Three-time Absa Cape Epic winner and current Swiss marathon champion, Ariane Lüthi (Team Spur) was conspicuously absent from the start line at the opening round of the Ashburton Investments National MTB Series in Grabouw on Saturday. Her absence wasn’t due to illness or injury, but to make a statement to the organisers. 

By Sean Badenhorst
Photos: ZCMC/Hayden Brown/Daniel Coetzee
Ariane Lüthi, closest to camera, shares a laugh with the women’s Elite start group at the final round of the 2016 Nissan Trailseeker Series, Western Cape event at Bosman Wines in November last year. It was after this event that Lüthi engaged Advendurance in prize money discussions.Photo: www.zcmc.co.za/Hayden Brown
Ariane Lüthi, closest to camera, shares a laugh with the women’s Elite start group at the final round of the 2016 Nissan Trailseeker Series, Western Cape event at Bosman Wines in November last year. It was after this event that Lüthi engaged Advendurance in prize money discussions.Photo: www.zcmc.co.za/Hayden Brown

 

Despite the women’s prize money for the prestigious series having been increased from 2016, Lüthi was discontent with the fact that the top finishers in the men’s event would earn more than the top finishers in the women’s event.

“After the final round of the Nissan Trailseeker Series (also organised by Advendurance) in Wellington last November, I felt it was unfair that there wasn’t equal prize money for the leading male and female finishers in either of their racing series. I took this up with Wessel van der Walt of Advendurance and we entered into a constructive period of discussions, resulting in a proposal that he would present to his superiors which would lead to equal prize money being paid to men and women in 2017, but with the top five women getting paid and the top 10 men,” said Lüthi.

“I still think prize money should be paid down to 10th place in the women’s too, but felt that at least equal prize money for the top five men and women was a good start and a decent compromise. But unfortunately Fritz Pienaar, the head of Advendurance wasn’t comfortable with the proposed structure and the prize money for the first round in Grabouw was unequal. I feel strongly about this and decided to not do the race,” said Lüthi.

The Elite women prepare to start Round 1 of the 2017 Ashburton Investments National Mountain Bike Series in Grabouw on Saturday. Photo: www.zcmc.co.za/Daniel Coetzee
The Elite women prepare to start Round 1 of the 2017 Ashburton Investments National Mountain Bike Series in Grabouw on Saturday. Photo: www.zcmc.co.za/Daniel Coetzee

 

“I do believe the Elite women should be able to earn the same prize money as the Elite men, but in practical terms it wasn’t possible for us as series organisers this year. We added R30 000 per event (there are seven events) to the prize fund from 2016 and most of that went to the Elite women’s category. So we increased the winning women’s prize money per event from R13 000 to R20 000, which we felt was a good boost. There are very few 75km marathons that offer that kind of prize money for first place woman,” said Fritz Pienaar, Director of Advendurance.

“When I told Ariane about this prize money boost for women, she said that she appreciated it, but that it has to be equal to the men’s. In order for that to happen, based on our current budgets, we would have had to drop the men’s prize money. The winning man gets R26 000 per event, and I was not willing to lower their prize purse. The men’s fields are a lot bigger than the women’s at our events and I believe the competition is stronger

“At the Grabouw event we had to cut off the Elite men’s bunch at 100 riders, but we only had 20 Elite women. At some of our Series events, there are fewer than 10 Elite women. In total, we have about a 75/25% split of men and women at our events. Part of the budget for our prize money comes from entry fees, the majority of which are still men. It must be remembered that we organise events for all mountain bikers, not only for the Elite riders.

“I also still believe that the Elite men have a more competitive field and that it is harder for them to get a top three result than it is for the women and therefore I feel the current prize money split is fair,” added Pienaar, himself a former multiple South African mountain bike racing champion.

The Elite women hit a large puddle early on during Round 1 of the 2017 Ashburton Investments National Mountain Bike Series in Grabouw on Saturday. Photo: www.zcmc.co.za/Daniel Coetzee
The Elite women hit a large puddle early on during Round 1 of the 2017 Ashburton Investments National Mountain Bike Series in Grabouw on Saturday. Photo: www.zcmc.co.za/Daniel Coetzee

 

Lüthi feels that the restructure of the race distances for the 2017 Ashburton Investments National MTB Series should also count in favour of the top women earning equal prize money to the men.

“In the past few years, the Elite men have raced the Ultra-marathon distance at the Ashburton Investments Series, which was always about 30-40% further to race than us women doing the marathon distance. But from this first event of the 2017 series, the men are racing the same distance as us women, which means there is no difference in effort and commitment between the men and women’s competitors,” explained Lüthi.

With a number of international mountain bike stars in the Western Cape making the most of the warm weather for training, either for the upcoming UCI XCO World Cup Series or for the Absa Cape Epic in March, the field for the first round of the Ashburton Investments Series opener in Grabouw was possibly the strongest ever assembled for a marathon in the country (outside of the Marathon World Championships held in Pietermaritzburg in 2014).

Lüthi said she wanted it to be made known the objection isn’t personal and she doesn’t feel any different towards her rivals, who all took to the start line in Grabouw on Saturday, including current South African champion, Robyn de Groot, current Swedish champion, Jennie Stenerhag and Denmark’s current XCO World Champion, Annika Langvad.

