Sarah King interview: redefining women’s cycling from within
Sarah King, manager of London Academy cycling team, on prioritising women's support and empowerment, embracing transparency, mentorship, and inclusive development
Sarah King is not your typical cycling team manager. As the manager of the London Academy cycling team, she stands out as a pioneering female team manager in the predominantly male-dominated cycling management scene, bringing a fresh and inclusive approach to leadership.
This approach is not just about guiding a team; King prioritises the well being and professional growth of her riders, emphasising transparency, honesty, and open communication. Her philosophy of ‘happy heads, happy legs’ underscores the importance of mental health and enjoyment in achieving competitive success and personal fulfillment in cycling. Through initiatives like her rider mentoring programme, King has implemented innovative strategies to support and develop her riders.
I think the whole team is about all these small steps, just making a little bit of difference. I can’t do one big thing, but I can just start chipping away at stuff
Her commitment extends beyond her team too, aiming to influence the broader racing community and shift the narrative towards a more equitable future in the sport. Through King’s community workshops, such as her Bike Racing 101 sessions, she shares her vast wealth of knowledge and experience, helping to make bike racing more accessible, and encouraging participation and engagement from a broader audience.
The British Continental recently sat down with King to delve into her innovative approach to team management, her advocacy for women in cycling, and her perspectives on the evolution and current challenges facing women’s domestic road racing.
Image: Oliver Brookwell
King first got involved with the London Academy team in 2021 when it existed under the guise of Team Watto, named after then team manager Ian Watson. Watson was also running Team LDN at the time, which later morphed into Hutchinson Brother UK and has now merged with the DAS Handsling team. “I think I appeared halfway through the year and got chatting to him and said, ‘I want to help out with something. What can I do?’ He handed me the team saying, ‘Do you want to look after this?'” King recalls.
King says she spent the next couple of years “just getting on with it and figuring out what I wanted to do”. Now, two and half years later and rebranded as the London Academy, the team is a completely separate entity in its own right.
She says that her approach to running the team is informed by her own racing career and her desire to create team based on ‘all the best bits’ of her experiences. With a career spanning over 15 years in competitive racing, King’s journey has been a tapestry of experiences: “I’ve experienced a lot of things. I’ve been part of quite a few different teams. I’ve come in and out of the sport. I’ve fallen in love with it and fallen out of love with it, and also had friends and people that I race with have good and bad experiences as well.” How does that experience impact on her approach?
I’ve seen the over-promising and the under-delivering. I’ve experienced the lack of transparency and honesty. I want to do things differently
“I just want better for the riders,” King reflects, her voice tinged with determination. “I’ve seen the over-promising and the under-delivering. I’ve experienced the lack of transparency and honesty. I want to do things differently.
“Most of us are doing it for a hobby. It’s a serious hobby and it takes a lot of our time. Why do we need to add on all that extra stress when actually you can hopefully just have a team manager that tells you what’s going on, and you can approach that team manager and have an honest, open conversation where you’re not scared to not get a ride.”
King pinning on numbers at the 2023 Guildford Town Centre Races. Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
For King, the ethos of the London Academy is simple yet profound: happy heads, happy legs. “If my bike rider is happy and enjoying what they’re doing, then those results will just turn up and come,” King explains. “Whereas if they’re stressed and worried about something or thinking they’re going to lose their place, they’re probably not going to get the best out of their racing and they’re not going to enjoy it.
A lot of riders come into the sport full gas, and they go and race some big races, and they get disheartened because something goes wrong and no one really helps them figure out where to go next. They drop out of the sport really quickly
“A lot of riders come into the sport full gas, and they go and race some big races, and they get disheartened because something goes wrong and no one really helps them figure out where to go next. They drop out of the sport really quickly. That’s a lot of talent that drops out of the sport. If I can stop some of that talent dropping out of the sport, and we can give them a proper pathway and knowledge and skills to be equipped to race at that level, then that’s great. Ultimately, that hopefully strengthens the entire peloton because there’s more people racing with more knowledge and more skills and just more rounded view of the sport.”
King’s philosophy is rooted in transparency, openness, and a genuine commitment to rider welfare. “At the heart of it all is openness,” she says “If you were to see inside our WhatsApp chat group, for example, people will tell people how they’re feeling. I hope that because I’m open about how I am, or how I’m feeling about things, then I hope that then means the riders can feel that, too.”
