Tucsonan Kathryn Bertine, others celebrate 10-year anniversary of documentary that changed women's cycling

Don’t say ‘no’ to Kathryn Bertine.

That’s usually just the extra push she needs to move forward and make changes.

Twelve years ago, when she was working for ESPN, she pitched the idea of doing a documentary on women’s cycling. Her initial goals: raise the visibility of the sport and eventually see the creation of a women’s Tour de France.

ESPN turned her down, she says, leaving her to set out to do this on her own. Well, not solely on her own; she did it with the help of a lot of friends.

“That flipped the internal switch for me,” Bertine said. “Having the platform of ESPN turn it down made me realize that this film was necessary on an even bigger scale that ESPN couldn't even grasp at the time.

"As they say, ‘nothing good is ever accomplished alone.’ I fully believe that," she added. "It might have been my motivation and my idea, but it was very much a team effort and making ‘Half The Road’ happen."

On Thursday at 7 p.m., Tucson's The Loft Cinema will celebrate the 10th anniversary of "Half the Road" with a screening, panel discussion and more. Bertine directed the documentary, an award-winner at multiple film festivals.

“I had no idea that ‘Half The Road’ would end up being a real game-changer for women's cycling. And I had no idea that 10 years later, so many doors of change opened because of ‘Half The Road.,'" Bertine said. "That's one of the reasons we're bringing it back is to celebrate what has changed in the past decade, but also to take note of what has not, and why a film that focuses on women's cycling to this day is still relevant.”

Bertine and the documentary are credited with bringing to light the numerous challenges professional women cyclists were having at the time she produced the film; that included low salaries that weren't just well below equal footing to what the men were earning but often left the world-class women competitors struggling to survive.  

A former pro cyclist and author of numerous books, Bertine was the University of Arizona College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Alumna of the Year in 2023. She's also an activist who runs the Homestretch Foundation in Tucson. The foundation helps predominately female athletes in bridging financial challenges — whether it’s resources or even housing in Tucson as these elite athletes train.

In the 10 years since the documentary was originally screened at The Loft — today it can also be viewed via AppleTV — things have gotten much better for these women, though there is still much more to do.

There is now a Women’s Tour de France, which has grown from one to eight days. In July, "Tour de France Femmes" will be held for the third year, featuring eight stages. Bertine and others are still fighting for it to be 21 days — the same length as the men’s event.

Another big change was the elimination of the median age (28 years) for women’s teams. The men’s teams didn’t have this.

Other major changes include women at the World Tour level now have bigger salaries as well as maternity leave and health care options.

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In addition, women’s races are now supposed to be broadcast, just like the men. However, many races are still only showing a highlight reel for the women — hardly equal to the amount of airtime the men’s races get.

Still, overall, there is much more visibility these days with the advent of social media and more films being made.

Bertine knows there is more work to do and is still fighting, but for one night in Tucson, many women who appeared in the film will be celebrating how far they’ve come.

Nicky Wangsgard, a retired cyclist who is now an assistant dean at Southern Utah University, was featured in the film. She shared her story of continuing to work a full-time job while cycling just to get by in hopes that “future professional cyclists can maybe have it a little bit easier and pursue their dreams without the financial burdens that a lot of professional female cyclists have to take on. I was honored to be a part of change.”

Wangsgard said that some years ago, after a women’s basketball game, a number of the opponents' fans came up to her to ask if she was in "Half The Road." They were cyclists who trained indoors and watched films to keep them going. In that moment, Wangsgard realized just how “inspirational” not only the movie was, but Bertine was as a leader.

When Wangsgard thinks of women who have led the way in making change in sports, it’s Billie Jean King for tennis, Katherine Switzer (the first woman to run the Boston Marathon) for running and Bertine for cycling.

“Sports that have that rich history, it made it even harder for women,” Wangsgard said. “When I think of those big names who really sparked change and Kathryn Bertine, she's that name in women's cycling.”

Another elite cyclist who was in the film and will be at Thursday’s celebration is Lauren Hall, Bertine’s best friend. Hall is also retired and works with USA Cycling, as well as being on the board of the Homestretch Foundation.

Hall knew that Bertine had the strength of her convictions, but “I probably didn't comprehend the scope of what she was going to be able to accomplish.”

“You think it's like one person against the patriarchy — one person against these massive conglomerates of bike races — and how many other individuals have tried to do something similar and have failed,” Hall said. “I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a lofty goal, but I stand behind you; I support you.’ I don't know if this was going to be a success or not, but if anybody could do it, and would do it, it would be Kathryn. I did know that.”

Bertine’s focus from that first initial idea to make a documentary to now has always been on equality. She said that true change happens when athletes rise up and use their voice. Most recently it’s happened in women’s soccer, ice hockey, as well as cycling.

Another part of the equation are the fans.

“One of the greatest things about cycling is that the sport is so evolved on both the men's and women's side that if you're a fan of cycling, you're a fan of both men and women in the sport,” Bertine said.

“It's equally exciting on both sides. The fans want to see more. And that's a huge measure of driving change in the infrastructure. We have the data to prove it. When you broadcast the women fans tune in," she added. "The big change will happen when then modern women and progressive men have an equal seat at the table where broadcast decisions are being made.”