Quote Originally Posted by RoadRaven
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.