'The growth of women's cycling is an opportunity for all of us' - Zwift's director of women's cycling on Watch The Femmes movement and raising the tide for all

Zwift held its first-ever Community Live event in Mallorca last week, in part to celebrate the platform's ten-year anniversary but also to bring Zwifters from around the globe together to enjoy spending time and riding with each other, in real life. 

The event was a huge undertaking, with media days earlier in the week, followed by paying Zwifters arriving to spend a weekend riding with stars like Sir Chris Hoy and Mark Cavendish as well as enjoying all kinds of industry talks and Q&As.

The event included a presentation from Zwift’s Director of Women's Strategy Kate Veronneau on the Watch the Femmes campaign and movement, what it has achieved so far, and what the future holds. Watch the Femmes has been the campaign to simply get more people viewing and engaging with women's cycling, from social media engagement and creating fan experiences at races to in-game events on Zwift and not forgetting those bright, standout 'Watch the Femmes' cycling caps with the slogan boldly emblazoned on the peaks. 

Speaking in the outdoor theatre, metres from the ocean, Veronneau described the original concept behind 'Watch the Femmes' was simply to get people to tune into the race and watch. 

Veronneau, herself an ex-racer, joined Zwift back in 2016 and was instrumental in getting the first Zwift Academy competition off the ground, which awarded a female winner with a pro team contract, unheard of in years gone by. In contrast, during the presentation, triple Olympic gold medallist Kristin Armstrong spoke about how her first professional road team contract came with no salary in 2003. The UCI introduced minimum women's WorldTour salaries in 2020. 

Alongside the Zwift Academy competitions, the company is the title sponsor of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, which began in 2021 for women. The women's Tour de France has a longer and more inconsistent history, being run in various formats over the years and from 2014 to 2021 as a single-day event - La Course. Zwift's involvement in 2021 helped usher in a new era for the women's version of the race in a longer and more popular stage race format. 

It's not a secret that women's cycling has been an afterthought for years, with well-documented salary, exposure and race opportunity inequalities. Has a company with the power, reach, finance, and crucially willingness of Zwift to get involved and make a change helped give women's cycling the boost and support it needs to make a difference and to start to balance things out? 

Veronneau's passion and message were tangible in the theatre as she described some of the changes that have occurred over the last four or so years. Cyclingnews sat down with Veronneau to hear her thoughts on the growth of women's cycling, how it may represent a golden opportunity for all, and the desire for it to no longer be simply an afterthought. 

The women's side of professional cycling doesn't enjoy the same level of investment that the men's does. Zwift has put its money where its mouth is to support and grow women's racing, Veronneau explains Zwift's involvement comes from genuinely caring about trying to improve things. 

"I think our intention and our passion is authentic and truly comes across that way. It's genuine like I always say, we're not just sponsors we are the biggest fans, and that comes from, a lot of places within the company that are truly caring, love women's cycling and feel a responsibility and an opportunity to do everything we can, using our platform and our community to elevate the sport."

Zwift appears to have led by example by investing in the women's side of the sport and clearly outlining its intentions to grow women's cycling. This has had the knock-on effect of creating both excitement and exposure, which means other brands and potential investors are now more interested than they have been in the past. Veronneau explains brands are coming to her now and wanting in. 

"This is one of the most exciting developments. I'm getting calls and emails and WhatsApps all the time saying, ‘What can we do? How do we do it?’ brands are seeing it working, seeing the impact that it's having on our sport, seeing the excitement that it's driving, seeing the fans, new fans.   

"The growth of women's cycling is an opportunity for all of us. Literally bringing new fans, new sponsors, new money, and new investment into the sport. Because it's in such a great phase right now. So brands are really coming to me and saying, like, ’We want in, how do we do it?’ And that's why this year we want to share that Watch the Femmes campaign; you're not going to see it locked up in Zwift. We're saying, ‘Take it, take it and run with it, and we'll amplify it.

"Besides Strava, we have the largest global cycling community, you know. And we'll work with Strava, too. We have such a unique position within the industry to be able to affect this change.”  

It's said a rising tide lifts all boats, at this point, it sounds like other brands are seeing the exposure, goodwill and general direction of travel that women's racing and, subsequently, cycling is starting to generate. Salaries are improving, women's races are being added to the calendar, and more brands are getting involved. 

One such example is Nike re-entering cycling in an apparel deal with FDJ-Suez and Demi Vollering. Of course, things are far from being perfectly balanced between the men's and women's sides of the sport, but improvements are happening. More brands getting involved with sponsoring and supporting racing should indeed benefit all and create a snowball effect.

Zwift has achieved a lot in this area in a short space of time; has it taken the right blend of passion and means to make inroads into the state of the women's side of the sport? The imbalance has been present for a long time. Nicole Cooke and other female riders strove for more equality whilst they were racing over a decade ago, but Veronneau can't remember another company or brand striving for change in the same way; maybe they just weren't able to. Verroneau agrees that Zwift is the authority now when it comes to spearheading the charge.  

"Absolutely, and we understand the responsibility behind that, and we're grateful for the opportunity because we have put ourselves out there, we put our money out there, put community out there, we have tried things. That first Zwift Academy was risky, you need that kind of energy in the sport. 

"We can learn a lot from other sports, too. You have to do things differently, and we specialize in doing things differently."

Veronneau cites one positive impact of the very first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift which was the creation of the Uplift - Women in Cycling industry mentorship programme by Rachael Burnside which aims to mentor women and keep them within the cycling industry, which has helped bring hundreds of women together. 

"I would have killed for a mentor early on in my career. I didn't have a mentor. I've been in this sport for 15 years, and that has now grown to be one of the most powerful industry connections. 

"We're doing business, we're making friends, we're making connections, we're finding synergies. And that is again, that rising tide, that's going to keep so many more women in the industry and moving up in the industry, which has traditionally been very challenging, but now you have leaders who are giving advice, helping the next generation jump over the barriers that they tripped over."

Zwift has released impact reports using data to show the positive impact that the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, in particular, has had on participation and viewing figures in the millions, with the latest report set to be released later this year. 

Does this rising tide and momentum depend on Zwift's sponsorship of two of the sport's biggest races? The American brand agreed on four-year deals for the Femmes and Paris-Roubaix. Zwift extended for another year with the Tour de France Femmes, which takes the race up to 2026, but what then?  

Veronneau didn't give too much away, but it sounds like talks are ongoing regarding Zwift's sponsorship of the race beyond 2025. 

"We're in conversations now to see what the future is, no matter what we're gonna be behind this race, no matter what." 

Yann Le Moenner, the CEO of A.S.O, the organisers of the Tour de France, was present in Mallorca and spoke in glowing terms at the presentation regarding the partnership. Perhaps conversations were happening behind the scenes in person about Zwift's involvement in the race in the long term. It would be a shame to see the Femmes profile wane if Zwift's sponsorship were to end. If that does happen, perhaps by then, the rising tide will mean more brands than ever before will be ready and willing to step up and continue Zwift's good work. 

Veronneau acknowledged that the imbalance is beginning to level up and explained that things are only moving in the right direction for women's racing and the sport in the long term. 

"We're just starting to harness the power of that. [Levelling up] As people recognize what incredible ambassadors for the sport these women are. The sport has been done one way for so long, and we're seeing so many gains from trying new things, balancing out the coverage, balancing out the investments. It's like a new project, we are not trying to replicate men's cycling. This is a whole new opportunity."