Re: Tour de France: No Women Ever? - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

07-15-2003, 07:32 AM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>,
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> Hmm, transexuals would rather skew the game. What an interesting
> consideration!
>
> Wouldn't a transexual fail a steroid test? They must take quantities of
> hormones to keep the sex change in place, no? And female hormones are steroids
> just like male ones.

Not as the term is usually used. Anabolic steriods used for performance
enhancement are mostly chemically related to testosterone, not estrogen.
I don't think estrogen would ever be classified as a performance
enhancing drug (at least not in athletic events <Grin>).

.....

--
David Kerber
An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good
Lord, it's morning".

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07-15-2003, 10:52 AM

> The fierce levels of sustained aerobic exertion are what make elite
> cycling inaccessible to virtually any women.

Physiologically, isn't it an issue of mussle strength rather than
sustained aerobic exertion?

07-16-2003, 05:30 AM

>Physiologically, isn't it an issue of mussle strength rather than
>sustained aerobic exertion?
>

Not really.

Muscle strength is directly proportional to muscle size. Men develop much
larger muscles then women especially in the upper body because of naturally
occuring anabolic steroids that men have.

But men also have higher hemoglobin concentrations in their blood then women by
about 10%-20% and larger hearts. Larger hearts pump more blood. More blood
delivers more oxygen to the muscles. More oxygen to the muscles means a
greater sustained aerobic exertion. Simple.

Of course, the greatest long distance swimmer ever was a woman. She had a
surprisingly high body fat for an athelete - it was like she was a seal with a
layer of blubber. This women, I forget her name, swam the Bering Strait
without a wet suit. That water is cold enough to kill a normal human pretty
quickly. Amazing.