The first women's Cyclo-cross World Championship 25 years ago was a completely different sport: "They laughed at us women"

Fem van Empel, Lucinda Brand, Sanne Cant... These days, women’s cyclo-cross is packed with top riders. And although the difference in prestige and earnings compared to the men is still significant, the gap is steadily closing. But that wasn’t always the case. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the women’s Cyclo-cross World Championship, and back in 2000, the sport was almost unrecognizable.

The first men’s Cyclo-cross World Championship was held in 1950, but women had to wait another fifty years for their chance. In Sint-Michielsgestel, the Netherlands, women competed for the rainbow jersey for the first time, and Katleen Vermeiren was there representing Belgium. She had witnessed how, a year earlier, the first international women’s cyclo-cross race on Belgian soil had been organized. In Loenhout, Daphny van den Brand took the win — and her prize was a men’s bike with men’s sizing.

These kinds of things were all too common for female cyclo-cross riders. They were not a priority for the cycling federations and had to race at inconvenient times. "Often as early as 9:30 in the morning, before the juniors," Vermeiren told Het Nieuwsblad. Prize money was not even a topic of discussion. "If you won in Overijse, you maybe got 25 euros. And start money? Completely out of the question." Last year, Sanne Cant also spoke candidly about her difficult early years in cyclo-cross.

Read more below the photo!

A lot has changed in 25 years

So much hassle, but Vermeiren enjoyed it: "For me, it was a great time"

Being a professional cyclo-cross rider simply wasn’t possible, but now, at 46 years old, Vermeiren still looks back fondly on those racing days. "I really had a blast. For me, it was a great time." And that was despite the fact that female riders had to endure a lot of abuse. That’s why she is unimpressed when modern riders complain about rowdy fans: "That was our default. As a woman back then, you were laughed at — hard. But what could you do? You just kept riding."

That first World Championship followed the same pattern. The women had to start at 10:00 AM, and Vermeiren had a disastrous race. She finished 33rd, nine minutes behind the winner. "I was way too nervous," she recalled. "I was completely useless." The eventual winner was Hanka Kupfernagel. The German won ahead of Britain’s Louise Robinson and Daphny van den Brand.

A year after that first world championship, the first Belgian national championship for women was on the calendar — but it didn’t happen easily. The Belgian cycling federation resisted the idea, only agreeing after months of lobbying. Their condition? "Only if we could find at least fifteen women willing to participate." In the end, they managed to gather a field of riders. And Vermeiren? She became Belgium's very first national cyclo-cross champion.

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