But fostering happiness extends beyond mere words—it’s about creating a supportive community where riders feel valued, empowered, and confident in their abilities.
Image: Oliver Brookwell
“We try to get together a lot,” King continues. “Whether it’s in person or through online workshops, building those bonds is essential. When riders feel supported and connected, they’re more likely to show up and enjoy the experience.”
Indeed, the success of the London Academy lies not only in its results on the road but in the strength of the relationships forged within the team. With 70% of riders returning for another season in 2024, and seven new riders welcomed into the fold, King’s approach appears to be resonating.
Yes, I’m serious about organisation and commitment, but I also believe in enjoying the journey. If it isn’t fun for me, then I shouldn’t be doing it
“I try to have a bit of fun with it,” King admits with a smile. “Yes, I’m serious about organisation and commitment, but I also believe in enjoying the journey. If it isn’t fun for me, then I shouldn’t be doing it.”
2024 marks a pivotal year for the London Academy, as it is the first year the team has had a budget of sorts. King is judiciously allocating these newfound resources towards race entries, particularly emphasising the British Team Cup series—a National B level series that she believes is instrumental in teaching riders how to road race effectively while experimenting with tactics in a low-pressure environment. “I think it’s a brilliant National B level series that helps riders learn how to road race,” King asserts, highlighting her commitment to nurturing her athletes’ development and competitive acumen.
King’s passion for cycling is not just about competition though; it’s about building a community where women cyclists, regardless of their experience level, feel supported and informed. She observes, “teams are their own little entity,” which can be intimidating for those looking to break into the sport. To bridge this gap, King has spearheaded efforts to make the entry into cycling more accessible.
Image: Craig Bruce
“I want to demystify that a bit and say the Academy isn’t just a race team. It’s a community of women who race bikes,” King explains. Her Bike Racing 101 workshops are a testament to this vision, offering a primer on everything from navigating registration websites to the nuances of race day preparation, open to anyone with an interest in racing.
I’ve always been mentored by someone I met when I started racing when I was 16, and I still talk to them now. It’s probably kept me in racing and in cycling
King’s mentoring program stands out as a cornerstone of her approach to supporting women in cycling. Drawing from her own experiences being mentored since the age of 16, King recognises the profound impact that guidance and support can have on an athlete’s career. “I’ve always been mentored by someone I met when I started racing when I was 16, and I still talk to them now,” she reflects. “It’s probably kept me in racing and in cycling”, underscoring the value of having a mentor to turn to during challenging times. This realisation spurred the creation of a mentoring programme within her team, connecting novice racers with seasoned veterans who can share their insights and experiences.
“We started off last year with seven or eight mentors across the team,” explains King. “Most people were doubled up and I mentor as well. Then I put a call out for some more for this year, and I got another 10 people. All these people are racers that already race. They’re all people in that bunch, that are within the teams, but every single person I pretty much spoke to said, ‘I don’t know how to give back. There’s no real way of me like actually giving back and doing something for the sport. This seems like something that I’d be able to do that with.’ They’ve all had different experiences of racing. They’re sharing their knowledge with these racers that are just coming in.”
The success of the mentoring program highlights a broader desire within the cycling community for ways to contribute and give back. King’s efforts extend beyond individual support to fostering a broader dialogue within the women’s cycling community. Hosting panel discussions and end-of-season parties, she creates spaces for open conversation about the challenges and triumphs of racing. These events, featuring voices like Hannah Barnes alongside emerging talents, offer invaluable insights and foster a sense of solidarity among participants.
Image: Oliver Brookwell
“You could tell that it resonated,” Kings says of the team’s end of season event with Barnes, “Because the Q&A afterwards, people asked really personal questions, and actually wanted to ask about their racing and what they could do. I think there’s a real need for it.”
As someone who wears multiple helmets – be it as a racer, a mentor, or the driving force behind the London Academy, as well as managing a busy day job – the question that naturally arises is: how does she manage it all?
