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Trixi Worrack, Judith Arndt Ina-Yoko Teutenberg show their medals at the ladies’ individual time-trial during the German’s cycling Championships, on June 22, 2012 in Zwenckau, Germany. \u00a9 Profimedia, AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Take the case of Millie Robinson and Eileen Gray, for example. Millie Robinson, one of the largely unsung heroes of women\u2019s racing, won the first women\u2019s Tour de France in 1955. A few years down the road she went on to set a new hour record and was considered the top rider on the road. She\u2019s remembered today as an important ambassador for women\u2019s racing, a rider who demonstrated fierce determination while being considered warm and cheerful by her fellow competitors.<\/p>\n

Of course, no one reaches this level of success without a solid network of support, and Millie Robinson\u2019s story is closely linked to that of Eileen Gray. Gray managed Robinson\u2019s team when she won the Tour de France and was instrumental in both helping to shape her career and in the larger context of cycling history. Gray was the driving force that got the UCI to introduce a women\u2019s World Championships, and, later, a women\u2019s road race at the Olympics.\u00a0Devoted, accomplished, and fiercely supportive of other women cyclists, Grey was described like this: \u201cShe was like a battleship, in that if you sailed with her, you knew you would be looked after, and she would protect you to the death.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Millie Robinson posing next to her bicycle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now that\u2019s the kind of person you want in your corner. The strength and value of these relationships continues to shine through as we see it unfolding with the success Trek-Segafredo has had so far this season, and with the accomplishments of other strong women mentors in the world of cycling. When women lead women, special things happen.<\/p>\n

Thanks to a natural inclination towards empathy and a high valuation of relationships, women are predisposed to have a strong understanding of what drives and motivates people. They\u2019re also able to more easily understand that different people require different kinds of acknowledgement and feedback regarding their performance\u2014a skill that is vital in the world of professional sports.<\/p>\n

It is important that organizations take steps to facilitate the development of these mentorship relationships. Studies have found<\/a> that women have a more difficult time finding mentors than men and encounter added barriers on the road to establishing the kind of support system they need. This is notable because, as we\u2019ve talked about before, mentorship plays an incredibly important role<\/a>, not only in achieving success, but also in maintaining a healthy and satisfying relationship towards one\u2019s passion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Giorgia Bronzini celebrates after winning the final stage of the Amgen Breakaway From Heart Disease Women’s Race Empowered by SRAM on May 14, 2017 in Sacramento, California. \u00a9 Profimedia, Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For those reasons, and many more, we\u2019d like to see more women in leadership roles throughout the professional cycling ecosystem. Women have proven over and over again that, despite often starting out at a disadvantage, they have what it takes to defy the odds. They demonstrate high emotional intelligence, are strong communicators, and are able to check their egos at the door. So in remembering the legacy of Millie Robinson and Eileen Gray, and looking towards the future of women\u2019s cycling, here\u2019s to seeing a lot more women in roles where they have the chance to lead by example.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kicking off the racing season, Trek-Segafredo garnered a lot of attention for the fact that their new women\u2019s team is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":173367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[334],"tags":[2790,2914,2709,2913,2712,538],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-173361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-socialising-and-culture","tag-eileen-gray","tag-giorgia-bronzini","tag-ina-teutenberg","tag-millie-robinson","tag-trek-segafredo","tag-women-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nWomen Leading Women: Why It Matters in Professional Cycling - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kicking off the racing season, Trek-Segafredo garnered a lot of attention for the fact that their new women\u2019s team is directed by two cycling\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/04\/15\/women-leading-women-why-it-matters-in-professional-cycling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Women Leading Women: Why It Matters in Professional Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kicking off the racing season, Trek-Segafredo garnered a lot of attention for the fact that their new women\u2019s team is directed by two cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/04\/15\/women-leading-women-why-it-matters-in-professional-cycling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-15T11:28:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/04\/Trek-Segafredo-CVR-profimedia-0411234988.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Megan Flottorp\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/04\/15\/women-leading-women-why-it-matters-in-professional-cycling\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/04\/15\/women-leading-women-why-it-matters-in-professional-cycling\/\",\"name\":\"Women Leading Women: Why It Matters in Professional Cycling - 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