Girls?

keydates

I think there are Olympic trials that you do a year or so before the actual games. Probably helps now to become a professional rider as well.

Wonder where cyclist_chic went?

WINGNUTT

I just looked it up... female marathon records are around 10 minutes slower than the mens' records.
http://www.marathonguide.com/history/records/index.cfm

ed073

I saw the title of this thread and that it has run to 5 pages.....then I read (some of) it



now I'm pretty disappointed.....

keydates

If you're looking for some attractive women (cyclists), here are some older threads:

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t123474.html
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t31.html about midway through
http://www.cyclingforums.com/showth...?t=87002&page=5 ditto

Maybe you could revive the top one?

Joe WW

Hi - Your are right about marathons, but I was talking about ultra marathons (i.e. races of 50+ miles). While I am not sure about records, I do know it is not uncommon for female runners to post the fastest overall times in extreme endurance races. None the less, I think the point is that the young lady who started this stream has set a goal of beating the boys. We are all better off if she is encouraged to try rather than being told it cannot be done. As the father of two girls, I personally hope that some day the right woman with the right team at the right time will make the boys in the peliton a little nervous. That will only make everyone work harder.

Regards,

Joe

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Joe

Roadrash Dunc

No offense , but it doesnt matter even if she is good enough one day.
Cycling is like all physical sports , the men and women are kept seperate.
Women might get to compete against men in golf , snooker , pool , etc , one day - where skill is as important as any physical prowess - but when it comes to atheltic type events and sports , then its a looooong way off from ever being a reality.
Whats more ,you're dealing with the French and Europeans here , who are relatively chauvanistic.Even if America allowed women to compete with men in top cycling/atheltic events , the Europeans would carry on as they have done for years - they set up a special Female version of the TdF anyway - aim to win that , thats more than enough of a challenge for a lifetime.

They might not admit it publicly but with the tradition and histroy in the TdF , Giro and Vuelta , it'd be over alot of dead bodies before they allowed a woman to enter.

Frankly this discussion is pie in the sky.

donhix1

When ever a women can match the top men in a time trial then we can start having this discussion.
The women marathon record being 10 minutes slower means they are two miles back.

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allezkmiec

A top female cyclist could most definitely compete with the men in the Tour. Could she win? there I have my doubts. a top female climbers in the world could stick pretty darn close to the top males, but in a flat TT? no chance. even Jeannie Longo would get her doors blown right off by Roberto Heras, never mind a monster like Ullrick or Indurain. Indurain sustained 500+ watts over an hour or more. women, physiologically speaking, can't come close.

but, I'd love to see a girl win the KOM competition. mmm, polka dots...

-Matt

ed073

wrong on all counts. Elite women could get nowhere near elite men at any race, any terrain.

allezkmiec

look at the Mount Washington Hillclimb; the year Danielson and Genevieve Jeanson set the records, Jeanson placed 3rd OVERALL, in a field of 500. and she's not even the best climber on the women's racing circuit. Danielson, however, is near the top of the game, pure climbing ability-wise.

climbing steep climbs is all about strength to weight ratio, and in that aspect of things, the gap narrows considerably. Genevieve would kick the ass out of a lot of male pros up the steeps. I'd like to see Cipollini, Magnus Backstedt or Michael Rich get up Washington in an hour, let alone the 54-odd minutes she did.

ed073

That was an awesome ride, no doubt. I stand corrected!! I'd forgotten about that day!

sportzgurl

I havn't read all of thread but cos im a girl, I thought I better add my 10 cents!!

Yeah, that would be pretty damn cool if girls could compete in TdF but we can't and thats fair enough too. When it comes to male vs female things you have to look at what the sport is. If its chess, thats fine. Male and female brains are made equal. (well us girls are better!!) So thats a fair game. But when it comes to physical games like cycling its not even going to be a contest. 9 times out of ten at the least, a male will beat a female. Thats just how we are made. I don't have a problem with it.

I guess a female version of TdF would be good. Or something with the same amount of public profile and winning status if you get what im saying. But is there really a need for it? The female cyclists still get olympic and world champs etc so its not like females are invisable to the sport. But most people who do cycling are drawn to the TdF, and it would be the ultimate for a girl to have a chance of 'living the dream' of competing in the TdF, and just because the men get to live that dream it shouldn't really mean that women can't. But there has never been a female version of TdF and there probably never will be. Women just have to make do with the World Champs. If you win that, you are best in the world. Thats almost as good as winning TdF, so we just have to be happy with that. Its not the real thing, but close enough. For me anyway. Not that iv'e got anything to do with elite womens cycling or anything lol!!!

keydates

There is actually a female Tour de France...I think it's called the Grand Boucle, although that could just be the nickname of the (male's) TdF. Anyway, it's much shorter than the other TdF, and also seems to not have a consistent schedule (I don't think there was one this year).

As others have stated, women typically are better at climbing mountains, so that could be an area in which a "co-ed" competition could occur. Or, there could be an "equalizer," such as the Lifetime Fitness triathlon has, in which women are given a head-start on men (depending on some formula). That of course, has its ramifications.

ed073

Tour Feminin

Le Grand Boucle is another name for the Tour de France. "The big lap."