For King, balance is not just a concept but a constant companion in her pursuit of excellence. “Balance is the thing that has followed me around since I started racing,” she reflects. “Sometimes it’s absolutely wonderful and sometimes it’s awful and overwhelming.” Despite the challenges, Sarah remains committed to finding a way through, often seeking solace and clarity on her bike rides. “A lot of that is just time for me to think and go and do the thing that I love doing. I’m really grateful that that’s something I still enjoy,” she says.
King highlights that transparency within her team and setting clear boundaries will be pivotal for managing her multifaceted role more effectively this year. “I definitely let it get on top of me last year a little bit because I started a new job,” she reveals. “I’ve been much more transparent with the team in terms of how I’m finding it, which means that I need to put more boundaries in. That’s the word of the year in 2024, to be able to manage it better.”
A big thing for me in terms of growing the team is growing the support around it and how people want to get involved
One of Sarah’s key insights is the recognition that sustainable growth for the London Academy hinges on a collective effort. The pitfalls of a one-person show are all too familiar in the realm of team management. To counter this, Sarah emphasises the importance of building a robust support system around the team. “The thing that I think most teams fall down in is that one person is doing all the work,” King says. “I’ve seen it so many times. A big thing for me in terms of growing the team is growing the support around it and how people want to get involved.”
Lucy Neatham wins the 2023 Witham Hall GP. Image: Huw Williams
Sarah’s reservoir of motivation is deep, fed by a lifetime of competitive sports. From swimming at the tender age of 10 to her current cycling endeavors, Sarah has always been propelled by an inner drive. Her reflections with her parents reveal a lifelong commitment to pushing boundaries and exploring new horizons. “I was chatting to my parents over at Christmas and they were just like you just always wanted to do things,” King says. “I just think I’ve gotten so because I’ve been in competitive sport for so long, and I’ve gained so much from it, it defines who I am now and how I do my day job, and how I interact with people.”
I think the women’s domestic scene is really exciting at the moment
King’s enthusiasm for the women’s domestic racing scene is palpable. She highlights the positive shifts she has observed over the years, emphasising the progress made. “There’s a lot of negativity around it, but I think the women’s domestic scene is really exciting at the moment,” King states.
This excitement stems from witnessing a level of professionalism that was once exclusive to men’s cycling. “The thing that sold it to me was when I was at Guildford Crit and at Newark GP last year. I was surrounded by women’s team cars and women sat in their teams with their team manager. I never used to see that… the women’s side it’s better than it ever has been.”
However, King also acknowledges the complexities and potential pitfalls of rapid advancement in the sport, particularly the transition to UCI Continental level by a number of elite team this season. She expresses mixed feelings about this shift, noting that while it’s a positive step for some, it might be premature for others. It’s not a step King ever foresees for the London Academy. “I don’t think I’ll ever do that with the Academy,” she says. “I want to do really well at what we’re doing and keep doing it,” highlighting the need for a team like the Academy as part of a rider pathway to the top of the sport.
Is there a risk now that there’ll be too high a jump up between the elite level and the UCI Continental level in the UK, or that riders are being asked to move up a level before they are ready, I ask? “That’s what I worry about, that people will jump up fast,” King concurs. “I wouldn’t want to see them leave the sport because of that, because it’s hard to come back down.”
Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
For her own riders, King says her priority is the well-being and readiness of riders, advocating for a balanced approach to progression in the sport. “My number one is making sure that the riders are happy with where they are with things,” she states, emphasising the need for careful consideration before moving up in competition. “That’s why in the Academy if you want to do a national, you have to ask me before you enter. That’s not to discourage, that’s to make sure that someone has all the information they need before they go and do it.”
King also points out the necessity of supporting race organisers and encouraging early race entries to sustain a healthy and vibrant racing ecosystem. “I know it’s a real struggle for race organisers and everything,” she says, “and I want to make sure that people do enter races earlier. I’m going to keep driving that on our socials in terms of a community thing because we should be entering stuff earlier just to help people out, it works both ways so the organisers can help us out a bit and we’ll help them out a bit.” Her call for mutual support between the cycling community and event organisers underlines the collaborative effort required to foster growth and stability in women’s cycling.
Our chat concludes with me asking King about the predominance of male team managers in women’s cycling, both at the domestic and professional levels. In the UK, all six UCI Continental women’s teams are male-managed, and many elite women’s teams are too. Is that a problem, I ask? King suggests that the issue isn’t solely about the gender of the person in charge but more about the attitudes and structures in place.
