Mountain Biking

Regarding the words of Brian Lopes.

Although what he said about women holding back the progress of DH and DS mountain biking courses may not be popular or "politically correct" he is in fact dead on. Women atheletes just don't have the body weight and strength of their male counterparts and subsequently cannot huck as big or go as fast. This is not a put-down or lack of respect for women atheletes it is just a fact. Any of the top competing women could and would certainly kick my ass in any discipline in the mountain biking world, but I am not claiming to be a world class athelete. Mr. Lopes's words may have been a little rough around the edges but he expressed feelings that even most women cannot dispute. The top level men blow the top level women away and that's just how it is. You wouldn't put the world's best female boxer in the ring with Lennox Lewis or Mike Tyson, so why should the elite men riders have the development of their sport held back by the differences in male and female physiology which just cannot be disputed.

P.S. I love women. Particularly fast ones.

-- Steve Jackson

I agree with you, Steve that women are not as fast or powerful as the male riders. I believe that part is not under dispute. There's a flaw in the industry (promoter? organizers?) that keeps the men from competing from "blow-your-doors-off" tracks. But for Brian to blame the women for that predicament simply doesn't add up, much less to cap prize money for them. -- TheLoneRider

In one respect I do agree with Brian somewhat. I do not think there is any doubt that there is a difference in the level of athletic performance between males and females. Designing course to do double duty for both male and female racers can be a problem. Brian has not expressed himself well in this respect because to say that women are holding back the sport is asinine. However, I do believe there could be some wisdom in there being courses designed with a level of difficult to challenge the best male riders. This is not to exclude the women either. If the female riders wish to tackle these higher difficulty courses then they should be welcomed to compete.

I do not however agree with Brian in terms of the money they earn. It should be equal across the board for similar events. The fact that there are less women or their times are slower is irrelevent. Everybody who is competing deserves the same rewards for pushing the boundries of the sport in their respective domains.

-- Faz
Peterborough, Canada

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