Quote:
Originally Posted by rice rocket
You're comparing the top event where they can skim off the top X% of participants in the sport, to A gravel race.
You can't achieve parity in open registration, end of story. There are simply not enough women interested in gravel racing vs men. This is not a case of build it and they will come, you need the inverse and cycling is not an inclusive sport.
|
Does Triathlon as a whole have a closer gender ratio than gravel cycling? Does running? Does NICA MTB? Why?
Gravel racing is the perfect example of "build it and they will come" a small handful of events attended by a few dozen men spawned an entire nationwide craze where tens of thousands of people attend dozens of events. Gravel
is the inclusive part of cycling.
Racing by nature is exclusive but can be made to accommodate larger fields for disparate groups.
This is not a problem that requires a solution immediately today. The future always has potential.
Quote:
Originally Posted by .RJ
They still have police, permits, insurance, EMT, officials (if sanctioned) to pay for. I think the list of events that doesnt turn unprofitable by doubling those costs is very, very short.
The Lifetime series is giving women their own start on the same day, and it seems like thats working well.
|
It's not clear (or probable) the costs would double. The potential Women's Pro event would be shorter and require less of everything. It's entirely possible the cost would be a relatively small fraction of the main event. Field of 60-100 pro women could be done in at most 70% of the time it took the entire field last year.
DFL for 2023 Unbound was 21 hours - with a specific Pro Women field the structure can be with a time cut/broom wagon of whatever time is appropriate.
People can make all the negative or positive assumptions they want. Reality has a way of clearing the table anyway. This is a problem that needs to be iterated, as each event has different requirements and possible solutions that may not work for another event. As I've said, different start time and/or rules based structure are the best idea right now.