The Cyclist Alliance (TCA) announced Tuesday (open in new tab) that it has appointed an ethics officer to better support athletes who have experienced abuse or mistreatment in the professional cycling community. Judith van Maanen, an experienced legal counsel, will be the first point of contact for athletes with complaints or inquiries. [Recent news and developments in women's cycling have made it clear that the sport needs a major change in its culture, and Judith van Maanen will be the first point of contact for athletes with complaints or inquiries. Judith is an experienced legal advisor, an avid amateur cyclist, and has a detailed understanding of women's cycling." Our casework regularly deals with routine abuse and sexual harassment against riders, so this role will be critical as we take the next steps to support as many riders as possible."

The voluntary role will be to help riders to the extent of their complaints; guiding riders through relevant regulations, norms, and applicable laws; and focusing on navigating riders through the various stakeholders involved in the process, including the UCI Ethics Committee, national federations, and local police.

The UCI Ethics Committee is currently investigating formal complaints of abuse against Healthmate-Cycle Live director Patrick Van Gansen and Dolcini Van Eyck director Marc Bracke. The allegations center on the UCI Code of Ethics: Appendix 1 provides for protection of physical and mental integrity, sexual harassment, and abuse.

The TCA, through its extensive rider investigation, contributed to recent changes to the UCI Code of Ethics: in November 2018, the UCI updated its Code of Ethics to better protect athletes in cases of harassment and abuse and included three main changes. Improved "anonymity of the complainant" to protect the privacy of the victim; a dedicated reporting channel for filing complaints; and identification of a contact person with the right for teams to collect information related to sexual harassment and abuse situations and to take action with the UCI Ethics Committee on behalf of the team and rider The team shall be able to do so.

The TCA is widely regarded as the de facto union of women's cycling and was initially intended to provide contract and educational assistance, career advice, and legal and retirement support. Since then, it has expanded to include services to improve career opportunities, advocate for fairness and equality, resolve disputes, and support and enhance the sport's popularity.

Support services include free legal advice and dispute resolution, contract health checks and negotiation advice, now a full-time ethics officer, education on athlete rights, and a private electronic social platform for immediate communication on topics and important issues, financial planning and post-career guidance, mentorship programs, and preferential insurance offerings.

The association was awarded a $75,000 grant from the Rapha Foundation earlier this year. The association said it will use the funds to implement seven new plans to revolutionize the compensation and culture of professional women's cycling.

The seven-point plan includes: world and continental teams, minimum salaries, maternity leave, race/training cost sharing, paid time off, life and disability insurance, eligibility, checks, professional support team members, a standard approach to race safety It is intended to advocate to cycling's national and international governing bodies to implement the following minimum standards for all athletes.