Incident detection app Flare (formerly Busby) has partnered with The Cyclists’ Alliance to offer its affiliate program to the alliance’s pro cyclist members.
Having polled its elite riders in 2021, The Cyclists’ Alliance found that the number of professional female riders who were not remunerated had increased from 17% in 2018 to 34% in 2021. The organisation notes that this is due, for the most part, because no minimum salary exists for UCI Women’s Continental Road teams.
In a release, The Cyclists’ Alliance (TCA) noted that… ‘Driving awareness of the hardship experienced by over a third of the women’s professional road peloton to fans through our owned channels and media is great for publicly advocating for and compelling the governing (UCI) to implement equal minimum ‘base’ salaries across both divisions of the professional sport.
‘However, awareness of the issue and advocating for change doesn’t provide an immediate solution for the female cyclists who are struggling to make ends meet as they invest the same amount of time to train and race for their UCI team and country as their paid counterparts.’
The Cyclists’ Alliance has partnered with Flare as a first test case. This aims to deliver additional revenue streams for riders. Within the affiliate partnership, Flare will pay the TCA professional cyclist an amount of £7 for every £15 premium Flare annual subscription sold via the professional cyclist’s unique trackable affiliate code for as long as the user remains a Flare user.
TCA has created a professional and safe affiliate contract for any TCA professional cyclists that would like to join Flare’s affiliate program.
“As the wage disparity gap widens between the top tier of women and those trying to break into the top tier of professional cycling, it’s important that riders are empowered to monetise their athlete status to finance the beginning of their early career,” said TCA Staff Member Lexi Brown.
“If you’re already earning less than those you compete against, it quickly becomes a barrier as you can’t afford the same level of services to maximise your potential. It’s important for professional athletes to understand about the different options available to them to diversify their revenue streams so that they can be financially independent, and TCA will continue to educate riders so that they can be empowered to make informed decisions.”
In addition to the affiliate program, Flare will offer all rider and supported members access to a premium subscription for one year. Using Flare will enable users with additional safety when out riding and reduced risk allowing medical or mechanical assistance to be arranged quickly and remotely.
If an injury is detected, the app will alert emergency contacts and identify a real time location by using what3words. This means a quicker response time for medical or mechanical assistance.
Besides raising safety awareness with the aim of protecting all riders, Flare offers features such as on-demand SOS alerting, GroupSafe and hazard reporting features that can enhance safety for its members.
Kirk Ryan, Flare Founder and CTO, said “We firmly believe in equality for all, especially the right to feel safe. Unfortunately, as recent headlines have illustrated, this is not the case for many women, especially when outdoors by themselves.
“It’s a sad state of affairs to think that many women are feeling intimidated, vulnerable or threatened throughout their daily lives. One of the benefits of Flare that targets these issues is the built in SOS feature.
“This is an essential tool which allows users to discreetly call for help if they ever feel unsafe or threatened. It can be voice activated or a simple tap of a button. A live tracking link is then sent to all nearby Flare users and the user’s 5 emergency contacts so help can arrive ASAP.”
www.cyclistsalliance.org
www.getflare.app
