This week many important things have happened in the world of sports, all speaking in the feminine, demonstrating that true equality between sexes exists and that women are no different from men. There were elections at the IOC and the new president is Kirsty Coventry. There is also the first edition of the Sanremo Woman, the Spring Classic, which becomes the fourth Women's Monument Classic.

But in this specific case, women will race for glory and not for prize money. We don't want to speculate or appear as feminism champions, but simply highlight how in cycling women often do not have the same rights as men, and the Milan-Sanremo prize money proves this, incredibly different between men and women.

The first-place finisher of the Spring Classic will receive prize money of 20,000 euros, while the second will get 10,000 euros and the third 5,000, then 2,500 for fourth, 2,000 for fifth and 1,500 for sixth, with seventh and eighth receiving 1,000 euros each and then 500 euros from tenth to twentieth place.

But what happens with the women's prize money? The first-place woman will receive a prize of 2,256 euros, therefore less than the fourth-place man, who as we wrote will receive a check of 2,500 euros and far from the 20,000 euros of the first man. The second woman will celebrate with 1,692 euros, slightly more than the sixth-place man who receives 1,500 euros, but the third-place finisher that everyone will see on television during the awards ceremony, will return home with a check of 1,128 euros compared to the 5,000 euros received by the third-place man.

For years, the UCI has been fighting for equality between men and women in races, loudly demanding the same prize money: but the international federation itself does not give concrete action to this request. For years, Flanders Classics has awarded the same prize money to the winner of the men's and women's Tour of Flanders, and the same happens in cyclocross and all other organized races. Now, one wonders why this does not apply to Milan-Sanremo.

Apparently, to race the fourth Women's Monument Classic, it is enough to be proud of what you do and money should take a back seat. This is a real shame for the entire cycling movement, because once again it has been demonstrated that differences exist not because of race kilometers or training sacrifices, but because of the prize that every winner should have regardless of whether they are a man or a woman.

It hurts to read these things, and if we reflect carefully and look at all the numbers, the second-place finisher of the men's Milan-Sanremo with his 10,000 euros could pay all the prizes for the first 10 women who arrived - and we'll avoid dwelling on those prizes of 226 and 168 euros, which if we look closely do not even cover the costs of an economical food and lodging. Unfortunately, these are the negative notes that overshadow sports, where skin color, religious belief, and gender should never be the basis for such large differences.