I think if there are men running teams that there should be at least a rider liaison or someone, a woman in there, that can be a point of contact
“I think it’s more the attitude of the person rather than it is whether it’s a man or a woman sometimes,” she argues, advocating for the integration of female liaisons within teams to bridge communication gaps, thereby fostering a more inclusive environment. “
“I think if there are men running teams that there should be at least a rider liaison or someone, a woman in there, that can be a point of contact,” advocates King. “I think that’s the thing that I found when I was on teams before, and that sometimes riders won’t open up to male managers, understandably so and more riders more than others. Having that point of contact within the team that you can go to that isn’t the male manager hopefully, will open up a lot of conversations. There are just things that riders don’t tell people.”
Jessica Prior at the 2023 Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix presented by Wattbike. Image: Oliver Brookwell/SWpix.com
King’s own journey as one of the few female team managers shines a light on the broader challenges women face in assuming leadership roles within the sport. She candidly shares her experience of feeling out of place among her male counterparts: “I’m one of the only women female team managers. There’s only a handful of us, and I’m probably the youngest out of the lot. The thing for me is we’re walking into that team managers meeting at a national series, and I’m stood around with a load of middle-aged men, and it’s actually quite intimidating.”
I’m one of the only women female team managers. There’s only a handful of us, and I’m probably the youngest out of the lot … I’m stood around with a load of middle-aged men, and it’s actually quite intimidating
This admission underscores an important barrier, one that might potentially be deterring other women from pursuing similar paths due to the daunting prospect of navigating a male-dominated environment. “It’s prohibitive to more women going and doing that because they might feel the same as me,” says King.
The conversation then shifts to the underlying reasons for the gender disparity in team management roles. King speculates on the factors that may contribute to this imbalance, including the demands of running a team and the financial and time commitments that such a role entails. “I couldn’t probably run an elite team that travels around the country and goes to Europe because I have a full-time job,” she explains, highlighting a reality that many potential female managers face. This reflection brings to light the structural and societal hurdles that women encounter, not just in cycling but in various sectors where leadership roles are often gendered.
Yet, amidst these challenges, King remains hopeful and proactive. She envisions a future where more women are empowered to take on leadership roles within cycling, spurred by initiatives like mentoring programmes that aim to retain and support women in the sport. King’s call to action is both a reflection of her personal commitment and a rallying cry for the community: “I put out a call for people for help with a team the other day and a couple of women said, ‘Can I come and get DS experience with you?’ Great. That’s the first step to something. I think the whole team is about all these small steps, just making a little bit of difference. I can’t do one big thing, but I can just start chipping away at stuff and saying, “This is how I think we should maybe do things,” she concludes. It’s a gesture that not only exemplifies her approach to fostering female leadership but also serves as a beacon for others to follow suit.
Join us at the London Academy’s 2024 Launch Party here.
Sarah King is not your typical cycling team manager. As the manager of the London Academy cycling team, she stands out as a pioneering female team manager in the predominantly male-dominated cycling management scene, bringing a fresh and inclusive approach to leadership.
This approach is not just about guiding a team; King prioritises the well being and professional growth of her riders, emphasising transparency, honesty, and open communication. Her philosophy of ‘happy heads, happy legs’ underscores the importance of mental health and enjoyment in achieving competitive success and personal fulfillment in cycling. Through initiatives like her rider mentoring programme, King has implemented innovative strategies to support and develop her riders.
Her commitment extends beyond her team too, aiming to influence the broader racing community and shift the narrative towards a more equitable future in the sport. Through King’s community workshops, such as her Bike Racing 101 sessions, she shares her vast wealth of knowledge and experience, helping to make bike racing more accessible, and encouraging participation and engagement from a broader audience.
The British Continental recently sat down with King to delve into her innovative approach to team management, her advocacy for women in cycling, and her perspectives on the evolution and current challenges facing women’s domestic road racing.
