In the midst of the Tour de France, media like the LA Times, CNN, BBC and many more are taking a break from talking about the boys to focus on a movement within the women's peloton that is gaining momentum.
Cyclists Marianne Vos, Emma Pooley, Kathryn Bertine and triathlete Chrissie Wellington have launched a petition with one simple demand: allow women to race Tour de France.
"For 100 years, the Tour de France has been the pinnacle endurance sports event of the world, watched by and inspiring millions of people. And for 100 years, it has been an exclusively male race (there was a separate Tour Feminin in the 1980s, but it lacked parity, media coverage, and sponsorship). After a century, it is about time women are allowed to race the Tour de France, too," the petition states.
Launched just days ago, the petition is directed at Christian Prudhomme, Director of Tour de France, and has already received over 5000 signatures.
The petition continues to gain media attention is lots of social media love by racers and fans alike:
This movement comes just weeks after US professional cyclists like Janel Holcomb, Lauren Hall, Leah Kirchmann, Jade Wilcoxson, Jamie Bookwalter, Maura Kinsella, Alison Powers, Alexis Ryan, Kathryn Donovan, Lex Albrecht, Robin Farina and Optum Team Director Rachel Heal came together to form the Women's Cycling Association.
The association hopes to not only grow women’s cycling, it also wants to secure a minimum wage for women professional cyclists.
There's a lot of excitement in the air! Women cyclists have always been their own biggest supporters and it's fantastic to see these women stepping up and making bold demands.
Equally exciting is the amount of media attention regarding these issues, as is the social media buzz from fans all over the world.
Here's to gender barriers coming down soon!