Charterhall: "I don't believe you guys. We're talking about women's participation in the Tour de France and you are basing your arguments on the George Pennel APR, the ERC chaingang and, heaven help us, Strava. What planet do you live on ?"
To be fair, the comments you criticise are about things that actually happen, not somewhat whimsical "notions" about terrible things that might happen, some day, but actually haven't. And where do you think those Tour De France riders start out? Their local road races and cycling clubs, or do they all come from a Columbian mountainside? Read the palmares of the top riders, and you will find out that many of them are still members of their local cycling clubs. Quintana's one is now named after him!
Its not just The Netherlands I've lived in (again, surprised this is such a note of contention/offence on here)- there is a whole world out there and not everywhere and everyone thinks in the same way. i.e. that all women are, deep down, duifjes.
Wilmington's Cow: I doubt gaps between male and female performance will close that much due to biological differences (although you do get some very large powerful women and some small, weak men). But denying women the chance to participate in the same events is now outdated, and its time cycling caught up.
That said, its becoming more frequent that women are winning mixed 10ks overall, or placing in the top 3 in my local races. This is probably an anomaly though, as standards (based on times) and participation in men's competitive running has declined in the past 20 years, while women's running has seen the opposite effect.
I'm not exactly sure what people are arguing against here. Do you seriously think cycling should not go forwards with female participation and that there is some inherent danger in doing so? Can you see those arguments actually being taken seriously in the future? Some of those comments about women lacking power to make attacks, women's races being boring to watch and women being subjected to the terrible forces of headwinds were some of the most amusing and archaic I've ever read!
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