“Most of the women were under obligation of some kind to compete on Saturday. I have no gripe with them competing and I completely understand their situations. I am fortunate that my sponsors, Spur and Specialized, see my perspective and backed my decision,” said Lüthi.

“As an ambassador for the Spur Schools MTB League, I need to be a role model for the up-and-coming female mountain bikers in South Africa and across the world. I see it as my duty to inspire them to chase their own dreams and never believe that they are of lesser value,” added Lüthi.

Swiss marathon champion and three-time Absa Cape Epic winner, Ariane Lüthi, boycotted the opening round of the Ashburton Investments National Mountain Bike Series in Grabouw on Saturday to make a statement about her dissatisfaction about the inequality in the Elite men and women’s prize money in the series.Photo: www.zcmc.co.za/Hayden Brown
Swiss marathon champion and three-time Absa Cape Epic winner, Ariane Lüthi, boycotted the opening round of the Ashburton Investments National Mountain Bike Series in Grabouw on Saturday to make a statement about her dissatisfaction about the inequality in the Elite men and women’s prize money in the series.Photo: www.zcmc.co.za/Hayden Brown

 

“In our half-marathon distances we offer equal prize money to males and females. We also organise the Warrior Series (obstacle course racing) where we have equal prize money for men and women because there the entry split is almost 50/50. So we are principally in favour of equal prize money, when it is justified but we can’t justify it in the Elite marathon category.

“Last year we invested in the women’s category at our Ashburton Investments Series events by adding a dedicated TV camera motor bike, which is an additional cost. Elite mountain bike racers earn the majority of their income from their sponsors, not from prize money and we felt this was a good way to support the women, ensuring they get more TV exposure for their sponsors. We also invest in creating TV shows for each event and paying for them to be flighted. This needs to be considered in this discussion too,” added Pienaar.

“Something else that’s important to us as Series organisers is how much value the top riders add to our events. There are a number of the top men that take the time to engage with the ‘hobby’ riders and sponsors after the events. Some also write blogs and give recognition to the events and the sponsors of the events. I’m not sure why, but not many of the top women do this. I don’t say they have to do this at every event, but it’s always noticed when riders do this and it adds value to our events.

“I find it interesting that Ariane mentioned that her sponsors support her fight for equal prize money, but she also mentioned to me in our discussions that she receives a lower salary than the male riders (from her sponsor). I believe that the salaries make up the majority of the pro’s income and that she should perhaps start by fighting for equal salaries?” remarked Pienaar.

(Update: Ariane has refuted this comment:
“This statement isn’t true: I’m the highest paid member of Team Spur, including my manager Nic Lamond. I’m happy with my pay,” she said.
“Fritz is mistaken. Ariane didn’t say that. She is the highest paid member of Team Spur and rightfully so. Ariane had mentioned to Fritz that in OTHER teams, women are often paid less than men,” said Lamond.

“To clarify, our discussion wasn’t specifically about Team Spur but about female salaries in general, which Ariane said were lower than men’s, even though they work just as hard (or harder). I then said she should take that up with her sponsors and fight for higher salaries for women racers before she fights with events, since salaries is where the majority of a pro rider’s income is earned,” said Pienaar.)

The prize money breakdown for the marathon and half-marathon for the one-day events in the 2017 Ashburton Investments National Mountain Bike Series.
The prize money breakdown for the marathon and half-marathon for the one-day events in the 2017 Ashburton Investments National Mountain Bike Series.

 

For Lüthi, the amount of prize money isn’t as significant as the discrepancy between the men and women’s prize purses.

“If I was looking for a way to earn a lot of money, I wouldn’t be racing mountain bikes, I would be pursuing another career. But this is my passion, which I have been fortunate to make into a career for a while and I feel that I have a duty to my sport to make a difference. Equal prize money isn’t something new and many other events in South Africa and abroad are offering equal prize money to men and women,” said Lüthi.

“And please, don’t get me wrong, I think Advendurance organise some of the best events in the world. Many European events can learn a lot from them. They really are world leaders with their events. But at some point someone has to make a statement about the prize money inequality. While it has been a concern for me in previous years, I’m at a place emotionally now, where I’m strong and feel that the time is right to start what I hope will be an awareness that will lead to a change to make mountain bike racing more fair and rewarding for men and women,” said Lüthi.

The prize money breakdown for the marathon and half-marathon categories for the two-day events in the 2017 Ashburton Investments National Mountain Bike Series.
The prize money breakdown for the marathon and half-marathon categories for the two-day events in the 2017 Ashburton Investments National Mountain Bike Series.

 

“I did invite Ariane to discuss a way forward with me at Grabouw, even if she didn’t do the race. She wasn’t there to race or to have a discussion, but I am still open to discussing a way forward with her and any of the other women. I see the UCI graded events in South Africa are offering equal prize money for women. This is largely made possible by a new sponsor investing in the events. None of our events are UCI-graded this year, but if we could get an additional sponsor to specifically support the women’s category at our events, that would make it a lot easier to implement equal prize money.

“I am very passionate about the sport and believe we are involved for the right reasons. The Ashburton Investments National MTB Series caters for all mountain bike riders – from beginners to pros – and we try to provide a great experience for all involved. But I know that is not always possible to keep every rider on every level happy,” said Pienaar.

 

TREAD-Magazine-Logo

 

css.php