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A backward tradition at the Tour de France

A floral bouquet, a champagne shower, a winner's jersey, and... scantliy clad women giving the best three cyclists a kiss on the cheek as their crowning glory. Women's bodies as a form of decoration, as a prize for cyclists? Women are not objects, nor prizes! As a member of an established group in Berlin for women, trans*, inter* and gender non-binary cyclists, I think it is a scandal that such a tradition still exists. 

A broken promise

Since 2018, the Tour de France has been promising that it will get rid of the podium girls. It has not kept its word. This year's Tour starts on the 6th July. Please join me in demanding race director Christian Prudhomme and race organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) to put a stop to the sexist tradition of podium girls at the Tour de France.

The race is shown in more than 190 countries by over 1.5 million people. Let's not perpetuate and spread the image of women stylised as being too fragile and dainty to attempt to break records and stand on the podium as athletes in their own right.

The Olympic Games can do it, why can't the Tour de France?

The Olympic Games have shown that you can do otherwise by asking children or emerging athletes to award medals and flowers to the victors. The award ceremonies generally respect human rights and don't perpetuate sexism. Even the Vuelta a Espana, Formula 1 and Professional Darts Corporation have joined in leading and changing. Why has the most popular cycle race in the world still not managed to change?

That's why we want to ask cyclists and athletes of all gender identities to help us get rid of the tradition of podium girls. Let's have an awards ceremony that reflects how we want our societies to be in a fair way!