King first got involved with the London Academy team in 2021 when it existed under the guise of Team Watto, named after then team manager Ian Watson. Watson was also running Team LDN at the time, which later morphed into Hutchinson Brother UK and has now merged with the DAS Handsling team. “I think I appeared halfway through the year and got chatting to him and said, ‘I want to help out with something. What can I do?’ He handed me the team saying, ‘Do you want to look after this?'” King recalls.
King says she spent the next couple of years “just getting on with it and figuring out what I wanted to do”. Now, two and half years later and rebranded as the London Academy, the team is a completely separate entity in its own right.
She says that her approach to running the team is informed by her own racing career and her desire to create team based on ‘all the best bits’ of her experiences. With a career spanning over 15 years in competitive racing, King’s journey has been a tapestry of experiences: “I’ve experienced a lot of things. I’ve been part of quite a few different teams. I’ve come in and out of the sport. I’ve fallen in love with it and fallen out of love with it, and also had friends and people that I race with have good and bad experiences as well.” How does that experience impact on her approach?
“I just want better for the riders,” King reflects, her voice tinged with determination. “I’ve seen the over-promising and the under-delivering. I’ve experienced the lack of transparency and honesty. I want to do things differently.
“Most of us are doing it for a hobby. It’s a serious hobby and it takes a lot of our time. Why do we need to add on all that extra stress when actually you can hopefully just have a team manager that tells you what’s going on, and you can approach that team manager and have an honest, open conversation where you’re not scared to not get a ride.”
For King, the ethos of the London Academy is simple yet profound: happy heads, happy legs. “If my bike rider is happy and enjoying what they’re doing, then those results will just turn up and come,” King explains. “Whereas if they’re stressed and worried about something or thinking they’re going to lose their place, they’re probably not going to get the best out of their racing and they’re not going to enjoy it.
“A lot of riders come into the sport full gas, and they go and race some big races, and they get disheartened because something goes wrong and no one really helps them figure out where to go next. They drop out of the sport really quickly. That’s a lot of talent that drops out of the sport. If I can stop some of that talent dropping out of the sport, and we can give them a proper pathway and knowledge and skills to be equipped to race at that level, then that’s great. Ultimately, that hopefully strengthens the entire peloton because there’s more people racing with more knowledge and more skills and just more rounded view of the sport.”
King’s philosophy is rooted in transparency, openness, and a genuine commitment to rider welfare. “At the heart of it all is openness,” she says “If you were to see inside our WhatsApp chat group, for example, people will tell people how they’re feeling. I hope that because I’m open about how I am, or how I’m feeling about things, then I hope that then means the riders can feel that, too.”
But fostering happiness extends beyond mere words—it’s about creating a supportive community where riders feel valued, empowered, and confident in their abilities.
“We try to get together a lot,” King continues. “Whether it’s in person or through online workshops, building those bonds is essential. When riders feel supported and connected, they’re more likely to show up and enjoy the experience.”
Indeed, the success of the London Academy lies not only in its results on the road but in the strength of the relationships forged within the team. With 70% of riders returning for another season in 2024, and seven new riders welcomed into the fold, King’s approach appears to be resonating.
“I try to have a bit of fun with it,” King admits with a smile. “Yes, I’m serious about organisation and commitment, but I also believe in enjoying the journey. If it isn’t fun for me, then I shouldn’t be doing it.”
2024 marks a pivotal year for the London Academy, as it is the first year the team has had a budget of sorts. King is judiciously allocating these newfound resources towards race entries, particularly emphasising the British Team Cup series—a National B level series that she believes is instrumental in teaching riders how to road race effectively while experimenting with tactics in a low-pressure environment. “I think it’s a brilliant National B level series that helps riders learn how to road race,” King asserts, highlighting her commitment to nurturing her athletes’ development and competitive acumen.
King’s passion for cycling is not just about competition though; it’s about building a community where women cyclists, regardless of their experience level, feel supported and informed. She observes, “teams are their own little entity,” which can be intimidating for those looking to break into the sport. To bridge this gap, King has spearheaded efforts to make the entry into cycling more accessible.
“I want to demystify that a bit and say the Academy isn’t just a race team. It’s a community of women who race bikes,” King explains. Her Bike Racing 101 workshops are a testament to this vision, offering a primer on everything from navigating registration websites to the nuances of race day preparation, open to anyone with an interest in racing.
