Mountain Bike and Time Trial champion, Michelle Vorster, says if female cyclists are given the same publicity as their male counterparts, it would change the way young female riders look at the sport.

In an interview with Nampa, Namibia’s representative at the 2021 Olympic Games in Mountain Bike (MTB) said women cyclists are underrated compared to their male counterparts.

“We ride the exact same bikes as the men, same weight… everything, and we work just as hard as the men to be at the top of our game, but when a story is written women cyclists get just a little mention at the bottom of the article while everything else in the story is about the men cyclists,” she said.

She added that this topic is close to her heart and she hopes it will change soon so that many young girls will start getting recognition for their accomplishments, which will then encourage others to also join the sport.

Vorster, who represented Namibia at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, stated that if more female cyclists are to be encouraged to join the sport it should be promoted at schools.

“I think it would be an amazing idea to promote the sport in secondary schools because most girls don’t even know what cycling is all about and how it works,” she said, noting that it is a lot of fun to be a cyclist and might even give one an opportunity to be an Olympian.

Vorster further said if more women join the sport, this would probably snowball into sponsorships for them.

“One of the reasons I am still in cycling apart from the love for it, is I want to inspire young riders, especially the young girls. I hope many will aspire to be as great as, or even better than, those who are there already. I hope they will get the recognition as well as be visible to all the other women,” the champion said. – Nampa