CliffordK

There shouldn't have been any interference if the two races had progressed normally. A major crash early in the race, and all bets are off.

They seem to change the routes a bit, but this isn't the first time they've run the two races together, and they should have had enough history to estimate the speeds.

Here are some Strava records from 2018.
Women:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1423718809

Men:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1423838071
Ludwig: Early Breakaway: https://www.strava.com/activities/1423725377

The races continued on the same course for about 37.3 miles before separating.
The men's Peloton did it in about 1:30 at about 24.8 MPH.
Ludwig was a Men's breakaway, doing the section in about 1:25 at about 26.2 MPH.

The women did it in about 1:44 at about 21.5 MPH. Having lost about 15 minutes on the men.


And 2019:
Women:
https://www.strava.com/activities/21...ts/55170163638
Chaser Group: Diana Peñuela and Crystal Lane-Wright:
https://www.strava.com/activities/2186385608
https://www.strava.com/activities/2186489298

Men:
https://www.strava.com/activities/2186794882

The two groups did the first approximately 24.1 miles before the neutralization, having skipped an early hill climb loop that was done last year.

Men, in about 1:11:25, at about 20.6 MPH

Women in about 1:07:47, at about 21.4 MPH
Chaser Group in about 1:07:07, at about 21.6 MPH
Nicole Hanselmann at about 45 seconds ahead of the chasers, or about 1:06:22, or about 21.8 MPH

So, even with Nicole Hanselmann's breakaway, the women were about the same speed as last year, with Nicole being slightly faster.

The men were quite a bit slower in that first section than last year.

It is unclear why they were slower earlier. I've found some partial coverage of the men's race.

https://tiz-cycling.racing/videos/om...019-full-race/

But, it seems to start somewhat after the neutralization of the women, mentioning "promenading" early in the race.

I'm not sure the race planners could have predicted the unusually slow pace for the men early, especially in the rolling hill descents that the women made up so much time in.

BadGrandma

Same for me. And I wonder if some of the writers above have even raced. The women's races don't draw the same crowds because they aren't advertised or sponsored much if at all. The USAC just this year started cat 5 racing for women, far too late for me. Then they want me to support them. And in Ohio, the men's group would be neutralized. Sorry, boys.

downhillmaster

FML123

That's pretty much right down there with the Boston Marathon judge who tried to tackle the first female runner.

OBoile

Not really.

jefnvk

And once again, someone who fails to recognize the difference between local amateur events and a professional circuit event.

CliffordK

Image?

One has one group racing at 24 to 26 MPH.

And a second group racing ad 20 to 22 MPH.

The fastest group in the race takes all the glory.

Pretty cool story.
https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/201...marathon-fifty

Obviously a very different situation. In the Belgian bike race, the women were stopped because they were racing in a "separate but equal" bike race. And, this may be a fundamental difference between cycling and running. Other than field size, a mixed M/F venue really doesn't matter for running.

Mixing the women and men, or allowing a couple of women to catch the back of the Men's Peloton really would have been problematic.

Nonetheless, this may be a sign of evolving sports over the last 50 years. And, overall, perhaps a sign that we still have some distance to go before achieving true equality.

Bonzaii111

you make a very valid point, I was wondering if you know if any races actually have a planned proceedure to deal with this? If this was a junior mens race it might been handled different, or is that often proceedure, often these days the media becomes involved im something that has been common place for some time. Does anyone know how often this happens?

OBoile

Given how much attention this has received, my guess is "not very often".

Having said that, it may happen more in the future as women's cycling grows and shares more events with the men. Hopefully a good way to handle/prevent this will be put in place in the future.

OBoile

Not exactly the same, but a men's race was forced to pause (and then pause again due to a mistake) due to a crash in the women's race that had started earlier.
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/r...4UJISlD8DYC.99