You will have noticed over the last few weeks that we have not sent out the Monday Briefing. After 347 successive editions bringing the women’s cycling news to your inboxes we took a pause. And for now that pause button is still pressed. Sadly that pause extends to all that voxwomen does.
In 2016 we assembled a team of dynamic women game changers to disrupt the narrative around women’s cycling. I vividly remember the energy in the room as we started to create a strategy for a vision that I had on a few slides. We asked the cycling community to be part of the journey. And we were energised as the community joined us. We disrupted and ruffled feathers and did what we set out to do; Bring the stories of women’s cycling to the forefront of peoples minds.
Everything we did had that in mind. When we sent an all woman crew (including the camera operator) to the Tour of Flanders we turned heads. We asked questions of brands. Many times when we asked for support we were met with the response of “why would I invest in women’s cycling?”. Maybe they should have started sooner. Those that did have benefited.
We talked broadcasters worldwide into taking a 30 minute women’s cycling TV show when we had no show but just a vision. The first two channels to take the programmes had decision makers who were women, one in rights and one as a producer. Eurosport and SBS knew that what we were trying to do had to be done and backed us. Thanks Helen and Cath. Your faith helped us achieve a lot. We thankfully crowdfunded to make a first pilot episode paid for by many fans. This we have never forgotten.
The Voxwomen Cycling Show ran for 37 episodes all created by a female production team. The editors, camera operators, commentators, interviewers, production managers were all found to pull this show together. Now and then we brought in male expertise to help develop skills we couldn’t find but that was it. Our mission was clear. On the back of that we streamed live racing, which had its own challenges when larger platforms didn’t want us to succeed. But that’s another story for another time.
Our blog has given pro riders a platform to tell their stories and some really did shake things up. Our podcast was started by Abby Mickey and after she moved to pastures new it has been hosted by Rebecca Charlton, Hannah Walker, Laura Winter. We were the first podcast to be recorded on site at the Tour de France Femmes. We have helped interns with us pass their University degrees or raise their profile on social media to be followed as pro riders. Emily Brammeier, Sharon Laws, Danni Shrosbree and more recently Megan Jastrab have been so valued as part of our team. The fantastically talented women who have worked with us have gone on to develop media careers in World Tour Teams, host other podcasts, have media careers on some of the top sporting events in the world, have been nominated for TV and Media awards in sport and other creative areas, set up production companies and more. We are so proud to have helped them get the start that they so truly deserved, which back in 2016 was sadly lacking.
Megan Guarnier became our first Voxwomen Rider of the Year and since that time our annual review has grown. In memory of our much missed colleague Sharon Laws we renamed the awards to honour her after she passed away. We know that the recipients of the following awards valued that.
Women’s Cycling is in a much better place to 2016. But in recent times we have struggled as a small independent media business to find the consistent funding to keep the journey going. So we have taken a pause to work out what is next as the funding tap is empty right now. We are for ever thankful to Colnago for stepping into support us for a few more months at the beginning of this year and to all the sponsors that have helped us since 2016 including Zwift, Liv, Maap, Precision Fuel and Hydration and a special thanks to Brother who helped us through the pandemic. Every single penny of that money has been used to create content.
So, what is next? That we don’t know right now. We may continue to spread the message with renewed support. Voxwomen may be taken on by someone else or another team who want to build on what we have created. Or it may just become a fond archive of stories, videos, television shows and the launching of many media careers in this wonderful sport.
Our recent team has continued the trend of being women who want to make women’s cycling grow and we are thankful for all their efforts. Hannah Walker, Stephanie Constand, Megan Jastrab have done so much as a small team in the last years to continue to push things forward. Our WhatsApp group is always awash with news and information. Megan alongside her World Tour career has built an ambassador programme and constant community rides on Zwift. Her energy is breathtaking. And it has been Stephanie that written every single one of the 347 Monday Briefings that we have sent out. Some of you I know have read every one.
Thank you for being part of the journey. Thank you for supporting our efforts to change the narrative and put women’s cycling in the headlines. If we have created some new fans and excited and inspired then that is what we set out to do.
Finally, we may be back. If you have ideas, or you know someone who might want to acquire our platforms to continue our journey or you are a brand leader and the loss of voxwomen is something you don’t want to see happen then let’s talk. Email is Anthony.mccrossan@cyclevox.com for all questions.
Anthony and the Voxwomen Team.
