To Honor History or Mirror the Men? - The Monument Dilemma in Women’s Cycling

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Kevin Remmerie - Paris-Roubaix 2024

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The way this blog came to be is actually quite funny. Let's rewind to the Tour of Lombardie. Pogacar attacks, and just like that, the suspense is gone. 15 seconds ahead of Evenepoel, then 30 seconds, then a minute, and it keeps growing. That's when Cycling Twitter got a bit annoyed, and I saw Benji Naesen’s tweet pop up: Milano-Sanremo was the best monument of 2024 (read: most exciting). We all know when someone says that, it usually means the rest must have been very boring.

My women's cycling heart hurts a little, because we saw some incredible racing on the women's side this year. The Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège were all exciting and epic battles! It was frustrating to see people complain about boring monuments when all they really needed to do for excitement was start watching the women’s races instead! But then again, what can you expect if, according to the UCI, there aren't any official women's monuments?

Today, I'll take you through the monument dilemma: Does women's cycling need monuments? And if so, do we mirror the men’s races or honor our own history?

Below, you'll find a neutral analysis, the women's peloton's perspective, Cycling Twitter's opinion, and finally, my own thoughts. Enjoy the read!

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Monuments in Women's cycling - a complicated matter

We don’t need to beat around the bush: monuments in women’s cycling are a very complicated and controversial subject. The first challenge lies in defining what a monument exactly is.

If you ask ChatGPT what monuments are, here’s its answer:

Cycling monuments are the most prestigious and historic one-day races in men's professional cycling. They have been held for over a century, symbolizing the sport’s rich tradition and legacy. Known for their difficulty and competitive prestige, these races challenge riders with demanding courses and have shaped the history of the sport.

Winning a monument is considered one of the greatest achievements in a cyclist's career, reflecting both the race's historical importance and the immense effort required to succeed.

As you can see, alongside fan/media attention and the effort required to win a monument, the historical significance is also crucial for establishing the Monument title.

The issue here is that unfortunately, women's cycling has not enjoyed the same level of prominence as men's cycling. Which causes it to be almost impossible to compare to the extensive history of men's cycling.

When deciding which races deserve the monument title, it’s essential to look at them objectively. What holds more importance: media and fan attention, name recognition, or the historical legacy of the races?

If we focus on media and fan attention as well as name recognition, we quickly arrive at races like Strade Bianche (2015), Tour of Flanders (2004), Paris-Roubaix Femmes (2021), and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2017).

As you can see, these races have not been around for very long, especially when compared to the male monuments, all of which are over 100 years old.

However, when you look at the historic races in women's cycling, you find the Trofeo Binda (1974), La Flèche Walonne Femmes (1998) and the Grand Prix de Plouay (1998)°. While these still don't have the history like the men's monuments , they have played a significant role in the development of women's cycling at the highest level.

°New name since this year: Classic Lorient Agglomération – Trophée CERATIZIT

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Peloton Perspectives on Women's Monuments

To make this a complete article with well-rounded arguments, I asked some individuals from the cycling world for their thoughts on the topic of monuments in women's cycling. Just like online discussions among fans, this remains a complicated matter. However, I succeeded in summarizing everything for you.

Many believe that monuments already exist within the women’s peloton, despite not being officially recognized by the UCI. Races such as the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which run alongside their male counterparts, should be considered monuments due to their prestige and extensive media coverage. Although some of these races have only recently been established in women's cycling, they are well-organized and professional.

The Trofeo Alfredo Binda, with its impressive fifty-year history, also deserves recognition as a monument, along with Strade Bianche and La Flèche Wallonne, which attract top competitors and are highly coveted victories.

While the designation of monuments is largely a creation of the cycling community, gaining official recognition from the UCI may not be crucial. However, having monument status could benefit older races that risk being overshadowed by newer events, helping to ensure their continued existence in the future.

Unlike the riders, who appear mostly unconcerned with the idea of official monument status, the fans have strong feelings about it. This debate has sparked numerous opinions within the cycling community, which led to me to running a Twitter poll to better understand these views.

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Cycling Twitter Speaks on Women's Monuments

We’ve looked at the issue objectively, and we’ve seen it from the riders' perspective. Now, it’s time to consider the fans' views. That’s why I decided to run a quick poll on Twitter. And, unsurprisingly, there’s still no clear conclusion.

From the first poll, we can conclude that 68% of cycling fans believe women’s monuments already exist. Of those, the majority (55%) feel that the women’s monuments are the same as the men’s. Meanwhile, only 13% consider races like the Trofeo Binda and Plouay to be women's monuments.

The second poll asked which races fans think deserve a monument title.The results were close, with Historical Races and a Mix both receiving about 35% of the votes, while Mirroring the Men's Monuments followed closely with 28%.

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My Thoughts on the Monument Debate in Women's Cycling

In the end, the question of monuments in women's cycling is complex, but one thing is clear: women's races deserve their own recognition. Rather than mirroring the men's calendar or limiting ourselves to history, a mix of both modern and historic races would be a perfect fit. After all, monuments have always been shaped by the cycling community, and it’s up to us to give these incredible races the recognition they deserve

If you would give me a free card, Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders, Trofeo Binda, Paris-Roubaix, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège are your women's monuments!

So, let’s unite as women’s cycling fans! Monuments are more than just history. They're about excitement, competition, and giving women the chance to achieve greatness. Who needs the UCI’s stamp of approval, anyway? ;-)

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Hi, thanks for reading my blog! I hope I could bring some clarity into this subject, it was a very complicated task, but I tried my best. ;-)

Something that still hasn't changed is that if you have any suggestions, questions, or noticed a typo, you don't need to hesitate to contact me on this site or via DM on my socials!

The next weeks you can expect some blogs about the Saar's Pedal Passion awards and a blog about an upcoming Belgian cycling talent. See you then? <3