What speed does "well" in road races?

[peddletillupuke]

Second season of biking (since college biking days), and I ride with all guys.(Not many women in the club). Some say I should race. What are average speeds like in women's races? Thanks-

[spazzdog]

Hey peddletilupuke!

Get your license and enter one. If you're riding with the guys and keeping up, I imagine you'll do fine.

As NIKE used to always tell us: Just Do It!

BikeMomma... what do you think?

[VenusdeVelo]

Hi Pedalt.u.p...
There are some factors -- age group is also one of them. Racing in the midwest at least (WI) - avg speed for women probably between 30-50 will be about 20mph. To win -- more like 25mph. Terrain -- ie, a hilly race like will yield a lower average. Your best bet is to check out websites of races you are interested in and see if they post the results. Usually they post avg speeds. This lets you see if you can be competitive (when you want to), or whether you just want to ride it to finish.

Go out there and have fun!

[BikeMomma]

Hey Thread!

I just saw this one - sorry for not replying, Spazz, when ya called for me!

I think Venus is about right on. Women's Cat 4 group tends to be more mellow, so I'd say that if you can push 20-23 mph on your own consistently, and especially keep up with the guys at higher speeds, you're ready. Go for it! And also - remember - racing is actually better training, believe it or not. It's hard to duplicate the intensity of racing in regular rides.

I seem to recall a crit that I did years ago that I did 23mph to not get lapped. They had all the Cat's grouped in the same race. I don't know what speeds the girls are doing now in Cat 4...perhaps Pink Kona can fill us in....course she's usually travelling much faster. Ha!

[RoadRaven]

Hi
My best offering is to go to some club pages and look at race results and see what women in your category go for...

For example, in my local club women in Vet 1 do a 20km time trial in 35-37 mins, or a 40 km time trial in under an hour and ten minutes

That will give you a goal to aim for...

good luck

[Trek420]

tons of cool race results including times, distance and category on:

http://velogirls.com/racing_results_2005.html