Daydreaming here...

[bluerider]

How does one become a pro road cyclist? I have a pipe and am dreaming today...

All kidding aside, does anyone know how cyclists get selected for pro teams?

Thanks!

[han-grrl]

i race mtb (not elite), but as a guess

you would have to race
you would have to do well at races
submit a race resume to the Team Manager.
you may have to give them a reason on why you think you would be a good team member and how you would promote the sponsors.

[swlsue]

be a man?

Seriously, you don't hear much about women's cycling. A shame.

[RoadRaven]

What Han said...
without a sponser, you have top prove yourself from the beginning
Join a club and try and get into the top grade, though being a woman, the second top grade is prolly where you'll be
Do well in Club Champs
Enter as many competitions as you can (my next step from Club Champs will be Nationals)
Do well in everything you enter, be noticed and get some winning history behind you
As you go, decide what event you like... a woman will never make to something like THE Tour - we just cant build the muscle... (here here Sue) but indoor track events? Individual TTs? Criterions?
Our own Sarah Ulmer brought home golds and a new track record - that was pretty sweet.

Set your goals and train for them and be prepared to endure a lot of pain - thats how the best become the best... they are prepared to hurt... alot

[bluerider]

Great insights, thanks! Sounds tough but fun!!!

Just wondering, what kind of speeds do pro women usually cycle at? Let's say in TTs? I know the boys at TdF are in the higher 50km/hr range Any idea on women's time?

[Lynne]

Great insights, thanks! Sounds tough but fun!!!

Just wondering, what kind of speeds do pro women usually cycle at? Let's say in TTs? I know the boys at TdF are in the higher 50km/hr range Any idea on women's time?

Met too! Me too! But that was the team TT, not sure what speeds they hit on the individual, I can't remember (and I'm NOT checking the website since I'd see today's results!).

Are time trials typically flat? And, are they usually as interesting a course as TdF or do you just go round and round in boring circles?

[CorsairMac]

As you go, decide what event you like... a woman will never make to something like THE Tour -

actually there are European Women Pro Races - I can't remember them all right now but there is a Womens version of the Giro and I believe there is a womens version of the Tour. The womens T-Mobile team races in them.

[Tess851]

yep, tour de femme etc as Corsairmac said.

Track time trial: 500m in 33.952 seconds won the gold medal for Meares last year at the Olympic games.

Road time trial: 24km in 0:31:11:53 was the wining time in the 2004 Olympics.

so average speed for road would be say 47-48km/hr, and track would be arond 54-55km/hr.

As for getting there, what han-grrl and RoadRaven said, and even then, there are no guarantees.

Are you on track to become a pro do you think?

[Lynne]

yep, tour de femme etc as Corsairmac said.

Track time trial: 500m in 33.952 seconds won the gold medal for Meares last year at the Olympic games.

Road time trial: 24km in 0:31:11:53 was the wining time in the 2004 Olympics.

so average speed for road would be say 47-48km/hr, and track would be arond 54-55km/hr.

As for getting there, what han-grrl and RoadRaven said, and even then, there are no guarantees.

Are you on track to become a pro do you think?

Hey Tess, do you know about amatuer racing? What's the speed like there?

[snapdragen]

Hey Tess, do you know about amatuer racing? What's the speed like there?

Watching Phil and Paul - they just said average speeds of 56km - this is for a regular stage, not the TTT.

[bluerider]

yep, tour de femme etc as Corsairmac said.

Track time trial: 500m in 33.952 seconds won the gold medal for Meares last year at the Olympic games.

Road time trial: 24km in 0:31:11:53 was the wining time in the 2004 Olympics.

so average speed for road would be say 47-48km/hr, and track would be arond 54-55km/hr.

As for getting there, what han-grrl and RoadRaven said, and even then, there are no guarantees.

Are you on track to become a pro do you think?

I think I'm on track if I was riding on something with 4 wheels. Egads, time to get serious about getting faster. Thanks for the insights. Will definitely check out some local races to be seriously humbled

[RoadRaven]

actually there are European Women Pro Races - I can't remember them all right now but there is a Womens version of the Giro and I believe there is a womens version of the Tour. The womens T-Mobile team races in them.

Yes... I know... but they are women's races... and I meant that for a woman to aspire to ride in something like the Tour de France with people like Armstrong, Ulrich or DaveZ is an unrealistic goal... you have to recognise the limitations of a female body to build effective muscle and enter races accordingly.

The top echelon of female cyclists are fantastic, and pound for pound may even be better atheletes than men - but they are not in the ball park of their elite male counterparts.

Just look at the results in Olympics, or compare Mens/Womens Giro or Mens Womens Tour... men and women will never compete together

I should have included some of the womens races in my little say. Apologies for being unclear

I was just trying to explain to Blue that any pro race goals she sets herself need to be gender realistic

[bounceswoosh]

I was just trying to explain to Blue that any pro race goals she sets herself need to be gender realistic

This is something that I've thought about a lot. And I'm not convinced it's right.

Are there differences between male and female bodies? Yes, absolutely. But is it helpful to say, "Well, I'll never reach these speeds, so I'm not even going to set that goal"? I'm not convinced it is.

Typically, when an athlete breaks a previous record, over the next several years several other people break that previous record, too. I think it's a matter of psychology -- suddenly people realize it's possible, and so it happens.

I don't know that the gender gap will ever go away, but it seems like it could narrow. More and more girls are growing up playing sports.

When I was in high school, my martial arts classes were predominantly teenage boys. I'm sure that I tried harder than I would have if my only competition were female.

So ... I guess what I'm saying is, why not dream about competing in the Tour? You might not get there, but you might get farther than if you didn't try for it.

[runnergirl]

This issue really get me going!!!

Cycling is the last sexist main-stream sport. There's no reason that women can't cover the same distances as men, they will always be a few miles an hour slower, but they can cover the distances. I think that the tour should include a women's pelaton either a day ahead or a day behind on the same course. I was so enraged when I found out how short the tour de a'lude was I can't tell you!

Not to get too far off-topic, but the coverage of women's cycling is really abhorent as well. This month's Rodie magazine profiled a woman who has been dropped from t-mobile, and spent more time discussing her modeling career than her riding. Not to mention the playboy type pictures-absolutly disgusting. And I wonder why there are so many dirty old men at most club rides.

[bluerider]

Rant away my friends! I am upset at the non-existent coverage of women's road cycling on TV and non-existent features in roadie mags. Although I would love love love to see women's road races featured the way TdF is, I am also a realist and know that in my lifetime, women's cycling will be overshadowed by the men. I agree that women's physiology may not naturally lend to speeds that the men have but I won't agree that it's not possible. I'm a wannabe racer and would be deluded to think that I could compete in a high profile race like TdF or Giro or the Vuelta. Would I like to? You betcha! My beef isn't that women can't compete with the men, it's that events for women are viewed as lesser and essentially no coverage exists.

But I think by participating in local races and at best at the national level can gradually elevate interest and garner more respect for women's cycling.