29. MEN AND WOMEN PHYSICAL RACE DEMANDS ARE DIFFERENT

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Since entering in the UCI World Tour circuit in 2016, women road cycling is attracting more and more fans, media, and sponsors.

The maximum length of pro women road races is set at 160 km by the UCI (it will be 180 km on 2025). This is still far shorter compared to men’s ones, which don't have a fixed maximum distance and are often longer than 250kms.

The relation between intensity-duration is one of the most important basic concepts in endurance sports. Accordingly, shorter the effort/competition, higher the relative intensity at which it is performed. On the opposite, longer the duration, lower the relative intensity.

So, given the different fixed distance, physiological race demands can substantially differ between men and women.

How men vs women’s physical road races demands differ?

A study published by Dajo Sanders (Team INEOS Grenadiers) and Colleagues published on 2018 on International Journal of Sport Physiology and Performance can help to answer this question. (1)

This could have important implications for training and talent identification.