TweedLove breaks down barriers for women in enduro
Famous enduro series adds categories to encourage female participation
With enduro being a very male-dominated sport, TweedLove organisers are taking positive steps to get women taking part in the famous enduro. By adding a range of female-specific age categories, TweedLove hopes to encourage women to get racing.
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“TweedLove has always been about inclusiveness, right from our first events 10 years ago,” says TweedLove founder Neil Dalgleish. “But there’s no doubt female participation levels have been less than we’d like. Hopefully, the introduction of more categories which allows women to race with those of similar age will help a little, but we have to look at other ways to attract more women into mountain biking and cycling.”
Usually, in enduro, race organisers use broader categories in order to fill podiums but there's a growing consensus that the categories have become too broad to the point that they miss the 'opportunity to try' ethos of enduro.
With this in mind, Tweedlove has developed a new category system that will be in place for the 2020 Triple Crown series. This year, the categories available to women are;
- Youth, 14 – 15
- Junior, Under 18
- Under 21
- Senior, 21 – 34
- Master, 35 – 45
- Vet 45+
“Confidence is a barrier with females”, Andrea explains. “We are frightened to fail and we possess this ‘mummy gene’ where we always think of the ‘what ifs’. None of this is to say we aren’t capable - because we are - and we are much more capable than we think. I do believe that for enduro, introducing additional age categories for women is encouraging and will work in some way to improving the numbers.”
The TweedLove Triple Crown series kicks off in March with the first round taking place in Vallujah (now sold out). The second round, Tenduro, will take place during the TweedLove Bike Festival weekend, 29th-31st of May. The Enjoyro will also be held during the festival. The final round, King and Queen of the Hill will take place on the 14th and 15th of August.
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