From the Shadows to Spotlight: What Cycling Can Learn from the Rise of Women’s Sports

I’ve spent the past year working in two different but unexpectedly similar arenas: as General Manager of the Bay Breakers, one of six teams in the newly formed Women’s Elite Rugby league, and as co-founder of Formula Fixed, a fixed gear race series that remixes cycling for the 21st century. Rugby and cycling are both community-driven and culturally rich. They’ve long been overlooked by the mainstream — and now, they’re breaking through.

When legacy sports systems shut women out, they stopped asking for permission. They built their own leagues, their own media, their own spaces, and their own platforms. But what’s most inspiring is that they’re doing it together. Mutual support across disciplines, cities, and sports, is baked into the culture. And that refusal to gatekeep is something cycling desperately needs.

My work in women’s rugby has made it clear to me that the most powerful thing we can do in sports right now is show up — for each other, for the fans, and for the future. Women’s sports have been leading the way, not just in how they grow audiences, but in how they support one another.

Show up for the community

In women’s sports, collaboration is the norm. Teams support rivals, athletes hype each other up, and organizers work together to grow the game. The underlying belief is simple: when one of us wins, we all win.

Cycling still struggles with that. Organizers often regard one another as competitors instead of allies. Events rarely promote other events. Athletes and organizers guard contact lists like state secrets, fearing shared connections will dilute their sponsor pool. But that scarcity mindset keeps the whole sport smaller.

At Formula Fixed, we’re working to model a different way. We amplify flyers for races around the world, collaborate with other organizers, offer tabling space for other events at our own, and help connect people behind the scenes. We sponsor smaller events, volunteer at other races, and show up where we can. It’s the right thing to do, but it’s also the smart thing to do. The more opportunities there are to race and be seen, the more the whole scene grows. Community is a growth strategy.

Shine a light

Media doesn’t just reflect what matters, it defines it. One of the biggest reasons women’s sports are growing so quickly is because they’ve built their own media ecosystems that shine a light on the full spectrum of women’s sports. They don’t just spotlight top-tier talent and professional properties, they celebrate newcomers, niche events, lifestyle, fashion, community, and culture. That visibility creates belonging, and that belonging builds audiences.

Cycling media, by contrast, often sticks to a narrower definition of what merits coverage. WorldTour road racing gets the lion’s share of the attention. Gravel and other road racing have solid coverage, but alternative formats like fixed gear, freestyle disciplines, short track, and alleycats, not so much. Lifestyle coverage — the fashion, the art, the vibe, the energy that makes many of these scenes feel alive and draws newcomers to bike culture — is almost nonexistent.

Even disciplines like BMX and mountain biking, which get some coverage at the elite level, are often treated transactionally, spotlighted around Olympics, World Cups, or big-brand events. The everyday scenes that actually shape the culture — local races, street crews, trail builders, community organizers — are largely ignored. The media checks the box, but misses the story.

Commuter life, safe streets advocacy, and everyday riding culture are treated like entirely separate issues, more activism than sport. But the truth is, they’re foundational to the sport’s future. If a kid can’t safely ride to school, they’re far less likely to grow into a cyclist, let alone a racer. If public roads aren’t safe to train on, elite athletes are put at constant risk. And if cycling is seen only as something for professionals in spandex, it will always be niche.

Women’s sports media has done an exceptional job of expanding coverage, and so can cycling media. When we provide a full picture of the world of cycling — from transportation to recreation to competition — we don’t just tell better stories, we make more people feel like they belong.

Tell Human Stories

Some of the biggest stars in women’s sports aren’t the highest scorers or most decorated athletes; they’re the most relatable. Ilona Maher isn’t the captain of the USA Rugby Eagles or a top points scorer, but she’s built a massive following by being hilarious, honest, and joyful about being strong and imperfect.  She’s one of the reasons the Eagles are selling out stadiums all over the world this summer.

Too often, cycling remains stuck on the idea of a brand as aspirational: a series of slick-looking videos featuring head-to-toe spandex and sunlight glinting off colorful reflective lenses. The recently cancelled Tour de France documentary series “Unchained” explored what riding in the Tour is like, but the sport will have to go further than the team bus to showcase athletes in the authentic way that’s necessary to build true fan affinity. If we want people to care, we need to show them the athletes as full people — their humor, their hustle and their humanity.

We’re already seeing this play out in cycling. While viewership of the men’s Tour de France dipped this year, the Tour de France Femmes surged, jumping from 18 million to 25.7 million viewers — a 43% increase in a single year. That kind of growth isn’t just about the racing, it’s about visibility, emotional connection, and giving fans real stories to follow. 

At Formula Fixed, our scene is full of athletes who are deeply compelling characters: community organizers, messengers, style icons, parents, immigrants, and so much more. We’re working to create a stage that showcases not only their athletic achievements but also their humanity to ensure that when fans start showing up, they’ll stick around.

Work Together, or Stay Small

Growth doesn’t come from guarding the mic. It comes from handing it off, passing it around, and turning up the volume together. It comes from telling human stories — not just selling the dream of peak performance, but showing the people behind the podiums. It comes from redefining what merits the spotlight, and who gets to be seen.

The lesson from women’s sports is clear: work together. Raise each other up. A rising tide lifts all boats. That’s not just a feel-good motto, it’s how women’s sports has grown into a $2.5B industry over the past 15 years. It’s how women’s rugby is gaining traction so rapidly. It’s why women’s cycling is surging in viewership. And it’s how Formula Fixed is building something new in a sport too often clinging to the past.

The future doesn’t belong to those playing by century-old rules. It belongs to those who show up, tell the truth, share the stage, and build the kind of community they want to see — together.