The professional cyclists association (CPA) announced on Thursday that Luxembourg champion Christine Majerus (SD Worx) will step into the role of representative on the UCI Safety Commission, joining Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) and Philippe Gilbert (Lotto Soudal) in voicing riders' views in the decision making process.
The move comes after Cyclingnews reported that women had no part in the commission when the UCI imposed new rules for safety including banning the 'super tuck' and 'forearms on bars' aero positions in road races.
Majerus wrote on social media, that she is "pleased to give the women's peloton a voice in the UCI Safety Commission," urging her fellow professional racers to contact her with concerns.
The commission is led by UCI President David Lappartient and Professional Cycling Council President Tom Van Damme, and includes representatives of all the major stakeholder groups.
Men's teams are represented by AIGCP members Iwan Spekenbrink, Richard Plugge, Patrick Lefevere and Carsten Jeppesen, race organisers by AIOCC members Christian Prudhomme and Thierry Gouvenou, with the CPA's Gianni Bugno, Pascal Chanteur and Laura Mora, and Philippe Gilbert and Matteo Trentin representing the riders.
However, until the appointment of Majerus, the women's teams, race organisers and riders were represented through Plugge and Spekenbrink, who manage organisations with women's teams, Gouvenou, who with ASO runs the women's La Course, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Flèche Wallonne events, and through the CPA women's chapter.
The women's rider association, The Cyclists' Alliance (TCA), and the new women's teams association, UNIO, were not included because they had yet to be recognized by the UCI.
Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio raised the issue with Cyclingnews, decrying the lack of representation. "There were no women involved in the decision-making on the ban of the 'super-tuck' or the 'forearms on the aero bars' positions," she said last month.
"I can comment that there will be a women's representative from the women’s peloton on the safety commission, shortly, and that is due to the work of the CPA Women that really pushed that we have a representative," she added.
The CPA Women's organisation is led by former world champion Alessandra Cappellotto, while the TCA is headed by former pro Iris Slappendel.
Moolman-Pasio is the TCA's rider representative and leads the riders' council. Majerus is part of that council along with riders such as Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma), Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo), Leah Kirchmann (DSM), Amanda Spratt (BikeExchange), and Audrey Cordon (Trek-Segafredo).
UNIO, formed last season in response to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on women's teams, is headed up by Canyon-SRAM manager Ronny Lauke. The UCI officially recognized UNIO and CPA Women at the Management Committee meeting in February, and made a financial contribution to both organisations.
