While watching and talking about the TDF, my wife has asked me more than once why there are no women.
Now, I suspect part of the answer is that it may be officially organized as a men-only event (isn't/wasn't there a women's version also?), but it does beg the question of performance differences between men and women, and since a certain other person's thread sortof broached the topic, I thought I'd ask the more serious question, since I'm genuinely curious?
Looking at the TDF, and the differences in world record or championship winning times between top men and women, what are the reasons why women don't outperform the men? Is it purely genetic? Are there differences in training, or exposure to sports? Will the gap eventually close as women are encouraged over time to be more athletic?
Are there women who could hang with the pro peloton given sufficient training? If not, why not?
Inquiring minds...
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Yes, I too now have a Blog. Don't laugh.
Now, I suspect part of the answer is that it may be officially organized as a men-only event (isn't/wasn't there a women's version also?), but it does beg the question of performance differences between men and women, and since a certain other person's thread sortof broached the topic, I thought I'd ask the more serious question, since I'm genuinely curious?
Looking at the TDF, and the differences in world record or championship winning times between top men and women, what are the reasons why women don't outperform the men? Is it purely genetic? Are there differences in training, or exposure to sports? Will the gap eventually close as women are encouraged over time to be more athletic?
Are there women who could hang with the pro peloton given sufficient training? If not, why not?
Inquiring minds...
--------------------
Yes, I too now have a Blog. Don't laugh.