17 March 2025
Winning Women: Our Conversation with Claudia Zaltron
At Fulcrum, we have a long tradition of working closely together with a range of riders and teams that span every cycling discipline and terrain type. By partnering with talented athletes for product development, testing, and competition, we’ve also built many strong and ongoing relationships with those who roll with Fulcrum.
For the month of March, we want to turn our attention towards these individuals—specifically, some of the leading women in our current rider roster with a series of weekly interviews. Next up, Fulcrum rider and one half of the @rid_her Instagram handle, Claudia Zaltron.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your relationship with Fulcrum?
My name is Claudia and I was born in Vicenza in 1991. My studies and current work have little to do with cycling. I have been a proud brand ambassador for Fulcrum for the past three years. In 2021, along with my twin sister, we created the Instagram profile rid-her [ˈraɪdər] to share our bike adventures. The name came from two English words: rider and her (to recall women and, at the same time, because they are the last three letters of the word ‘together’, because after all cycling is a team sport). Our aim is to inspire more women to take up this sport.
Cycling is a sport that has seen an increasing number of women taking part over the years. Why do you think that more women are coming into the sport?
I have always practiced various sports, but I came to cycling relatively late, when I was 25. Since then, it has become a way of life for me, a way of discovering the world around me and to test myself with continuous challenges. Cycling as a hobby has become a veritable trend and a release valve from day-to-day life, not only to keep in shape, but also as therapy to free your mind and relax your body.
What do you think are the obstacles that women may still have to overcome to start cycling? What needs to change to remove these obstacles?
The physical effort may be seen as an obstacle, but the secret is to harness it to pull out your grit and tenacity. Keeping a positive and resilient mentality plays a fundamental role in overcoming the effort of riding, especially because it’s very easy for your mind to wander when you’re riding. Another limit could be the perception of danger, on a personal level, when riding alone, particularly at night, and in terms of the roads, especially in cities with heavy traffic and poor cycling infrastructure.
What should cycling brands do to make the environment more inclusive?
Normalize the presence of women, by increasing the visibility of women in races and in day-to-day contexts and promoting female figures (professional and amateur) in the media and in advertising campaigns. Develop specific equipment and design bikes and kit that guarantee comfort, practicality and style. Promote courses to learn how to ride safely (especially off-road), to perform bike maintenance and repair mechanical issues to be able to resolve roadside emergencies. Organize events (social rides and evenings) to create an inclusive cycling community concentrated on experiences, without focusing solely on the product and its sales, but using the product as a frame to build a larger picture.
Is there a message that you want to share with all the girls or women who have never considered cycling as a sport or a profession?
Overcome the psychological barriers and the lack of confidence. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of joining mixed group rides because you may be scared that you won’t be good enough.
And perhaps one for the men who could do something to facilitate women’s access to cycling?
Riding is not a synonym of competing. There’s no sense in competing against a woman.
We appreciate Claudia for taking the time to talk with us, and we’re equally thrilled to have her as part of our great ambassador team. Next week, we’ll share the final installment in our Winning Women series. See you then!
SUGGESTED ARTICLES
