On an exponential development for five years, the female peloton is more and more like that of men, including in the way the contracts are negotiated.
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When the thighs are extended on the Tour de France women, the negotiations are paused. “On does not negotiate during the Tourexplains Agent Bastien Le Masson, who notably advises Victoire Berteau and Célia Le Mouël. The tour has an impact but on negotiations already underway. It allows them to be fruitful if the runner is efficient “. In an increasingly structured market, the time of signatures has moved. “”In 2024, we already discussed the 2026 season“, Develops the agent, at the start of the 4th stage.
Serious things start in winter during internships in Spain, around Calpe where almost all of the male and female teams are established. Bastien Le Masson goes there to make a point with his runners and meet all managers. “TOuts The teams are concentrated over 20 kilometers. This is the perfect time to probe needs and locate trends“.
The start of discussions for a transfer often takes place during the spring classics with sometimes validated signatures during the Ardennes triptych at the end of April. Officialized at the end of October, the transfer of half a vollering to FDJ-Suez was for example already concluded in early May, before the departure of the Vuelta. However, the actors of the bicycle world agree that the future of the stars of the female peloton is played more and more two years in advance, as among men.
All the lines have moved. “”Before the first Tour de France in 2022, the agents were anecdotal in the female peloton “recalls Bastien Le Masson. “”Today, the dialogue between agents and teams is almost permanent, reports Philippe Raimbaud, an experienced agent, with Evita Muzic or Audrey Cordon-Ragot, who retired in 2024.I knew an era when girls were delivered to themselves. They only had professionals the name. Now there are no more differences with men, except the financial dimension “.
According to the independent union The Cyclist’s Alliance, more than half of the runners receive less than 10,000 euros per year. The disparities remain large in the female peloton, even if the minimum wage in the World Tour teams has doubled in five years, going from 15,000 euros annually to more than 30,000 euros. Some runners today have image contracts, even if it concerns a minority. There is still a form of precariousness, even within the peloton engaged in the Tour de France women, supposed to group the world gratin. A form of uncertainty also surrounds two teams, threatened with disappearance: Arkéa-B & B Hotels and Ceratizit.
“Some teams have set foot on the brake and wait to see what will happen“, Indicates an agent. Overall, the runners available next year are few next year. Because unlike football for example, buying back years of contract is not the norm in cycling and the teams only engage once the previous contract completed. According to an informed observer, the two largest names in search of a contract in 2026 are Alison Jackson (EF Education-Oatly), winner of Paris-Roubaix 2023 and active in the escapes on this tower, as well as the experienced Mavi Garcia (Liv Alula Jayco), victorious in Quimper on Sunday.
“Is Mavi Garcia stronger today than yesterday? Does her victory change the idea that we have of her? No, Plot Philippe Raimbaud. It is a very small environment. There are still few very efficient runners. Everyone knows about who is and who has potential.“If the days of rest on the big towers are sometimes used to put themselves at the negotiation table in men, the period between the Giro and the Tour de France women does not allow it.”It is even a stand-by period “explains Bastien Le Masson.
The latest season’s discussion window begins in August. Generally, deal are concluded long before. “”Why do you want this runner? How will you integrate it into the team? What will you expect from her? What will be its progress? Once we have resolved all these questions, we quickly agree on the financial side “retraces Philippe Raimbaud, for whom there is no standard diagram. “”Sometimes it is we who offer a runner, sometimes it’s a team that calls “.
Some beautiful stories were completely born against the tide of trends. Carrying the yellow jersey on this edition, the Mauritian Kim the Court accepted the proposal of AG Insurance-Soudal at the very end of 2023, after spending the whole year prospecting herself. So much so that she had to postpone her honeymoon. Certain training courses, such as FDJ-Suez, bite their fingers today for not having given him a chance.