When it comes to sports performance, there are clear differences between men and women. These differences seem to be gradually diminishing, partly due to the increasing appreciation of women's sports by the general public. As more money is slowly being invested in women's cycling, training can also become more professional. Can women train the same way as men to improve their performance, or do they need to train in a completely different manner?
The difference between men and women can partly be explained by physiological differences. However, very little sports science research has been conducted on women, as hormonal fluctuations in women make it much more complex to obtain reliable results in a scientific study. Therefore, much remains unknown about the factors that influence sports performance between men and women.
Differences between men and women in races
When training for an event, the training must also be specifically tailored to that event. Men's races are significantly longer in terms of distance and duration compared to women's races. Research also confirms that the absolute power output produced by men in races is higher than that of women. This difference can partly be explained by physiological differences between men and women. The intensity at which women ride is significantly higher compared to men. Women spend more time in higher heart rate zones than men, resulting in a higher average heart rate during a race compared to men.1
Finding a clear explanation for this difference is challenging. Men's races are much longer. If a race is decided in the last 60 km, this means that for women, the first 80-100 km of the race differ from the 140-180 km for men. Tactics and the profile of the race can also play a role in this difference. There are also significant differences in level among female riders, which is perhaps the most important reason why intensity is higher in women's races.
Women train shorter but more intensely than men
Since women race shorter distances at higher intensities than men, one might expect that women also train very differently for their races than men. A study analysing approximately 10,000 training sessions of professional male and female cyclists confirms this. On average, men's training sessions are longer, cover greater distances, involve more work (kJ), and result in higher absolute and relative power output (Watts/kg). The training load, expressed as a TSS score, was comparable, but when adjusted per km, it was higher for women than for men.2
Just like in races,1 women spent less time in lower training zones and more time in higher training zones compared to men.2 It appears that women compensate for lower training volume by training more intensely. However, the true reason why these women train more intensely than men remains speculative.
Far fewer women race compared to men
When comparing men and women, it is also important to consider the number of men and women participating in cycling. While these differences are likely to shrink over time, there are currently far more men racing than women. Some of the performance gap between men and women can therefore also be attributed to the number of participants. A higher number of participants leads to greater competition, raising the overall level. If there are significant differences in ability among female riders, more of them will need to make intense efforts to keep up.
Not only are there more men than women cycling at the professional level, but this trend is also visible among younger riders. There are more and larger races for boys than for girls, and the number of girls participating in a race is often lower than in boys' races. At many clubs, girls train alongside boys. At a young age, differences between boys and girls are small, but from puberty onwards, these differences increase. When boys and girls train together, it is likely that the boy is performing an easy effort while the girl is training at a higher intensity. This may lead to girls continuing to train intensely as they get older because they are accustomed to it and have achieved results through this approach.
Should women train differently than men?
It is clear that there are physiological differences between men and women, but research shows that there is no difference between men and women in terms of training response. There appear to be no differences in the relative increase of VO2max for men and women when they train with the same intensity, frequency, and duration.3 If there is no difference in training response between men and women, yet women train more intensely than men, it is likely that women who train much more intensely than men may not be maximising their training potential.
For women as well, it is crucial to receive the right stimuli at the right time. As more girls and women take up cycling and coaching becomes increasingly professional, differences between female riders will narrow, their level will get closer to that of men, and training methods may become more comparable to those of men.
1. Sanders, D., van Erp, T., & de Koning, J. J. (2019). Intensity and Load Characteristics of Professional Road Cycling: Differences Between Men's and Women's Races. International journal of sports physiology and performance, 14(3), 296–302. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2018-0190
2. van Erp, T., Sanders, D., & de Koning, J. J. (2019). Training Characteristics of Male and Female Professional Road Cyclists: A 4-Year Retrospective Analysis. International journal of sports physiology and performance, 1–7. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2019-0320
3. Lewis, D. A., Kamon, E., & Hodgson, J. L. (1986). Physiological differences between genders. Implications for sports conditioning. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 3(5), 357–369. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-198603050-00005
