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news
Emma Pooley in the rainbow jersey (picture credit Melbourne 2010).jpgEmma Pooley says it's 'nuts' she gets more prize money from triathlon 'hobby' than pro cycling
Olympic medallist and former world time trial champion Emma Pooley says that her “hobby” of competing in triathlons is bringing her more money than her chosen sport. Given her palmarès, it’s a revelation that also underlines the huge gap in earning power between men’s and women’s professional cycling.
Pooley, who took Olympic silver in the time trial in Beijing in 2008 and won the rainbow jersey in that discipline two years later, has won races including the overall in the Grande Boucle Féminine – the women’s version of the Tour de France – and the Tour de l’Aude, as well as several World Cup one day races.
But she told BBC Sport’s Ollie Williams that a third-place finish last February in a half-distance Ironman triathlon event in the Philippines had brought her more prize money than winning any of those races did.
The 31-year-old, who won a blue for cross-country running and triathlon as an undergraduate at Cambridge before switching to cycling, says she isn’t motivated by money. However, the situation still strikes her as “nuts.”
"I don't do it for the prize money. I love sport," she said. "And if you'd like to print this I'd be very grateful, because I keep getting accused of being a whinger.
"I'm not trying to be whingy. I love sport and I know it's a privilege to do it, and that's why I do it - I've got the opportunity and I'm very grateful for it.
"But, occasionally, it seems strange when the prize money for coming third at a triathlon in the Philippines is more than the prize money I've ever won in a bike race. That's nuts to me."
Nor is it just in triathlon that she has won prize money exceeding that from any bike race she has won – last year, she won the Lausanne Marathon in Switzerland.
She won’t be returning to that event in 2014, saying: "No marathon running this year. I love running, but a marathon really takes it out of you for a long time."
Pooley is based in Switzeland and last year completed her PhD in Zurich in geotechnical engineering, taking time out of professional cycling as she finished her studies.
In November, she signed for Lotto-Belisol ladies – this week, she will be racing the Flèche Wallonne, which she won in 2010, as well as Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
It’s an unusual arrangement, with Pooley targeting specific major races such as the Giro Rosa in Italy, and the Belgian team letting her compete in those more lucrative triathlons including, in August, the tough Embrunman race in the Swiss Alps.
Speaking of the Flèche Wallonne, she said: "It's very up and down, narrow roads, twisty and technical. It's a stressful race.
"It suits me and it's a big one to win, especially as I'm on a Belgian team."
Pooley is one of the driving forces behind the campaign for equality in cycling, and together with Marianne Vos, Kathryn Bertine and triathlete Chrissie Wellington last year co-founded Le Tour Entier, which calls, among other things, for a women’s Tour de France.
While ASO, which organises the men’s event, hasn’t gone that far yet, it is putting on a women’s one-day race, La Course, which will see the world’s top female riders battle it out on the Champs-Elysées on the final day of the Tour.
"My dream for women's cycling is for there to be a similar level of racing available as there is for men - having a one-day race at every Tour is not the same thing. It's a great start, but there is more to be done."
Pooley is a member of the UCI’s women's cycling commission set up by Brian Cookson after he was elected president last September, but doesn’t see her future as lying in sporting politics.
"I didn't intend to become political," she explained. "It's just that people ask for my opinion and I give it. I don't have some burning desire to be the head of some federation or something.
"A lot of women get out of cycling administration, and team administration, because they're so fed up of it by the end - of making no money and of being seen as second best. And I think I don't want to carry on in the sport and be bitter about it.
She added: "I don't know if anyone would employ me. I think I'm seem as some kind of weirdo, radical feminist.
“I get the impression I'm really quite unpopular in some parts. So I don't know if I'd necessarily find a job."
Meanwhile, besides the potential earnings from triathlons, now she has a doctorate to her name, Pooley is looking to secure some income in that specialisation.
"I've got a perfectly serviceable degree, so I'm going to try to get some part-time work in engineering this year and next year,” she said. “I need to pay the bills."
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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54 comments
Nice try, but seriously do you think I am going to pass that info to a complete stranger!
If you look through past editions of cycling weekly, you will recall Emma moaning in an article about not getting a power meter she was promised blah blah blah.
I'm lucky enough to know people, so thought i'd help out, but I wasted my time with an ungrateful individual, so sorry to burst the bubble.
I do know live in Perth, WA, where Emma spends a lot of her off season, she has family here, and I can promise you, the feeling here is of a whinging pom.
Unprofessional eh, that assumes I am in the profession...
It's always good to throw a little bait out there to get the 'PC Brigade' foaming at the mouth. They never disappoint.
