KPBS Midday Edition

Women's Professional Cycling Making Headway

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Pat Finn / Producer

Published February 4, 2016 at 8:12 AM PST

This story was published more than 8 years ago.

Women's Professional Cycling Making Headway

Women's Professional CyclingGUESTS:Mari Holden, director, UCI U.S. Women's World Tour Team Denise Mueller, amateur cyclist

Women's professional bicycle racing is, to say the least, not a well-known sport in this country.

The Union Cycliste Internationale, the governing body which controls professional cycling worldwide, does have a branch for women's racing. The 2016 World Tour schedule includes more events — single-day and multi-day — for women, which many believe is a step forward.

But the sponsors, participants and the prize money are not nearly on a par with the men's sport.

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The U.S. Team Twenty16, the UCI Women's World Tour team, is trying to change all that, starting with this year's Amgen Tour of California. For that multi-day race beginning on May 15, the women will start in Lake Tahoe, while the men start in San Diego.

Some women cyclists believe there is no reason men and women should not compete in the same races; that women, for instance, could field a team in the Tour de France. Others, like Mari Holden, director of the UCI Women's World Tour team, are opposed. Men, she said, are stronger. Racing in a men's event, therefore, wouldn't really be a competition, she added.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Pat Finn

Pat Finn previously served as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and KPBS Evening Edition. Finn began her career in broadcasting at KTLA and KCET in Los Angeles. In 1979 she became KPBS’ Public Information Director, then Director of Advertising and Promotion, Program Director, and Director of Broadcasting. She oversaw the station’s local and national productions, including the one-hour documentary Los Romeros: The Royal Family of the Guitar, and Child Protective Services, a one-hour look inside the San Diego County agency responsible for the welfare of at risk children. Both programs also aired on public television stations nationwide. Finn has earned honors from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

See stories by Pat Finn