The Women's Tour of Flanders in 2022 will offer the same total prize money as the men's event, announced Thomas van den Spiegel, CEO of Flanders Classics.

In an interview with Belgian financial newspaper De Tijd (opens in new tab), van den Spiegel said that €50,000 will be offered as the total prize money for the women's and men's competitions, with €20,000 going to the winner of each race.

The move is part of the "Closing the Gap" initiative led by Flanders Classic and accounting firm KPMG, which was announced two years ago. The plan was aimed at raising the level of women's cycling in Flanders, and the move to increase prize money at the Tour de Flanders is one year ahead of schedule.

"This season we are making an effort to increase the prize money for the women's edition of the Tour of Flanders to €50,000," van den Spiegel said.

"This is the same amount that will be distributed to the men's winners; we intend to equalize the prize money for all spring races from 2023 onwards."

Other races under the Flanders Classic umbrella include the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Ghent-Wevelgem, Dwar door Fraunderen, Scheldepries, and Brabants Pile, each with a men's and women's race.

This time last year, the Flanders Classic was criticized for the difference in prize money awarded to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winners Davide Ballerini and Anna van der Breggen. In the men's race, Ballerini won €16,000 of the €40,000 prize money, while van der Breggen only won €930 of the €4,600 prize money.

At the time, Van den Spiegel took to Twitter to defend his organization, saying that "six-figure funds were spent to bring the race up a category and broadcast it on TV for the first time," and that the Flanders Classic would "continue to promote equality in cycling." He added.

In an interview with De Tijd, he said that the resources invested by Flanders Classics and KPMG are being invested "specifically" for the further professionalization of women's cycling. He also compared the sport to the more egalitarian state of tennis, noting that cycling has taken "huge steps" in the past decade.

"Professionalism is the watchword of KPMG and Flanders Classics. 'No social work here.' Resources are invested specifically for more professional women's cycling.

"That's why this year we are also focusing on organizing races in the youth category to broaden our base."

Van der Spiegel also mentioned the obstacles still faced in the growth of women's cycling, such as additional funding from television companies and sponsors. Holding the races on different days and separating the "product", rather than having the women's race a few hours before the men's race, is another goal of the Flanders Classics.

"We still face many obstacles. 'Television rights fees for the women's race have not yet been paid. As for revenues from sponsors and VIP packages, we are too dependent on the men's race, which takes place on the same day. We have to come up with a product that can stand alone as much as possible."

Stephanie Pauwels, head of sales and marketing at KPMG, said the company has invested €1 million in women's cycling as part of its "Closing the Gap" initiative. She noted how the money was spent, including helping to up-categorize the race.

"In recent years, we have invested €1 million in women's cycling with "Closing the Gap." "Apart from start funds and prize money, these funds have been used to pay the UCI so that more women's races can be licensed and put on the calendar. Efforts were also made to obtain races in higher categories.

The 2022 Spring Classics kick off this weekend with the first Flanders Classic race of the season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday. The Kuhne Brussel Kuhne (men only) will follow on Sunday.