When bicycles started to come into fashion, many men did not like the concept of women on bikes. Well, they were against most things that empowered women. Nevertheless, bikes soon became a standard means of transportation for all. And now gender borders are softened both in professional and recreative cycling.

When I started studying art history it was a practical joke to ask young students what women artists we like. The effect was, one started to think, turning red and then stuttering a few names like Judith Leyster, Frida Kahlo, or – as a good Swiss student ¬ Meret Oppenheim. If today you would do the same to cycling fans, the result would be similar, even though women participate at the Olympics since 1988. Perhaps a few will remember Dutch track and road legend Leontien van Moorsel, four-time Olympic gold medalist Laura Trott, three-time gold medalist Kristin Armstrong, twice gold medalist and BMX world champion Mariana Pajón, or simply Kittie Weston-Knauer, the oldest female BMX racer in the U.S. But that’s nothing to the awareness of male stars of the recent past like Miguel Indurain, Chris Froome, or Nairo Quintana. – But this is about to change.

Women are embracing cycling on all levels and catching up heavily. Cycling becomes part of the attitude of a generation that likes nature and civilization, city and countryside, that cares about environment and climate, wants to be in balance not only with themselves but also with the world.

We see it all around: The streets are full of cycling women, among the mountain bikers you find more women, more couples enjoy time in nature together. Initiatives such as #fastandfemaleSUI empower female cyclistics and grow rapidly. Women attend races like Rapha’s Women’s 100, an annual race held since 2012. And in our office half of our female staff purchased new racing bikes this spring. Pull your socks up!

And Le Picot? – We hear the demand and start launching the first couple of items for women in the upcoming “Make Sense” and “Heritage” collections. And hopefully, we will have a full women’s line in the next couple of years.