To be honest I think it's "nuts" that Wayne Rooney gets paid more in a week for kicking a ball about than a top consultant surgeon gets paid in a year for saving people's lives. (NB: Did you watch "One Hour to Save Your Life" on the BBC recently? I'd honestly prefer to watch those guys doing their work than WR __ but maybe that's just me.)
I also think it's "nuts" that Anna Kournikova became the world's best paid sportswoman without ever actually winning a WTC singles event or climbing above 8th position in the rankings.
I think it's "nuts" that people pay thousands of pounds for shiny stones that they call "jewellery" that appear to have no practical purpose. Why don't they use the money to travel the world instead __ or buy a bike?
But that's how things are.
I'm not a foamy PC brigadier, however, I am a woman and I do race bikes and found your previous comments a little disturbing - insofar as I hope those views aren't too widespread. I would hate to bring a child into a world where the opinion that women can only be successful if they sacrifice their dreams is normalised - to be frank, we've been putting up with that crap for long enough. I couldn't give a rats arse about the sometimes vehement line of victimisation of women which some people take, I'm not a feminist, but I do work in technology and have experienced and witnessed what can only be described as savage behaviour toward women and even those who don't fit the standard confines of hetero alpha-male.
While I agree, footballers pay is disgusting, and there are huge injustices in the world, that doesn't excuse sexism (which, when it boils down to it, is what the problem is) - it's not merely a fact of "how things are" - it's 2014 for crying out loud.
Where did I say that "women can only be successful if they sacrifice their dreams"? All I said was if you want money then go where the money is. That's not sexist, it's just practical. It applies equally to men, women and everything in between.
I do photography. There's not too much money in it and I literally earn half now what I did 10 years ago when I was in engineering. That's ok though because I enjoy what I do now much more than I did back then. I'm self-employed, work from home and it means that I can go for a bike ride or play golf whenever I feel like it.
There's no point in me complaining that photography should be better paid though (like engineering is say) because it is market forces that determine the 'worth' of an occupation. Same with sport.
It's more the point that we're in a position where women still have to consider that, though. I don't mean you said that - but that's how it comes across, not necessarily just by you but in general. The sports still in a state where you have highly talented women being told by their peers, parents and management that "they'd best go to Uni as this isn't really a career choice" - it's shocking.
I did photography too and encountered exactly the same issues, it's a cutthroat world - but a male tog and a female tog will still get paid £50 for a quality print regardless of who took it.
It's not that we're complaining we don't get enough, money's money, we're trying to make ourselves heard in an environment where there is a clear gender imbalance - despite the fact that there *is* a demand for women's cycling.
Although here we're comparing "bike riding" with "bike riding", rather than different occupations.
Did you read the article? The 'compare and contrast' bit was the money Pooley won from gaining third place in her 'hobby ', a half ironman triathlon, compared to her winnings in her 'chosen profession' of bike racing.
women's cycling, like almost all women's sport, is stuck in the same feedback loop of no coverage-supposedly "no interest"-low sponsorship-less talent development. It's a vicious circle. Needs ideally a broadcaster to take a punt on full coverage.
I think that it is disgusting the gap in the pay between men's and womens cycling. I am certain that all but the absolutely worst female pro cyclist would drop me (and probably 90% of the commentors on here too) very easily, so the issue about the ability is a non starter. From what women's cycling i have seen (limited i will admit) it has been exciting and just as entertaining as men's. I accept that men's cycling will generate more interest and sponsorship money as that seems to be the case with all sports (i could hypothesise that it is due to men who predominantly are the audience being intimdated and/or dismissinve of female athletes) but to have such a gap that coming 3rd in a second tier half Ironman (which the philippines race is, none of hte big guns really go there) pays more than becoming world champion in cycling. Whilst triathlon is one of the few sports where women get paid the same as men (as i understand it) it doesn't mean that there should be such a gap. The UCI should look at doing something to change this situation - make all race sponsorship deals be for both mens' and womens' races perhaps
"and the competitors actually look and dress like females".
There is so much wrong with this statement I don't even know where to start.
Of course it is nonsensical. If one person does the same job as another they should be paid the same, oh, unless that person generates more business and brings more money into their industry - oh, wait that already happens!?!
I agree the disparity between men's and women's sport can be quite large at times. But you only have to watch the comparative men's football matches and women's football matches to see the difference in the draw they have (empty stands etc despite being put on sports channels). Though the argument still remains about whether the disparity is fair, commerciality always has a say.
Women's cycling is interesting, but you do have to ask 'if I'm going to watch one Amstel Gold classic which one will I view?' Because we don't have all weekend to watch these things. Perhaps women's cycling needs to learn to package itself in a way which generates more interest (and I don't mean 'sexy' photo shoots - sports women should be taken seriously) but if you think back to how men's cycling was first put on air in bite size half hour slots, perhaps something that women's cycling should do to generate interest. You never heard men arguing about how much they were paid even back in the days it was doodly-squat....and that wasn't long ago.
