"The investments are too large": Alpecin's criticism of the women's calendar

The growth of women's cycling has led Philip Roodhooft, the head of the Alpecin-Deceuninck and Fenix-Premier Tech teams, to call for an expansion of the calendar. The Belgian leader believes that the number of important races is no longer commensurate with the investments being made by teams and sponsors and thinks that the sport needs to offer more days of competition with real sporting and commercial value.

The head of Alpecin calls for an expansion of the women's cycling calendar: "Investments are already too large"

His statements come just a few days after Marion Rousse, director of the Tour de France Femmes, acknowledged in an interview with Cycling Weekly that the race will continue to grow in the coming years. Although she made it clear that it will not go from the current nine stages to a 21-day format from one year to the next, she did open the door to a gradual expansion of the event, an idea that now finds support from one of the strongest teams in the peloton.

In statements to Het Nieuwsblad, Roodhooft explained that the women's calendar currently offers between 25 and 30 really attractive days from a commercial point of view, a figure he considers insufficient to justify the level of investment required by current women's cycling.

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"Investments are already too large to accept the current calendar," he stated.

The leader recalled that the Tour de France Femmes lasts only nine days, while a single men's grand tour already occupies 21 days of competition. In his view, the calendar needs to continue growing to keep pace with the evolution that the sport has experienced in recent years.

Roodhooft also highlighted the difference between teams that have both men's and women's structures and those that only compete in the women's peloton. In his case, he explained that many investments in equipment and performance can be shared between both teams, reducing logistical costs. As an example, he mentioned the ice baths used by the men during the Tour de France, which were later also used in the women's Tour.

However, he believes that even those synergies do not solve the underlying problem. According to him, the increase in budgets and the entry of new sponsors have significantly raised the salaries of the best female riders, while the number of races with sufficient media impact remains too low.

For Roodhooft, this combination is causing an imbalance in the market. "There is not enough talent to fill all the available spots, and that makes the best riders earn salaries that are beyond all logic", he stated, insisting that the economic growth of women's cycling must be accompanied by a broader calendar with greater media impact.

The statements from the head of Alpecin come at a time when the future of the women's calendar is once again on the table. While the organization of the Tour de France Femmes is already considering a gradual growth of its most important race, requests are beginning to emerge from the teams themselves to expand the overall season to respond to the rapid professionalization that women's cycling is experiencing.