King’s mentoring program stands out as a cornerstone of her approach to supporting women in cycling. Drawing from her own experiences being mentored since the age of 16, King recognises the profound impact that guidance and support can have on an athlete’s career. “I’ve always been mentored by someone I met when I started racing when I was 16, and I still talk to them now,” she reflects. “It’s probably kept me in racing and in cycling”, underscoring the value of having a mentor to turn to during challenging times. This realisation spurred the creation of a mentoring programme within her team, connecting novice racers with seasoned veterans who can share their insights and experiences.
“We started off last year with seven or eight mentors across the team,” explains King. “Most people were doubled up and I mentor as well. Then I put a call out for some more for this year, and I got another 10 people. All these people are racers that already race. They’re all people in that bunch, that are within the teams, but every single person I pretty much spoke to said, ‘I don’t know how to give back. There’s no real way of me like actually giving back and doing something for the sport. This seems like something that I’d be able to do that with.’ They’ve all had different experiences of racing. They’re sharing their knowledge with these racers that are just coming in.”
The success of the mentoring program highlights a broader desire within the cycling community for ways to contribute and give back. King’s efforts extend beyond individual support to fostering a broader dialogue within the women’s cycling community. Hosting panel discussions and end-of-season parties, she creates spaces for open conversation about the challenges and triumphs of racing. These events, featuring voices like Hannah Barnes alongside emerging talents, offer invaluable insights and foster a sense of solidarity among participants.
“You could tell that it resonated,” Kings says of the team’s end of season event with Barnes, “Because the Q&A afterwards, people asked really personal questions, and actually wanted to ask about their racing and what they could do. I think there’s a real need for it.”
As someone who wears multiple helmets – be it as a racer, a mentor, or the driving force behind the London Academy, as well as managing a busy day job – the question that naturally arises is: how does she manage it all?
For King, balance is not just a concept but a constant companion in her pursuit of excellence. “Balance is the thing that has followed me around since I started racing,” she reflects. “Sometimes it’s absolutely wonderful and sometimes it’s awful and overwhelming.” Despite the challenges, Sarah remains committed to finding a way through, often seeking solace and clarity on her bike rides. “A lot of that is just time for me to think and go and do the thing that I love doing. I’m really grateful that that’s something I still enjoy,” she says.
King highlights that transparency within her team and setting clear boundaries will be pivotal for managing her multifaceted role more effectively this year. “I definitely let it get on top of me last year a little bit because I started a new job,” she reveals. “I’ve been much more transparent with the team in terms of how I’m finding it, which means that I need to put more boundaries in. That’s the word of the year in 2024, to be able to manage it better.”
One of Sarah’s key insights is the recognition that sustainable growth for the London Academy hinges on a collective effort. The pitfalls of a one-person show are all too familiar in the realm of team management. To counter this, Sarah emphasises the importance of building a robust support system around the team. “The thing that I think most teams fall down in is that one person is doing all the work,” King says. “I’ve seen it so many times. A big thing for me in terms of growing the team is growing the support around it and how people want to get involved.”
Sarah’s reservoir of motivation is deep, fed by a lifetime of competitive sports. From swimming at the tender age of 10 to her current cycling endeavors, Sarah has always been propelled by an inner drive. Her reflections with her parents reveal a lifelong commitment to pushing boundaries and exploring new horizons. “I was chatting to my parents over at Christmas and they were just like you just always wanted to do things,” King says. “I just think I’ve gotten so because I’ve been in competitive sport for so long, and I’ve gained so much from it, it defines who I am now and how I do my day job, and how I interact with people.”
King’s enthusiasm for the women’s domestic racing scene is palpable. She highlights the positive shifts she has observed over the years, emphasising the progress made. “There’s a lot of negativity around it, but I think the women’s domestic scene is really exciting at the moment,” King states.
This excitement stems from witnessing a level of professionalism that was once exclusive to men’s cycling. “The thing that sold it to me was when I was at Guildford Crit and at Newark GP last year. I was surrounded by women’s team cars and women sat in their teams with their team manager. I never used to see that… the women’s side it’s better than it ever has been.”
