Women in Cycling: Celine Vandenbroucke
Celebrating a passion for life
Celine Vandenbroucke comes from a cycling dynasty. Her father and first cousin were world-renowned, and her late brother was also well-established within cycling. There we go; let’s get this point out of the way, because it does not – nor ever should – define this inspirational human being and woman, playing a leading role within the world cycling industry. For whilst her family were well-known for their cycling exploits and careers; in her own way, Celine has used her own inner strength of spirit, her determination, her intelligence and her natural ability to communicate with people, to rise to the top of the cycling industry on merit, as the head of Public Relations and Events (Global) for world-leading French brand, Ekoi.
As a woman in a still male-dominated sport and industry, Celine has seen the changes; from a time when riders such as Marion Rouse – despite being world class athletes – had to curtail racing careers due to money, like so many other female cyclists. Yes, even at the very top level of women’s cycling, it’s only now that times are changing in a positive way.
As Celine and I talk and her face lights up with the passion and force that drives this inspirational leader forward, she proudly tells me that the recent Tour de France Femme event saw a 4x increase in the global TV audience from previous events – finally showing the cycling world that there is an audience out there for women cyclists and top-level racing. Salaries are now improving, as are the race schedules and respect for women in teams. The wind of change is here, and Celine and other women involved in cycling, can feel it on the faces as they run into an exciting future!
Battling the aesthetics that existed
Chatting with Celine, her face is animated and alive, and her eyes illuminate and smile as she recounts the changes, from a time of feminine aesthetics to now, where women are beginning to be recognised more for their ability. We talk about a particular team manager, who only 5 years ago tried to take a famous social media influencer into a team; then dropping a talented rider to make way for the female influencer who couldn’t ride well – purely to increase the popularity of the team! In Celine’s eyes, ‘the problem was with the manager, not with the girl!’
And yes, she’s right; men have in the past, too frequently exploited the aesthetics of women within sport, and failed to prioritise and to accept the athlete over the image. Listening to this, it resonates with me, as our own women writers at Pedalnorth regularly have to suffer social media abuse, with too many people still unable to accept their athletic process over their individual aesthetics. However, Celine has had to both witness and experience such attitudes close to hand, and her determination has helped her to overcome all obstacles.
Running into the wind and celebrating life
As we chat, Celine tells me how she loved running as a child but was not as well supported as it could have been, due to her families obvious cycling position. Giving up running, and indeed, deliberately avoiding the cycling industry for 5 years, she sought to find herself and her own identity; it was taking up running and marathons – then aged 33 – that helped her to feel alive and to feel free to be herself, and to use that inner strength that distance runners all have, to drive forward with her career. She is a fearless woman, with a feminine strength that others would be well not to misjudge. Her abilities as a communicator are only matched by her ability to identify solutions to the myriads of problems that she has expertly managed and resolved on her journey to top of our industry.
With 20 marathons behind her and numerous successes, running is now a natural therapy for Celine and a way to relax; having developed from being a place where she sought to challenge those who failed to understand who she really was and is today – a strong, determined and spirited woman, leading one of the world’s top cycling brands into an exciting future. Talking in such an open and relaxed way, it’s easy to see why Ekoi chose Celine to head their public relations. ‘Running has a positive effect on my brain, helping me to breath and to relax and to think more openly. It allows me to be who I am. I run to be free and to feel alive!’
Creating a future for cycling
Her current role opens up a whole future where she works closely with people such as legendary French rider, Marion Rouse, and other global brand ambassadors, to bring the Ekoi way of thinking to more and more members of the global cycling community. Women’s cycling in particular is one of the key growth areas in our sport, and people such as Celine and Marion are leading this revolution, with the refreshing wind of change blowing gently as they celebrate cycling and life as women!
Taking on the challenges of the current global cycling industry, Celine now develops new social networks and event opportunities; identifying those partners who share the Ekoi vison and passion for doing things differently.
Ekoi is still a relatively young brand and yet is also firmly embedded at world tour level. Starting out in 2001, the brand soon saw that the future lay in a B2C model online, working directly to the consumer; developing this model in 2008 and going from strength to strength, as cyclists recognised the quality, styling and value of the brand. Joining Ekoi in 2016, Celine had grown up within the small global cycling family and was a recognised face to many. The brand was by then working with AG2R as a sponsor, and with Quick Step and Julian Alaphilippe for glasses and eyewear. She took on the tricky task of the Benelux countries, having to manage numerous issues and frequently challenging others who on occasions could seem jealous of her position, due to the family name.
Strength is a personal quality – alongside determination
And yet, despite being given such a tough assignment, over 5 years, Celine improved turnover and streamlined sales issues, managing out the previous problems. Her reward was to be promoted to the brand HQ at Frejus in the south of France, where her strength carries her forward. Her spirit and love for her role shines out, from the light in her eyes and the radiating warmth of her face as she speaks, telling me that ‘I see things and I fight for them. It has been my strength, all my life. I can see a problem and I will deal with it, not avoid it. I talk to people, and I listen, and we work through things.’
Yes, she recognises that her family name has helped; as has her life, lived within the small global family of cycling, where she recalls also handing out the podium flowers at an earlier age. Now, it is Celine who is receiving the awards, as a women leading a world-class team at one of the world’s top cycling brands and showing that the glass ceiling should never have existed.
As we continue our conversation, we talk about her new role in excited tones, with the pride illuminating her words:
‘From this year, I have to manage and create big global contracts, and to travel a lot. Now, I am doing what I dreamed all my life. It’s something special that I like, with people who I like. A moment ago, recently, I realised that yes, I am here. I no longer see the sport in the same way as I once did. I have developed as a person and a leader and as a woman! Now, I run to feel good, not to prove myself!’