So the riders strikes and protests in the 70s and 80s didn't happen? Plus there were far fewer "channels" for coverage (especially in English) so even if they were complaining there would be far less coverage.
Urgh seriously.
Guys, I think the points she's making is the huge gap in women's pro cycling, not that she's "having a moan about not getting paid enough" - Emma's concern is with the sport, not her own personal gain. Do you even realise what she's done for women's cycling in recent years? The campaigning she's been doing?? All this and yet the point she has to make here is that female pros, while they could be the best in the world, still get paid peanuts compared to an amateur mixed gender sport like Triathlon.
Her point is the amount of crap female pros put up with for sh1t all return is absolutely bonkers, not least unfair - it's simply illogical.
Oh, and "if you want more money take up another sport"?!?!?! I'm sorry, but in what world is that an OK statement?
And don't give me any more BS about "oh it's because it's not got the sponsors or oh yes but you need to wait until people want to show it on TV" - go stick your head back in it's hole in the ground, women's pro cycling can and does get coverage, perhaps not in the UK or Belgium but worldwide women's cycling is picking up and completely captivates a sponsors market, the only missing link is the idiots that sit back on their armchairs stating that it's not good enough to watch and therefore not good enough to sponsor, i.e. those of you that think it's not worthy of airtime, ever actually watched women's racing??
The fact that this is even up for discussion is nuts to me, I don't understand how the consensus isn't "yeah, fair play, they don't get paid enough".
It's not "nuts", it's simply the market. Prize money for any sport doesn't grow on trees, it has to be *generated* through sponsorship and TV deals. Considering that she has a PhD I am surprised she hasn't worked that one out for herself.
If money was her objective, as a female athlete, then she should have taken up tennis, golf or athletics. Those sports are 'tv friendly' and the competitors actually look and dress like females ... which means we, both males and females, enjoy watching them.
Women's football for example will never take off whilst they insist on dressing like blokes and trying to talk like them too (whilst blowing snot from their noses when being interviewed) in a ridiculous bid to be taken seriously. If in tennis the women wore baggy men's clothing and also acted like blokes then their sport too would have considerably less appeal.
Victoria Pendleton seems to be doing ok though ... for some reason.
Putting aside the revolting sexism which implies folk only watch women's sport to look at women's bodies, and that women must behave in ways pleasing to others to be appealing...
...do you have a clue about the history of women's football/soccer? Its development as mass spectator sport in the ealry 20thC mirrored that of the men's game and it was once so popular the FA found it necessary to ban women from playing on the grounds of its affiliates in 1921, a ban that lasted 50 years, because they didn't like the competition.
It's the market? My backside, the market is rigged. By men.
Have you looked at the male pro tours, quite a few of them have blokes wearing 'tights' and in days gone by wearing tights may well have been considered ever so slightly female so does that mean I should boycott watching them as they don't have standard issue lumberjack shirts or pinstripe suits?
I really hope some of these comments are a joke...seriously guys this is the 21st century, get out of your cave!!!!
She knocks spots off the men. It is so usual that a person who has so much talent and brains is not utilised by those who are fearful of those two attributes. Rock on Emma.
As a professional cyclist you enter the races your team wants you in. If you're lucky, with status and ability you pick ones which suit you, like la Fleche Wallonne suits Emma Pooley.
If she wins she'll get around £1000. What a pay day to share with your team mates. All that for one of the top 12 one day races of the year.
Over paid, I reckon.
As a professional, enter the events that pay the best, also enter the lower paying ones that keep your profile up.
Tens of thousands would love to be able to select from these choices.
Bless.
Tens of thousands don't have 1/10th of her talent nor 1/1000th of her dedication.
If you've ever met her, you'd add whingy too.
A few years ago, she had a whinge at the fact that she was still waiting for a Power Meter from J Vaughters, so I contacted Jon and put everything in place. Managed to get Emily to email me through a contact at British Cycling, and she whinged some more, even though all she had to do was email JV at the address he gave, and provide her address, and she'd have the PM, but no, whinge whinge whinge.
Who's Emily? Are you sure you're telling the truth?
Not whingy, nor some kind of weirdo radical feminist*. Just a magnificent athlete who deserves credit where credit is due, including being being able to earn the same sort of living from the sport as the blokes.
* On second thoughts, under the circumstances I'm not sure I'd have a problem with at least two out of three of those. If someone called me a weirdo radical biker, I'd take them to a cake shop to discuss matters further.
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