Eneco Tour responds to women's race critique by matching men's prize pool: "The same performance deserves the same reward"
Cycling
Under a new name, this year's Eneco Tour brings together the revived men's Tour of Holland and women's Simac Ladies Tour under the same branding. The two events are formally different events, but share schedules, venues, and much of parcours. And now the prize pool too!
Initially, the Eneco Tour followed the UCI's prize money guidelines for the respective race categories, which led to substantially varied financial rewards for men and women. This has been pointed out by Charlotte Kool following the race's prologue where female winner Lieke Nooijen earned just €220, whereas Jakob Söderqvist collected €1,490 for his triumph. Both completed the same course.
"Same start time, same distance and same energy," prologue runner-up Kool wrote in her Instagram story that evening.
Her comment was not missed by the organizer, who did not take long to act accordingly. The outcome is that the women's race prize pool has been immediately and retrospectivaly matched to that of men's event.
Times change
It was not a hard decision. After all equal prize money had already been part of the longer term plans agreed between Eneco and TIG Sports & Events. But it was Kool who most helped tip the scales as quickly.
"We organise the women's and men's races together and want to give both the same attention," race director Roxane Knetemann explained. "The same performance deserves the same platform."
Knetemann further pointed out that the organisers were already putting in a lot of extra effort to promote the women's event. Especially with so many talented Dutch riders at the start.
"We already ensure that all teams receive a good contribution towards their expenses to start here, which isn't common at every race. Equal prize money should be part of that too," Knetemann outlined.
Kool approves
In the meantime, Kool grabbed another second place, before losing notable amount of time during the stage 2 individual time trial. With two stages remaining, she remains within the firing range of final podium, sitting 9th overall with just a 15-second margin to thrid Nienke Vinke.
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Regarding the prize pool change, Kool was delighted to see the quick response from organizer, especially as the new prize money will apply to results achieved previously this week as well.
"This is a great move. I'm really happy they've taken it on board and implemented it immediately," she said. "It shows that the Eneco Tour really considers the women just as important as the men."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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