NETHERLANDS — The organisers of the Eneco Tour have equalised prize money for the concurrent men's and women's races after four days of racing in the Netherlands, following public criticism from Dutch sprinter Charlotte Kool. TIG Sports & Events confirmed they will close the €46,215 gap to zero, raising the women's total prize fund from €17,205 to match the men's €63,465 starting with this edition.
Kool called out the disparity on Instagram earlier in the race, writing, "I'm curious if women get a discount at @eneco for energy? Prologue: Same start time, same distance, same energy," after Jakob Söderqvist (Lidl-Trek) earned €1,490 for victory on the opening day while equivalent women's winner Lieke Nooijen (Visma-Lease a Bike) won just €220. The race had been presented as pushing for greater equality, with two identical races against the clock and very similar distances for the four road stages.
"Eneco and Eneco Tour organizer TIG Sports & Events are equalizing the prize money for men and women starting with this edition. The total prize money for women will be increased to the same amount as for the men," read a press release on the race's website. The organisation said the original figures were determined "following the applicable scales of the UCI for the category in which both races fall," adding "These scales have different amounts for men and women." It added: "Charlotte Kool's social media post illustrated that the discussion about prize equality in cycling was even more urgent than we already thought," and "This has prompted us to accelerate this step. Eneco and the organisation have now jointly decided to raise the prize money for women to the level of the men." Kool responded: "This is top class. I am super happy that it is being picked up like this and implemented immediately," adding, "It shows that the Eneco Tour really considers the women just as important as the men."
"We organize the women’s and men’s races together and want to give both the same attention. The same performance deserves the same platform," said Race Director Roxane Knetemann. "That is why we already ensure that all teams receive a good expense allowance to start here, which is not common at all races. But that also includes prize money right from the start. It is good that we can realize this together with Eneco for this edition." Organisers had even tried to intermingle the men's and women's riders in the opening prologue, until the UCI rejected that plan due to security and insurance reasons.