4 minute read
Louise Vardeman
Long road to equality
In 2019, she cycled the Tour de France ahead of male competitors to protest about the exclusion of women. Now, the Brit is seeing change in her sport
Words JESS HOLLAND
Louise Vardeman knows how to push through hard times. When the 43-year-old from Marlow, Bucks, first took up cycling six years ago, it was because she had to give up long-distance running; the cartilage in her hip was destroyed. It was a low point. She’d been in a marriage that was falling apart, with two kids, diagnosed depression and shattered confidence. After “getting to rock bottom”, Vardeman finally decided to leave her husband. She channelled her pain into riding. Two years later, she was performing at a high-enough level to represent Britain in the Gran Fondo World Championships.
That winter, Vardeman saw a call-out online from a group of French women who, for the last four years, had been riding the Tour de France route a day ahead of the male competitors. Their aim was to raise awareness of inequality in cycling – the Tour de France was still a men’s-only event. For women, only a one-day competition had been allocated, with just one-hundredth of the prize money available.
Vardeman contacted the group, and this led to her co-founding an international branch, The InternationElles. In 2019, they met for the first time in Brussels, at the start of the Tour de France route, and set off. The 3,500km journey was gruelling, but the women persevered, attracting global press, from the BBC’s Breakfast show to The New York Times. And at the finish point, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Vardeman’s boyfriend was waiting with a marriage proposal.
The pandemic prevented The InternationElles from repeating their feat in 2020, but in May this year it was announced that an official eight-day women’s Tour de France will follow the men’s race in July 2022. Vardeman is not expecting to ride in the event itself – she’s an amateur cyclist with a day job in events management – but she took part in the 25-hour Red Bull Timelaps event at the end of October and is aiming to compete again in the Gran Fondo next year.
The campaigning was never intended for her own benefit, she says, but to inspire a younger generation: “I hate the idea that someone might think, ‘I’m a girl, therefore I can’t do that.’”
the red bulletin: Were there moments on the Tour de France route where you hit a wall?
louise vardeman: About three weeks in, I had a lot of doubt. I hadn’t slept well, and I started crying at the top of one ascent. I had to play music on a speaker to take my mind off the voices in my head telling me to go home. As we approached [alpine mountain pass Col du] Galibier, I became overwhelmed. I needed the toilet, and I was feeling too hot, but I kept pedalling until I literally just fell sideways onto the floor. I thought, “I’m done, I can’t do this any more.” I couldn’t even unclip my feet from the pedals. But I realised that I’d never forgive myself if I got in the van on the 18th stage out of 21. If it took all day to do this next bit, so be it. When we got to the bottom of Galibier, I felt like something was pushing me. I just felt strong, and I ascended the whole thing without any problem. At the top, we climbed the sign and took photographs. It was just incredible – I’d conquered a mountain.
Do you have the same determination when it comes to tackling inequality in cycling?
Yes. Cycling is so traditional, especially in France. It’s so white and male-dominated. It doesn’t help that bikes are so expensive and cycling clubs are not very inclusive. There are so many barriers. That spurs me on.
What other projects have you been working on?
We did a lot of campaigning about [the disparities in] prize money last year, because there’s a big gap there. For the Strade Bianche [a road race in Tuscany] in 2021, the men’s prize pot [for the top five riders] was €31,600, whereas the equivalent for women was €6,298. So we launched a crowdfunding campaign with The Cyclists’ Alliance and a fan named Cem Tanyeri. We raised just under €27,000, which took the women’s prize pot above that of the men’s. The pros couldn’t believe it.
Have your cycling experiences given you greater confidence in other areas of life?
I wish they did. I lack confidence with every single thing I do. I want other people to know that [competing] doesn’t come naturally to me. It’s hard, but it’s so worth it.
What advice do you have for others wanting to make a big change?
You only live once, and if you’re not happy, you’re wasting your time. When it comes to making a difference, you can’t think about changing the whole world, but little changes add up. You have no idea of the ripple effect you have. And even if you only change one person’s life, that’s so important. loukew.co.uk
