About Football boots and Racing bikes

“What does empowerment actually mean?” –  I would probably never have asked myself this question without Puck Moonen’s visit to the LEJ Hub.

Puck Moonen is a Dutch road cyclist who started her career as a professional athlete in 2015 at the age of 19. Since then, she has taken part in numerous competitions and also competed for UCI Women's Teams. However, Puck has not only experienced the sunny side of a professional career: Over the time she had to deal with challenges, such as injuries or internal team politics that personally set her back. She has also suffered from depression in the past.

But Puck didn't give up. She kept getting back on her bike and fought her way into a male-dominated industry. By now she is also very successful as an influencer on Instagram with over 850,000 followers. Thy racing cyclist uses her reach to raise awareness for women in sport. 

As a competitive athlete, she is now sponsored by DHL Express. The contact with the logistics company came about a year ago: “When I started working with DHL, it just clicked. We share the same values: the company connects people. It's the same in sport. The empowerment of women at DHL – for example in management positions – also appeals to me. It's a mission that we have in common: That's really nice.”

However, Puck is not the only sportswoman to be sponsored by DHL: The LEJ Hub has a partnership with the RB Leipzig women's team. A visit to their training facility was therefore an obvious choice.

She was welcomed by the three football players Sandra Starke, Nina Räcke and Lara Marti, with whom she spent the afternoon on site. During a short bike ride and various football challenges, the four athletes had the opportunity to talk about a lot of stuff. Especially in their role as professional athlete, the four women were able to discover many similarities: “I think we all had the same difficulties at the beginning of our careers. It wasn't easy, and that shaped us as the people we are. So, I think we have a lot of things in common,” said Puck. Lara could only agree with her: “There has been a lot of development over the last few years in the football itself and at RB Leipzig. But in many sports, there are the same things that concern women as professional athletes. Often it’s also about money.”

At the very end of the visit, Puck gave the players the following words to take home with them: “I would like them to play more in the big stadium. That they are shown more on TV and in the media in general and eventually earn as much money as the men. That would be great!”