However, King also acknowledges the complexities and potential pitfalls of rapid advancement in the sport, particularly the transition to UCI Continental level by a number of elite team this season. She expresses mixed feelings about this shift, noting that while it’s a positive step for some, it might be premature for others. It’s not a step King ever foresees for the London Academy. “I don’t think I’ll ever do that with the Academy,” she says. “I want to do really well at what we’re doing and keep doing it,” highlighting the need for a team like the Academy as part of a rider pathway to the top of the sport.
Is there a risk now that there’ll be too high a jump up between the elite level and the UCI Continental level in the UK, or that riders are being asked to move up a level before they are ready, I ask? “That’s what I worry about, that people will jump up fast,” King concurs. “I wouldn’t want to see them leave the sport because of that, because it’s hard to come back down.”
For her own riders, King says her priority is the well-being and readiness of riders, advocating for a balanced approach to progression in the sport. “My number one is making sure that the riders are happy with where they are with things,” she states, emphasising the need for careful consideration before moving up in competition. “That’s why in the Academy if you want to do a national, you have to ask me before you enter. That’s not to discourage, that’s to make sure that someone has all the information they need before they go and do it.”
King also points out the necessity of supporting race organisers and encouraging early race entries to sustain a healthy and vibrant racing ecosystem. “I know it’s a real struggle for race organisers and everything,” she says, “and I want to make sure that people do enter races earlier. I’m going to keep driving that on our socials in terms of a community thing because we should be entering stuff earlier just to help people out, it works both ways so the organisers can help us out a bit and we’ll help them out a bit.” Her call for mutual support between the cycling community and event organisers underlines the collaborative effort required to foster growth and stability in women’s cycling.
Our chat concludes with me asking King about the predominance of male team managers in women’s cycling, both at the domestic and professional levels. In the UK, all six UCI Continental women’s teams are male-managed, and many elite women’s teams are too. Is that a problem, I ask? King suggests that the issue isn’t solely about the gender of the person in charge but more about the attitudes and structures in place.
“I think it’s more the attitude of the person rather than it is whether it’s a man or a woman sometimes,” she argues, advocating for the integration of female liaisons within teams to bridge communication gaps, thereby fostering a more inclusive environment. “
“I think if there are men running teams that there should be at least a rider liaison or someone, a woman in there, that can be a point of contact,” advocates King. “I think that’s the thing that I found when I was on teams before, and that sometimes riders won’t open up to male managers, understandably so and more riders more than others. Having that point of contact within the team that you can go to that isn’t the male manager hopefully, will open up a lot of conversations. There are just things that riders don’t tell people.”
King’s own journey as one of the few female team managers shines a light on the broader challenges women face in assuming leadership roles within the sport. She candidly shares her experience of feeling out of place among her male counterparts: “I’m one of the only women female team managers. There’s only a handful of us, and I’m probably the youngest out of the lot. The thing for me is we’re walking into that team managers meeting at a national series, and I’m stood around with a load of middle-aged men, and it’s actually quite intimidating.”
This admission underscores an important barrier, one that might potentially be deterring other women from pursuing similar paths due to the daunting prospect of navigating a male-dominated environment. “It’s prohibitive to more women going and doing that because they might feel the same as me,” says King.
The conversation then shifts to the underlying reasons for the gender disparity in team management roles. King speculates on the factors that may contribute to this imbalance, including the demands of running a team and the financial and time commitments that such a role entails. “I couldn’t probably run an elite team that travels around the country and goes to Europe because I have a full-time job,” she explains, highlighting a reality that many potential female managers face. This reflection brings to light the structural and societal hurdles that women encounter, not just in cycling but in various sectors where leadership roles are often gendered.
Yet, amidst these challenges, King remains hopeful and proactive. She envisions a future where more women are empowered to take on leadership roles within cycling, spurred by initiatives like mentoring programmes that aim to retain and support women in the sport. King’s call to action is both a reflection of her personal commitment and a rallying cry for the community: “I put out a call for people for help with a team the other day and a couple of women said, ‘Can I come and get DS experience with you?’ Great. That’s the first step to something. I think the whole team is about all these small steps, just making a little bit of difference. I can’t do one big thing, but I can just start chipping away at stuff and saying, “This is how I think we should maybe do things,” she concludes. It’s a gesture that not only exemplifies her approach to fostering female leadership but also serves as a beacon for others to follow suit.
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