KEY TAKEAWAYS
Taylor, a female world tour cyclist racing for Trek-Segafredo, says she came out with zero backlash from the female peloton. Then she asked male pro cyclists why there are no openly gay men in the sport. Their answer was that gay men wouldn't survive.
The contrast is stark. Multiple female riders across world tour cycling are openly gay and Taylor says it was treated like nothing when she came out. The male peloton has zero openly gay riders. Taylor has spoken directly to male pros about this and they told her they don't believe gay men could handle it, that they couldn't be professional athletes. That's not a fringe view she heard once. That's what's keeping riders closeted right now.
On the money side, Trek-Segafredo moved to match the men's minimum salary before the UCI mandated it. The UCI women's world tour minimum sits at $21,000. Below world tour level it gets worse fast. Taylor raced division national in France for €50 a week. She's heard of Italian pro-conti setups where riders receive €30,000 and are required to contribute €30,000 back in coaching fees, so they net zero. The Cyclist Alliance ran an anonymous salary survey specifically because nobody talks about what they earn, and girls without agents have no idea what to ask for.
If the culture and business side of pro cycling interests you, the Team Sky marginal gains episode covers how money and secrecy shaped the men's peloton from the inside. The Peloton rise and fall episode is worth your time too if you want to understand how fragile the sport's commercial model actually is.
As of recording, the women's WorldTour peloton includes multiple openly gay riders with no professional consequence, while the men's WorldTour peloton has zero openly gay riders — a statistical impossibility that reflects cultural barriers, not athletic ones.
Source: Taylor, Trek-Segafredo professional cyclist
Male professional cyclists, when asked privately why there are no openly gay men in the pro peloton, have told Taylor that gay men "wouldn't survive" the cultural environment of the men's peloton.
Source: Taylor, recounting conversations with male pro cyclists
The Mormon church's official LGBTQ policy has shifted multiple times, including a policy (later reversed after public backlash) requiring children of gay parents to disavow their parents in order to be baptised.
Source: Taylor, recounting Mormon church policy history
Suburban Salt Lake City public high schools commonly have student populations that are approximately 95% Mormon, creating significant social pressure on non-Mormon and LGBTQ students to conceal identity to maintain peer relationships.
Source: Taylor, on growing up in suburban Utah
“I came out when I was a cyclist and literally had no backlash from the female pelaton. It was treated like it was nothing, you know, there was no big deal. And that that is really how it should be in all of society. Like it should not be a big deal.”
“I've even had conversations with male pro cyclists where I've asked why don't you think there's any gay men in the prop pelaton and they say I don't think they would survive and I was like what do you mean by that like how could you say that you don't think they would survive and they literally think there's no gay men in the pelon because they wouldn't be able to hack it.”
“Tre set a minimum wage the same as the men. So that's a UCI rule but Tre Seafredo made did it before I think the UCI is going to make it a rule in the next year or two that they're uh the minimum salary equal to the men's minimum salary but TRE went ahead and did that before they could make that rule.”
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